Beyond the Flag
Fansided

NASCAR: What’s wrong with NASCAR? Part 5 – Scheduling

By William Richard

LONG POND, PA - JUNE 03: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 3, 2018 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA - JUNE 03: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 3, 2018 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 7
Next
BRISTOL, TN – APRIL 16: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Skittles Toyota (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TN – APRIL 16: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Skittles Toyota (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

The issue (continued)

As you can tell, the ratio of classic short-tracks and modern intermediate venues has been greatly over-saturated. The once “rubbing is racing” dynamic has turned into a battle of aerodynamics. To make matters worse, the current schedule is virtually locked into place due to current track contracts.

Speaking of track contracts, let me hit on that for a minute. These contracts had good intentions of promising revenue and race dates to facilities, but they have since backfired. We can thank ol’ Brian France for the idea in the first place.

These contracts have pigeonholed NASCAR executives through the 2020 season, which is really the central issue of this post. I’ve mentioned these contracts already in this series, but here is where I can really harp on it.

The current scheduling situation is…garbage. The scheduled contains the same old tracks and the same old races. In 2018, which is the year during which the sport needs to be refreshed the most, the schedule features two races at Pocono Raceway, two races at Michigan International Speedway, two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a sub-par date at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Don’t worry; you get to see the same thing for at least two more years. Making matters worse, there are so many venues that fans are practically begging for to be represented in the sport. I won’t list them now, but keep reading for some of them.

Overall, scheduling is one of the biggest issues currently in the sport. If NASCAR refuses to change the cars and their aero-dependency, at least give us more tracks at which aero isn’t as important. The only word that can be used to describe the current product is “stale”.

There’s no beating around the bush anymore. Race venues need to change, and some feelings will just have to get hurt along the way.

Home/NASCAR Cup Series