Best of both worlds

May 23, 2013 Greg Engle Main Page, NASCAR News Top Story, Top Stories 0

CONCORD, NC - MAY 23: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 23, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
CONCORD, NC - MAY 23: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 23, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
CONCORD, NC – MAY 23: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 23, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

CONCORD, N.C.–In the aftermath of the flap over Bruton Smith contemplating a move of the fall Charlotte race to Las Vegas, Jeff Gordon supports a second date at LVMS–but not at Charlotte’s expense.

“I can’t imagine not racing here three times a year, or certainly two points races,” Gordon said Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which currently hosts the Coca-Cola 600 and non-points Sprint All-Star Race in May and the Bank of America 500 in October. “I love racing here. It’s nice to be home, and this is such a special race track.”

So what would his reaction be to Charlotte losing a date?

“I would hate to see that,” Gordon said. “But at the same time, I think Las Vegas makes great sense from a marketing standpoint. When we look at the sport and where we’re at and how to grow it and get those seats filled, you would certainly think that a race in Las Vegas in October would do pretty well. I think Las Vegas deserves to have two races, (but) I would not want to see us take away a race from here.”

If not Charlotte, what might Gordon propose as an alternative?

“Without putting any names out there, there are some other tracks that could maybe give up one,” Gordon said with a laugh.

Greg Engle
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About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.