Is this the 2011 Sprint Cup Schedule?

There's been a lot of speculation the last few weeks about the NASCAR Sprint Cup 2011 schedule. Now, as several track managers have begun announcing their 2011 racing dates, here's an educated guess at an unofficial schedule...

--------Unofficial 2011 NASCAR Schedule---------
-------Race---------------------------- Date------
1 Daytona 500 Great American Race Feb. 20, 2011
2 Phoenix SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 ---Feb. 27, 2011
3 Las Vegas Motor Speedway ---------Mar. 6, 2011
4 OFF???
5 Bristol Food City 500 --------------Mar. 20, 2011
6 Fontana Auto Club 500 ------------Mar. 27, 2011
7 Martinsville -------------------------April 3, 2011
8 Texas Motor Speedway -------------April 9, 2011
9 Talladega ---------------------------April 17, 2011
10 OFF for Easter
11 Richmond ------------------------April 30, 2011
12 Darlington -------------------------May 7, 2011
13 Dover ----------------------------May 15, 2011
14 CMS All-Stars --------------------May 21, 2011
15 Charlotte 600 --------------------May 29, 2011
16 Kansas Motor Speedway ----------June 5, 2011
17 Pocono -------------------------- June 12, 2011
18 Michigan ------------------------ June 19, 2011
19 Infineon Toyota/Save Mart 350 -June 26, 2011
20 Daytona Coke Zero 400 -----------July 2, 2011
21 Kentucky 400 ---------------------July 9, 2011
22 New Hampshire Lenox 301 -------July 17, 2011
23 OFF???
24 Indianapolis Brickyard 400 ------July 31, 2011
25 Pocono ----------------------------Aug. 7, 2011
26 Watkins Glen --------------------Aug. 14, 2011
27 Michigan -------------------------Aug. 21, 2011
28 Bristol Motor Speedway ----------Aug. 27, 2011
29 Atlanta Motor Speedway ---------Sept. 4, 2011
30 Richmond ----------------------Sept. 10, 2011

31 Chicagoland --------------------Sept. 18, 2011
32 New Hampshire Sylvania 300 ---Sept. 25, 2011
33 Dover -----------------------------Oct. 2, 2011
34 Kansas Motor Speedway ----------Oct. 9, 2011
35 Charlotte ------------------------Oct. 15, 2011
36 Talladega -----------------------Oct. 23, 2011
37 Martinsville ---------------------Oct. 30, 2011
38 Texas Motor Speedway -----------Nov. 6, 2011
39 Phoenix Kobalt Tools 500 -------Nov. 13, 2011
40 Homestead ---------------------Nov. 20, 2011
So, if this is what's coming, here are the types of Chase tracks as they will appear start to finish:

Chicagoland - 1.5 Mi. Asphalt Tri-Oval
New Hampshire - 1.05 Mi. Asphalt Oval
Dover - 1 Mi. Concrete Oval
Kansas - 1.55 Mi. Asphalt Tri-Oval
Charlotte - 1.5 Mi. Asphalt Quad-Oval
Talladega - 2.66 Mi. Asphalt Tri-Oval
Martinsville - .526 Mi. Asphalt/Concrete Oval
Texas - 1.5 Mi. Asphalt Quad-Oval
Phoenix - 1 Mi. Asphalt Oval
Homestead - 1.5 Mi. Asphalt Oval

That's four short tracks, five tracks around 1.5 miles in length and one long track...

Another way of looking at it concerns the travel... Mid-West to Northeast to Mid-Atlantic to Mid-West to Southeast to South to Southeast to Southwest to West to South-Southeast... In other words, they're going to be criss-crossin'!

Finally, why Chicago in the Chase? Yeah, it's the third largest population center in the country... But do these marketing people really believe NASCAR's strong enough up there to out-compete the Bears, the Cubs, the White Sox, the Fighting Illini, Northwestern's Wildcats, the Fighting Irish, and on and on for the fan's sports dollar in September? I'm going to say no but I guess we'll see. (I'm not sure, but knowing how long the NBA and NHL seasons run, the Bulls and Blackhawks could be in the mix too.)

It doesn't make much sense to me...

NASCAR better do some heavy duty advestising in Chicagoland...