NASCAR: The Pros Of A Road Course Outweigh The Cons

By Cole Mentzel | Aug 31, 2015

One of the hottest topics in the NASCAR recently has been the question of if NASCAR should add a road course to the Chase or not. It’s no secret that fans love road courses and that they are some of the most anticipated races of the season but would it be good for NASCAR to drop one of the great tracks already in the Chase for a road course?

The easy answer to this is yes, because it is a good idea that could benefit the sport greatly. From the excitement of the Chase to all of the crazy plot twists throughout, it would be big for NASCAR if we saw road course racing late in the season.

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One major reason NASCAR should consider this is the fact that road course races are much more hyped than other races during the year (as mentioned above). Many fans who like to watch racing in general watch the road races from Sonoma and Watkins Glen just due to the fact that it’s different and some people don’t like oval racing as much.

Celebrities are some of those people. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barry Bonds and Ndamukong Suh were just a handful of the celebs who attended June’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. Though it may seem odd, it’s just a fact that fans and others who may not be as familiar to NASCAR as all the die-hards out there, flock to road course races.

Another reason would be the addition of a new track to the NASCAR circuit. Sonoma and Watkins Glen would probably be off limits in terms of having two races at one of the tracks so NASCAR would most likely turn to another track to fill a spot in the schedule. A few top candidates would be Road America or possibly a few tracks in Canada.

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If this were to happen, that would obviously mean one track would either lose a race or be eliminated altogether from the Sprint Cup Series which is something NASCAR would have to think long and hard about. They could potentially lose fans with either of those options.

Something to think about is that there are five different 1.5 mile tracks in the Chase. Certainly Homestead and Charlotte aren’t going anywhere and with what happened between Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski last season, Texas is most likely inked in. If a road course is added, Kansas or Chicago could be taken out.

The last reason why a road course race would benefit the Chase is because it would mix things up. Some of the better drivers do not like road courses and are not very good at them meaning a door would be open for an underdog to take advantage and get a win in the Chase, providing they make it.

The biggest concern stemming from this would have to involve competing with the NFL for viewers. We know that road courses races do generate more watches but would they truly pull more eyes from the NFL like races at Talladega, Charlotte or even Martinsville? NASCAR can only have so many Saturday races so eventually they would have to think about the possibility of the current tracks grabbing more eyes than a shiny new road course.

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Overall, the pros certainly outweigh the cons on the subject. You can take a look at Twitter, Facebook or even just speak to a few fans at races. There is overwhelming support for more road course racing, especially during a time like the Chase when every single race is critical for the future.

NASCAR would certainly have to take a long hard look at things before making a final decision but road course racing in the Chase would be electrifying and it is definitely something that should be given heavy consideration.

Comment below and give us your thoughts on possible road course racing in the Chase!

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