Official NASCAR Series News Thread

[Thrash13]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

That's an intriguing road course. It's almost half road course and half oval course. It'll be interesting for sure, especially as an elimination race in the playoffs.

The Nascar schedule usually seems to be pretty predictable, but there are lots of changes for 2018.

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[Solidice]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

Wow!! Didn't see that coming. The Chase definitely needed a road course, but I thought maybe they'd shift Watkins Glen back a month (or perhaps one of the Pocono dates since that track has road course character at least) rather than use an infield road course at an existing Chase track. I didn't even know Charlotte had an infield road course. It will make it doubly interesting though as no one will have ever run on in a race before, though I would assume NASCAR will allow cars to test on it at some point prior to the race.

I think a lot of those D shaped tracks have road courses in them(Texas, Charlotte, Atlanta) Phoenix has one, even Iowa speedway that Xfinity and trucks races at has one(Iowa is similar to Richmond in size/shape)

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[jasontoddwhitt]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

It was something that was needed. I always felt that the playoffs should have every style of track featured. Shocked that they decided to switch Charlotte to a road course, but I welcome the news.

NASCAR still needs to figure out how to fix their struggling ratings and race attendance. I think the elephant in the room that nobody is talking about is that races are too long. Nobody wants to sit around and watch an oval race for 3.5-5 hours. I think NASCAR should shorten races to 300 miles except for the crown jewels...

Daytona 500
Spring Talladega race
Coke 600
Southern 500

And make those races worth double points. Just a thought.


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[Thrash13]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

It was something that was needed. I always felt that the playoffs should have every style of track featured. Shocked that they decided to switch Charlotte to a road course, but I welcome the news.

NASCAR still needs to figure out how to fix their struggling ratings and race attendance. I think the elephant in the room that nobody is talking about is that races are too long. Nobody wants to sit around and watch an oval race for 3.5-5 hours. I think NASCAR should shorten races to 300 miles except for the crown jewels...

Daytona 500
Spring Talladega race
Coke 600
Southern 500

And make those races worth double points. Just a thought.


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I'd be all for all the thoughts above. I enjoy Nascar, but I rarely watch the entire race. However, I frequently watch most or all of the big 4 or 5 races you mentioned.

I'd love to see them add the "Nascar Major" name to a few of the races and put extra points on the line.

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[brandon27]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

It was something that was needed. I always felt that the playoffs should have every style of track featured. Shocked that they decided to switch Charlotte to a road course, but I welcome the news.

NASCAR still needs to figure out how to fix their struggling ratings and race attendance. I think the elephant in the room that nobody is talking about is that races are too long. Nobody wants to sit around and watch an oval race for 3.5-5 hours. I think NASCAR should shorten races to 300 miles except for the crown jewels...

Daytona 500
Spring Talladega race
Coke 600
Southern 500

And make those races worth double points. Just a thought.


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I agree with this more than anything. I think this would help them more than they think. I imagine their fear here is a loss of TV revenue for the networks as they would be losing quite a bit of commercial time by chopping 100 miles off the race/broadcast length. However, I think the old supply vs demand issue would come into play here, maybe they could charge a bit more for ad time with a reduced supply.

In the past, when I became a fan of the sport back in my late teens/early 20's I had no issues with race length. I had the luxury of having 4 hours to spend. Now that I'm in my mid 30's, I just don't have the time, or the patience to devote to a race that long when the majority of it seems just riding around. Sure, that's changed a bit with the stage racing, but all the stages have done is lengthen times even further it seems.

I agree though, drop 100 miles from the majority of the 500 mile races and make them 400. I think you've got to find a way to drop at least an hour off each event from a TV standpoint. Doing this, while keeping the crown jewels longer makes those events standout, and make them "special" My crown jewel list though would be something like this:

Daytona 500 - for obvious reasons
Coke 600 - Again, for obvious reasons of the tradition, and endurance.
Southern 500 (Only at Darlington) - For the obvious reasons of tradition.
Brickyard 400 - I know this race struggles, but it's Indy. Anything less than 400 here doesn't seem right. They just need to improve the racing.

I may be inclined to include the "regular season finale" in the list of keeping the longer race distance, along with the season finale at homestead.

That gives you a nice list of premier events based on tradition, and based on competitive situations/points in the season where you may benefit from a longer race.

Ultimately, there's no secret people's interest is declining because it's too long, at home, and at the track. Common complaint I hear a lot is weather. Especially in the dog days of summer, sitting at the track in heat and humidity for that long can be a struggle. I remember being at the June race in Michigan about 6-7 years ago. It was 95 degrees that day, and basically 100% humidity. A brief shower came through before the race start which ramped up the feeling of the humidity even more. The track dried almost instantly because it was so hot. 4 Hours, on a day like that, on a follow the leader type 400 mile race is just... insufferable to a lot of people nowadays.

I think they need to look at their ticket prices too. That's likely another key factor in keeping people away from the tracks on race days. They need to do a better job of getting people to the tracks. Reduced pricing helps that. Once a majority of people go, especially for the first time I think they get "hooked". It's pretty impressive to experience live, but that being said, unless you're completely into it, the desire to return year after year dissipates rather quickly for most people I bet. Reduce ticket prices, improve seating, improve shading in the hotter environments, improve traffic flows post race, etc. etc. There's a lot of little things that tracks didn't stay on top of well enough as the sport boomed 15-20 years ago. It's gotten better, but there's a lot more they could do though, but I get it, it's tough when most of those facilities only generate significant revenues 2 weekends a year when Nascar roles into down, aside from the few markets that attract Indycar events as well, although the revenue of course isn't as high.

