NASCAR Cup Series: Should the Clash be done away with?

Following the 17-car crash at the end of the 20-car Advance Auto Parts Clash on Sunday, should the NASCAR Cup Series preseason exhibition race be done away with?

A total of 20 drivers were eligible to compete in this year’s Advance Auto Part Clash, the NASCAR Cup Series preseason exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway. All 20 of these drivers ended up competing in this race.

On lap 56 of the scheduled 75-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Daytona International Speedway oval in Daytona Beach, Florida, Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson and Wood Brothers Racing’s Paul Menard triggered a wreck while battling for the race lead.

Here is a video of this wreck.

Only Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch and Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney made it through this wreck unscathed, although it was Johnson who came out of the wreck with the race lead and was then declared the winner when rain caused the race to be ended after just 59 laps.

Also of note, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman was running in 18th place when the crash began. He ended up being right in the middle of it, as you can see in the video. He ended up coming out of it in fifth.

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The fact that 85% of the cars in this 20-car exhibition race were torn up when it concluded even though it lasted for only 59 laps has raised the question that has sparked a heated debate, which is none too rare in NASCAR these days.

Should the Clash be done away with?

Absolutely not. I understand the financial aspect of it. I understand that hundreds of thousand and even millions of dollars can be tossed down the drain as a result of a two-car wreck or a three-car wreck, much less a 17-car wreck like that one that took place on Sunday.

But more importantly than that, so do the teams, and while the teams, not the drivers, have to pay for the wrecked cars, the drivers understand this too; they are the ones driving the cars and thus subjecting themselves to the possibility of crashing.

In addition, the drivers who are eligible to compete in this race are just that: eligible. They can make the decision, as can their teams, not to compete in it. Again, all 20 of the eligible drivers competed in this year’s Clash.

Plus, the cars that the drivers drive in the Clash are different from the cars that they driver in the Daytona 500 itself, so it isn’t like they are putting their hopes of having a great Daytona 500 on the line by risking the well-being of their cars in an exhibition race. Yes, these cars still cost a lot of money, but from a competition standpoint, the cars used in the Clash are irrelevant the following week.

Aside of this, having the Clash as a preseason exhibition race only makes sense, especially in modern-day NASCAR. With the new rules package, the Daytona 500 is now the only official restrictor plate race on the schedule.

The Clash effectively gives these eligible drivers extra competitive practice time for the lone restrictor plate race on the schedule, which just so happens to be the signature race on the schedule as well.

No, the cars used in the Clash aren’t the exact same cars used in the Daytona 500. But that, too, is irrelevant; they’re still basically the same cars, as there are no mandated aerodynamic or power differences whatsoever, so experience in this race is, in fact, useful for the Daytona 500 the following Sunday.

In summation, crashes happen. It’s NASCAR. It’s racing. Everyone, and I mean everyone, knows it. Removing one race from the nine-plus-month schedule to prevent crash damage would be ridiculous, especially since it’s one of the shortest races on the schedule.

You might as well get rid of the entire sport if you really want to prevent crashing, as that’s the only way to do it. I understand that the Clash is an exhibition race, but it still serves a purpose other than giving drivers another opportunity to wreck the cars.

Do you believe that the Advance Auto Parts Clash should be removed from the NASCAR Cup Series schedule following Sunday’s wreck? Why or why not? Do you expect it to be removed from the schedule in the near future, or do you believe that it is here to stay?