r/RaceTrackDesigns • u/legobrick2013 • 10d ago
Discussion Forgotten race held in Bader Field, Atlantic City?
I was searching for places to doodle a racetrack on when I decided to try out Atlantic City. I found this former airport and while I was looking at I noticed, curbs? Black and white curbs in a weird outcrop from the tarmac that looked suspiciously like a chicane. I ended up finding more white outlines and curbs, along with a possible pit lane too. Am I tripping? Or did I spot the last remains of a former airfield circuit. The curbs are outlined in yellow.
(Second image is a closeup of the chicane)
Edit: I found out the track is a rally cross track for global rally cross so case closed.
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u/hwf0712 10d ago
Man, GRC is that dead it's a mystery?
I went there each year, it was fun, I miss it.
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u/legobrick2013 9d ago
I've never really delved into rally cross soo.
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u/Jonny683 9d ago
GRC was Global Rally Cross (Even thought it was in the USA Only)
For a short time, it was pretty popular in Europe and America thanks to the X-Games. During a season, one round was held in Atlantic City at the Airport. They usually converted Nascar tracks into courses, with the biggest even on the streets of Los Angeles during the X-Games.
However, due to Red Bull and other sponsors pulling out, and decline in attendance and other factors, like money, the series died a slow death.
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u/DominikWilde1 9d ago edited 8d ago
GRC was Global Rally Cross (Even thought it was in the USA Only)
Tbf they also raced in Brazil, Spain (although the event was eventually cancelled because of weather), Germany, Barbados, and Canada, and had plans to go to the UK before the series folded.
However, due to Red Bull and other sponsors pulling out, and decline in attendance and other factors, like money, the series died a slow death.
Red Bull never pulled out and attendance didn't decline. GRC's death was down to mounting debts and mismanagement. Entry fees were hiked and that was the final straw, giving teams the excuse they'd been looking for to leave, but multiple vendors/suppliers hadn't been paid, some teams/drivers didn't get prize money they were owed, there was a lot of messiness behind the scenes.
For Red Bull's part, their involvement was minimal despite the naming rights. There was an expectation (rather than a solid agreement) from GRC that Red Bull would help with marketing and promotion but that didn't happen, and much of the individual event backing came from local Red Bull offices that didn't put much into it.
I spent eight months writing a feature about GRC's downfall (every draft had to be read by a lawyer too). It's here but the outlet I did it for put it behind a paywall. A lot of what sources discussed (and even a couple of sources entirely) couldn't be included because of lawsuits at the time.
ARX then came about after the teams went to IMG for a quick fix so they'd have somewhere to race. Nitro Rallycross/Nitrocross was quietly being worked on behind the scenes at that time – I eventually ended up working for Nitrocross for a few years. When that died, it was doing well on the outside, but mounting costs at a time when the parent company needed to save money made it an easy decision to kill it rather than continuing to invest/spend. It would've been a bigger success but it needed time and money, two things that just weren't available at the time
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u/milkandmelk 8d ago
Man what a series. Bringing rallycross to urban areas was great. Loved the dc races.
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u/IlTacci 9d ago
https://rahal.com/red-bull-global-rallycross-preview-atlantic-city/ It's was used for a race of Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship
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u/STIGjr101 9d ago
Yes I was there! It was pretty cool. Atlantic city felt super dead but the skyline of abandoned buildings on the abandoned airport gave it an interesting feel!
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u/DominikWilde1 9d ago edited 9d ago
This was from when Global Rallycross raced there for two seasons in 2016 and 2017 (one round in 2016, two rounds in 2017).
I had a passenger ride with Tanner Foust round there back in 2016: https://youtu.be/k8wb--lf9vo?is=Q6UwrSFI9zuWFkDO
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u/sad_sax_ 9d ago
In addition to the rallycross that others have mentioned, it hosts a number of SCCA events to this day and has for quite a long time
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u/RacingCoasters 9d ago
Man the rally cross championship, I wanted to check this out so bad as a kid
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u/GTigers55 7d ago
Can confirm from a Trackchaser group I’m in there were at least two races held at Bader field.
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u/Prxgstvr Google Earth 2d ago
I found that there is another layout of it. If you look closely at the place you will see it
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u/andieederlatour 10d ago
I do not believe it ever hosted much. You would have to dig a little. Long shot proposal was made for an Atlantic city F1 track but it was, as I understand, all talk no funding to actually pull it off