TLDR: Reduce race lengths except for key events, reduce ticket prices, improve track experience.

[Redacted01]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

They took Shrub's team to the woodshed for what was entirely an accident. I figured it would happen because rules are the rules... ok, even that isn't always true in NASCAR. But they clearly had equipment issues and that's why they didn't get a single lug nut on. They didn't try anything malicious. They hurt themselves immediately. Similar for the #29 in the truck series.

I get penalizing because it's your job to make sure you have the tires on before you leave the pit stall, but something still feels off with suspending the crew chief, etc. 4 races for what could only be seen as an f-up and not an intentional way to speed up the pit stop.

[Dead2009]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

Jimmie Johnson out of title chase after flat tire results in crash

http://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/21391175/flat-tire-ends-jimmie-johnson-shot-record-eighth-nascar-cup-championship-next-week

[pk500]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

Jimmie Johnson out of title chase after flat tire results in crash
http://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/st...ship-next-week

He never was a factor in the playoffs. That team -- and all of Hendrick Motorsports -- didn't show enough speed during the first nine races.

[BurghFan]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

Brian France Arrested on DUI, Possession of Controlled Substance Charges

NASCAR CEO and chairman Brian France was arrested on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to a Sag Harbor Village (New York) Police Department news release.

According to the news release, France was arrested at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, held overnight and arraigned Monday morning at the Sag Harbor Village Justice Court, where he was released on his own recognizance.

"Mr. France was observed operating a 2017 Lexus northbound on Main Street failing to stop at a duly posted stop sign," the news release said. "Upon traffic stop, it was determined that Mr. France was operating said vehicle in an intoxicated condition.

[Thrash13]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

In happier news, it was great to see Chase Elliott finally get the 2nd-place monkey off his back and win. That's big for Nascar as proven by the crowd reaction Sunday.

Miss doing the Nascar game here at OS.

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[franko3219]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

In happier news, it was great to see Chase Elliott finally get the 2nd-place monkey off his back and win. That's big for Nascar as proven by the crowd reaction Sunday.

Miss doing the Nascar game here at OS.

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They definitely need some of these young guys to step up and contend for wins, not just top 10’s. The other thing that is plaguing NASCAR right now, at least this has been my opinion for a while, is that all of these young guys are all the same. I blame this on NASCAR and their penalties on drivers that show emotion, but all of them are just, “aw shucks, it was just an accident. I’ll probably go have dinner with him in a little bit”, no personality drivers. There is no drama in the races anymore other than Kyle Busch’s child-like antics. If NASCAR does not allow the sport to get back to their roots, they will struggle to get new people interested, and bring back older fans.

[superjames1992]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

The racing has been good this year, at least.

[BurghFan]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

NASCAR Cup Series to race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2021

ByZack Albert NASCAR.com June 3, 2020 at 8:57 AM
NASCAR and Dover Motorsports Inc. announced Wednesday that Nashville Superspeedway will reopen to host a NASCAR Cup Series race in 2021.

The change will drop Dover International Speedway from two Cup Series races to one event next season. Dover Motorsports Inc. built the 1.33-mile concrete track in Lebanon, Tennessee, about a 40-minute drive from downtown Nashville.

“Thanks to the collaboration of Dover Motorsports and our broadcast partners, we are excited to bring NASCAR racing back to Nashville, a place where the passion for our sport runs deep,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said in a release. “The Nashville market is a vital one for our sport, and bringing NASCAR Cup Series racing to Nashville Superspeedway will be an integral building block in helping us further deliver on our promise in creating a dynamic schedule for 2021.”

[BurghFan]

Re: Official NASCAR Series News Thread

NASCAR has completely overhaauled the Cup series schedule for 2021.

NASCAR Cup running first dirt race since 1970; Nashville, Austin also added

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR promised radical changes to the 2021 schedule and delivered Wednesday with six road courses; the first dirt race for the Cup Series since 1970; and new stops in Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas.

Dropped from the lineup were Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway, two "cookie-cutter" intermediate tracks that were part of a staid schedule that lacked variation or originality. Michigan International Speedway, Dover International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway each lost one of two Cup Series points races.

Atlanta Motor Speedway and Darlington Speedway in South Carolina each added a second race to their schedules.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway will move the Cup Series cars to its road course after 27 years of racing on the big oval. The revamped "Brickyard Weekend" also will feature a new IndyCar Series race, making it a doubleheader for the second year in a row.

Indianapolis joins Road America in rural Wisconsin and the Circuit of the Americas in Austin as new road course events on a schedule that already included Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) and the Charlotte Roval. NASCAR for decades ran at just two road courses each season but will now have six to satisfy fans who have begged for more diversity on the schedule.

The dirt race at Bristol should be interesting. Kinda bummed they took the Brickyard oval away in favor of the road course. Couldn't they have taken one of Pocono's dates since everyone seems to hate Pocono anyway?

[Dead2009]

NASCAR Off-Topic

Jeff Gordon to serve as second-highest official at Hendrick Motorsports, will leave broadcast booth

https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/31694159/jeff-gordon-serve-second-highest-official-hendrick-motorsports-leave-broadcast-booth