Getty Austin Dillon wants to race at AT&T Stadium.
The driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro has some big plans for future exhibition NASCAR races. Austin Dillon has said that he would like to see the Clash or another race take place at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Dillon made the comments during two separate parts of his post-race presser. The driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet first told media members ahead of the start of the conference that he wants to see the exhibition race move to Texas before adding that NASCAR could find a way to muffle the cars to help with noise issues. He then further addressed the possibility during the official press conference.
“I think any of the giant stadiums where it’s feasible,” Dillon said during his post-race press conference. “You know, noise, we can kind of channel that noise and make it better. We’ve been able to make this race car a lot of better in big strides.
“As long as it’s worth it for the teams and the owners and the drivers, I definitely think it’s worth it trying some new places like we talked about. I think Cowboys stadium would be cool. There’s all kinds of places where we could do something like this.”
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NASCAR Has Discussed Moving The Clash Around
There are multiple drivers that have discussed the possibity of moving the exhibition around to bring it to new fans. Kevin Harvick and Dillon are both on the list. They are not the only ones.
Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of strategic innovation, met with media members are the first-ever Clash at the Coliseum came to an end. He discussed the overall response to the race and the Southern California atmosphere before acknowledging that discussions have taken place about moving the Busch Light Clash around.
“I think as far as venues go, I talked to Kevin in the elevator yesterday, he was talking about that,” Kennedy said. “I think it does open the opportunity and door to do that. I think it’s going to be really important as we think about those venues, the size of it. I think the Coliseum was a perfect footprint as you think about the size of the field itself.
“I don’t know that we’d want to make the radiuses of the corners that much tighter. I think you probably play with the straightaway length a little bit. I think it will be an important factor. If we are going to take this to other locations, I want to make sure that the racing product is good for our fans.”
Kennedy continued and explained that it was important to bring the race to the LA Memorial Coliseum in downtown. It has been two years since NASCAR last raced in Southern California due to COVID-19, and the Clash was an extravagant way to make the return. It also potentially helped build some momentum for the race at Auto Club Speedway on February 27.
What About Overseas Markets?
There are several areas where the Busch Light Clash could take the drivers. They could explore the Pacific Northwest and the numerous football stadiums in Washington and Oregon. They could also potentially travel to entirely different countries.
NASCAR previously held a series of exhibition races in Japan. The biggest stars in the Cup Series headed to the island nation and the Suzuka Circuit in 1996. Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, and many others made the trip and showcased stock car racing to a very different audience. They returned in 1997 before heading to Twin Ring Motegi in 1998.
Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, joined Kennedy in the press conference and provided his own take on potentially moving the Clash around. He was quick to clarify that he wasn’t advocating taking the race overseas. However, he explained that pulling off this exhibition event at an iconic venue in Southern California opened up many possibilities.
“Certainly if you looked, and I’m not advocating that we’re taking the Clash overseas, I don’t want anyone to take that away, but it does open up the opportunity for us if we wanted to showcase NASCAR,” O’Donnell explained. “We’ve always talked about, Ben and I, you have to go to a road course, they have to build a track somewhere if you’re in Europe. Not anymore.
“We’ve proven out you can go to a cool stadium with a track around it, we know what to do, we can go in and out, some opportunities there. Ben, if he hasn’t already, is already studying the footprints of a lot of different stadiums in the U.S., what works, what may not work, but also pretty happy here.”
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