NASCAR: Did the Cup Series make a mistake for 2021?

The NASCAR Cup Series had long had two road course races per year before adding a third in 2018. That number will jump to seven in 2021. Is that too many?

When the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule was released in late September, many people were surprised to see the addition of three new road courses.

Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course joined Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen International and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on the schedule for next year. The Daytona International Speedway road course was later added to replace Auto Club Speedway in February.

The seven road course races in 2021 will make up nearly 20% of the Cup Series schedule. Drivers and fans have been calling for more short track races for years, but there will only be six on the 2021 schedule, including a new one on dirt.

But before we determine whether or not there are too many road courses on the schedule, let’s look at each new one for 2021.

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The Daytona International Speedway road course is on the schedule because of COVID-19 challenges for the second straight year, this time in California. The track made its inaugural appearance in 2020 when it replaced Watkins Glen International. It should also be noted that this track will host the Clash before the season-opening Daytona 500.

COTA is possibly the most interesting road course added to the schedule. The 20-turn, 3.427-mile (5.515-kilometer) road course in Austin, Texas will replace a second date at Texas Motor Speedway. The quality of racing at Texas Motor Speedway has gone down significantly since the repave in 2017, so maybe replacing the race isn’t a bad idea. COTA has hosted Formula 1 since its opening in 2012 (except in 2020), and it hosted one IndyCar race in 2019.

Road America is scheduled to host its race on July 4 weekend. The the 14-turn, 4.048-mile (6.515-kilometer) road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin will be the longest track on the Cup Series schedule. The track has hosted the Xfinity Series since 2010, so may drivers have raced there at least once. The Cup Series actually raced at Road America once before in 1956.

The final new road course is the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The iconic Brickyard will transition its race from the oval to the interior road course. The Xfinity Series produced a thrilling inaugural race at the track in 2020. This will be the first time since 1993 that NASCAR won’t race at the famed four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval layout.

I think the seven road course races on the 2021 Cup Series schedule will be interesting to watch, but I think it will prove to be a bit much. I understand why the Daytona International Speedway road course was added late, but no road course needs to be on the schedule twice, even if one race is an exhibition.

Despite the decline in the quality of the Brickyard 400, I don’t think the track should have transitioned to a road course. The race was iconic and considered by many as one of the crown jewels of NASCAR.

I am interested to see how COTA turns out since it has never hosted a NASCAR race. How will a track that seems to be designed for Formula 1 and IndyCar translate to stock cars?

It seems like Road America has consistently produced better racing in the Xfinity Series than Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. I do have my doubts about longer road courses, as races there can drag on, but I think Road America can succeed in the Cup Series.

All in all, I think we should give all the new road courses a chance to succeed before we make judgment.