NASCAR: Five Disappointments With 2016 Schedule

Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

Richmond’s Spring Race Will Not Be At Night

I have always believed that in traditional stick and ball sports, a player should never lose his or her job due to an injury, no matter how well the backup plays in their place. They earned the top spot to begin with, it should be theirs when they are able to return.

This is what happened to Richmond, in my opinion. The spring race this past year was scheduled for Saturday night, April 25 but was postponed until Sunday the 26th due to rain. This gave some folks the idea of, “hey, this isn’t so bad, let’s leave it this way.” One will never know if this schedule change would have materialized had Saturday night’s weather allowed the race to proceed as originally scheduled.

I also feel that NASCAR’s television partner for this part of the season (FOX) could have had a seat at the table for this decision as well, and that is equally wrong if that’s indeed what happened. I understand they’ve paid NASCAR millions of dollars to broadcast the races and therefore want a voice in when they occur, but it’s still NASCAR’s product, and the sanctioning body should have the final say. If FOX isn’t interested in this arrangement, there is a line of networks behind them who will be.