Speed, and Size to Go with It

Nowhere in an Internet search for “world’s largest sporting facilities” does it deliver Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

A behemoth of a stadium tops the list — Rungrado May Day Stadium in North Korea. Its capacity for what we call soccer is 150,000. American-style football posted a top-five finish, as the Big House in Ann Arbor, Mich., seats 107,501 dressed in maize and blue.

Indy, Red Bull Racing’s next stop for the Allstate 400, trumps them all. With permanent seating for more than 257,000 and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000, the Brickyard is the father of pedestrian traffic. Daytona is second (168,000) and Lowe’s third (165,000).

Five of the 22 tracks on the Nextel Cup schedule seat more than the North Korean soccer stadium. Eleven of them are bigger than Michigan Stadium.

NASCAR sometimes gets no love.