The Next Big NASCAR Race Could Be Held In Historic MLB Stadium

Gentleman, start those Dodger Dogs! 

OK. Doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well, but we'll workshop it. 

Apparently, NASCAR is mulling the idea of holding an actual race at Dodger Stadium, the third-oldest ballpark in this great land. 

That's according to SBJ's Adam Stern, who reported Thursday that the black suits in Daytona are talking about heading west for their next big venture. 

Because, as you all know, folks in California love automobile racing!

Could a NASCAR race work at Dodger Stadium?

That's … ambitious, to say the least. Bold, but maybe a stretch?

It's one thing to put a track in a giant venue like the LA Coliseum – the site of the last three Busch Light Clashes. But trying to fit one in a ballpark? That may be a different story. 

Luckily for us, the good folks over at The Daily Downforce broke down the dimensions – and the possible obstacles. 

If they were to build a race track at Dodger Stadium, It could not be the shape of the LA Coliseum. 

The straightaways would have to be much shorter with significantly wider turns. The track would have to be more of a Bristol-type shape than a Martinsville-type shape. 

Perhaps the closest example to the track shape needed would be Berlin Raceway in Michigan, which is more of a circle than anything else.

It is possible, though. And, as some internet sleuths noted, not unprecedented. 

Way back in the day – I'm talking the black and white picture days – there were automobile races held at Nashville's Sulphur Dell Ballpark – one of the oldest parks in the country that was converted to a track in 1965. 

You also had McCormick Field Raceway – the home of the Ashfield Tourists, built in the 1920s. 

NASCAR held three races there back in the 1950s until it was renovated in 1959. The Tourists, for those wondering (and how could you not be?), are still cranking homers today in the South Atlantic League. 

Of course, there's also the possibility that NASCAR could just use Dodger Stadium as its base for a race. Stern notes that it remains unclear if the sanctioning body would actually put a race inside the stadium, or put on more of a street race outside of it. 

NASCAR did something similar last year in Chicago, and will return again this summer. 

Regardless, I'd expect some sort of movement as soon as next year. 

Don't forget, NASCAR President Steve Phelps told Fox Sports last month that they do plan on having a race in Southern California next year. 

Batter up!