NYC.gov Holiday Traffic Plan Makes Way for NASCAR

By Aaron Naparstek

10:21 AM EST on November 28, 2007

Gridlock Sam warns of widespread “pedlock and “traffic wrath” today. Not helping matters was this morning’s NASCAR Victory Lap around Times Square, conveniently timed to coincide with the morning rush.

Times Square will serve as one big pit stop for NASCAR’s annual Victory Lap
Wednesday, starting at 44thSt. between Broadway and Sixth Ave. and proceeding
via the following route: 44th St., Broadway, 42nd St., Madison Ave, 53rd St. and
Seventh Ave./Broadway, and ending between 43rd and 42nd Sts. outside the Hard
Rock Cafe. Between 8:30a.m. and 9:30a.m., there will be rolling closures on the
above streets, with 44th St. closed from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Traffic will be
affected throughout the day.

Fear not, New York City, 2007 may very well be the last year of NASCAR’s annual Midtown celebration of laundry detergent, motor oil and the lunacy of American car culture. Tom Bowles at Sports Illustrated writes:

After 27 years in the Big Apple, strong rumors persist that this
week-long celebration at the Waldorf will be NASCAR’s last; the event
appears ready and raring to shift to the bright lights of Vegas for
2008 and beyond.
On paper, it seems a smart move; with a race track already nearby and the shrewd promotion of octogenarian track owner Bruton Smith, the city will doubtless embrace NASCAR with open arms.
“I think we’ve worn out our welcome in New York,” said Smith

Correct.

Photo: Photo Gallery / Flickr

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.

"Gridlock" Sam Schwartz | Car Culture | Midtown

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.