NASCAR: What’s wrong with NASCAR? Part 8 – Gimmicks

Stages

Don’t get me wrong, I like the stage idea. Personally, it gives me a break during the race to use the bathroom, grab a snack or doing something non-NASCAR for a few minutes. Stages have shown time and time again that they are a benefit to the sport by providing intense action in the mid-stages of the race.

Stages are doing exactly what they were supposed to do. So what’s the problem? NASCAR isn’t solving any issues with stages.

Yes, they’re new. Yes, they create excitement (at times), but stages aren’t what are going to revolutionize the sport. As I said in the first slide, this is an idea that has good intentions behind it, but it is just a cop-out.

If you think about racing without stages and compare it to now, you don’t think to yourself “man, things have gotten so much better”. Stages are a pure definition of “gimmick”. If NASCAR eliminated stages now, fans wouldn’t lose any sleep. Two mid-race breaks aren’t going to boost ratings or put butts in seats.

Overall, stages are an okay idea, but they are just another gimmick to give the appearance of NASCAR trying something new. It’s all a smokescreen. They know what to fix, and two unnecessary cautions aren’t it.