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NASCAR: Five reasons to move Cup Series races to Saturday

By Dustin Smith

CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 08: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 8, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 08: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 8, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTE, NC – OCTOBER 07: Rain falls on a tire during practice (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – OCTOBER 07: Rain falls on a tire during practice (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /

Consider the idea and weigh the pro’s and con’s

Above all, NASCAR needs to examine the reasons why fans are leaving the sport. Maybe it’s because Sunday just aren’t working anymore. The playoff system isn’t attracting fans like it should  be and it is easy to blame the NFL.

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When September rolls around, people get excited to watch football and put NASCAR on the back-burner. Unfortunately, at the time the NFL season kicks off, the NASCAR season is beginning the playoff run.

The biggest issue with the Cup Series playoffs is the timing of when it starts. Not only is the NFL starting, but Major League Baseball playoff races and playoffs get hot as well. There is just too much competition for viewers in September and October. A move to Saturday erases those conflicts.

Of course, you never want to mess with tradition. Sunday and NASCAR go together like spaghetti and meatballs. Instead of switching to every Saturday, start Saturday racing in September until the end of the season. This way, the Daytona 500 stays on Sunday and the change would only affect roughly one-third of the race schedule.

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The likelihood of this happening is very slim. The top officials in NASCAR would need to make this decision by early 2018. Then, officials wouldn’t be able to implement the idea until 2019. However, ideas like this one are those that the sport needs to consider before NASCAR no longer exists.

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