Crewmen and Crew Chiefs continue to complain about the quality, or lack thereof, in garage facilities. A visit to Dover, which has one of the most decrepit and dangerous garages in NASCAR, will do that to you. Most who spoke Friday commended Pocono for its spacious garage and commodious working conditions. “Why can’t they build them all like this?” one top chief exclaimed. The ones singled out for abuse were Dover, Watkins Glen, and, curiously, given that it is one of the newer tracks, California. The California Speedway has nice garage amenities, but the garage stalls were built to accommodate the narrow champ cars, and it’s almost impossible to squeeze the 5ft-wide stock cars into the stalls. Given that ISC now owns the speedway, that isn’t likely to be changed any time soon. There are reports that Watkins Glen plans to greatly upgrade its garages before long. Dover continues to be a problem. A track spokesman said he knows of no immediate plans for improvements. That is odd, as the speedway has built a fairly nice Busch garage at the other end (Turn 4) of the track, with plenty of turnaround room and an open, roofed pad. It is puzzling that NASCAR has not taken a stronger hand in this matter, given its requirements for updates to its franchised facilities. There are government agencies who would be interested.(Speed Channel)(6-12-2004)
