NASCAR makes small stage racing change for 2023

NASCAR has made a slight modification to stage racing ahead of the 2023 Cup Series season, but only for the six road course races on the schedule.

NASCAR announced a number of rule changes for the 2023 season earlier this week, and one such change had to do with stage racing. Stage racing is set to enter its seventh season since it was implemented back in 2017.

Stage breaks have been eliminated from all Cup Series road and street course races and from select Xfinity Series and Truck Series road and street course events.

Stages are still set to be used in these races and stage points are still set to be awarded, starting with 10 to the winner and decreasing by increments of one down to one for the 10th place finisher.

Having stage breaks during these races in the past resulted in some teams pitting before the planned caution period, thus giving up potential stage points but positioning themselves to move to the front of the field to start the next stage since everybody who had stayed out, including the point scorers, would pit during the break and thus drop back.

Additionally, because of the longer lap times in road course races, drivers don’t lose a lap by pitting early, like they do in most oval races.

There are six road and street course races on the 36-race NASCAR Cup Series schedule, starting with the race at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 26.

Sonoma Raceway is scheduled to host a race on Sunday, June 11, the new Chicago street course is scheduled to host its first race on Sunday, July 2, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is scheduled to host a race on Sunday, August 13, and Watkins Glen International is scheduled to host the final regular season road course race on Sunday, August 20.

The Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval is scheduled to host a playoff race, the round of 12 finale, on Sunday, October 8.

As for the Xfinity Series and Truck Series, stage breaks have been eliminated for a majority of road course races, but not all of them. The Xfinity Series races at Portland International Raceway on Saturday, June 3 and at Road America on Saturday, July 29 are still set to have stage breaks, as is the Truck Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, August 8.

Those three races are all standalone races, and the decision to keep stage breaks came because of the inclusion of non-live pit stops, meaning that no ground can be gained or lost during a designated pit stop period.