NASCAR's 2020 Schedule is a Disappointment
NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O'Donnell believes the changes to the schedule are the result of listening to fans:
The fans and the industry as a whole have been vocal about the desire for sweeping changes to the schedule, and the 2020 slate is a reflection of our efforts to execute against that feedback.
If he listened closer then he would realize these are not the changes fans wanted or what the sport needed.
NASCAR made changes to the schedule in areas where it was unnecessary and left the areas where changes should be made unaddressed.
The first change that may have you asking yourself "why?" is removing Homestead Miami as the final race on the schedule. Instead, Homestead is now slotted for March 22.
Homestead is one of the few tracks on the entire schedule that creates side by side racing. Drivers have the ability to drive in multiple different lines which makes for great intense action for a championship deciding race. NASCAR clearly did not agree.
Homestead's replacement is Phoenix. It is not the worst choice, but completely unneeded.
The second change that will have you scratching your head is Daytona's second race moving from July 4 Weekend to the last race before the chase. This is a ridiculous decision for a few reasons.
First, Daytona is not going to provide the drama NASCAR wants. Drivers are still going to ride single file for most of the race. They are not stupid. They know battling three-wide on lap 20 of 160 is nonsensical. Maybe 10 laps out of 160 will have tension, but no more. It was the same when Richmond was the last race before the Chase. The short track added nothing to the drama. It is easy to market, like Daytona will be, but be prepared to be disappointed.
The second reason Daytona should never be moved is that it is an event by itself. Daytona and July 4 Weekend were perfect together. Daytona is a special place; it is a trophy all drivers want. However, moving it takes away some of that special feeling. Now the focus is on making the chase and not just winning a race at Daytona.
The final reason moving Daytona is a poor decision is because Indianapolis is replacing it. Indianapolis is not built for NASCAR. They are perfect if someone needs a Sunday afternoon snooze because it provides no entertainment at all. It is special for the drivers, but as a viewer it is dull.
A bold decision would be to remove it from the calendar entirely. The experiment failed. Leave Indy to Indycar.
NASCAR also made the decision to double up for a weekend at Pocono. If one Pocono race wasn't enough for you, don't you worry NASCAR made the brilliant idea to have two races at Pocono in two days.
I am all for this idea for the simple reason it means one less weekend at Pocono later in the summer. The next best decision would have been to remove Pocono all together. I guess I can't be greedy.
Finally, NASCAR made the radical decision to race under the lights at Martinsville. Such a bold move to race at night instead of during the day.
These changes are not exciting, but are rather dumbfounding. Not one new track was added. If NASCAR was really listening to the fans then they'd know that fans have had enough of 1.5 mile tracks. NASCAR's refusal to cut ties with them is why these changes should not be labeled radical.
There are dozens of entertaining road courses in the United States and Canada, but still Charlotte's roval is being used as the 'road course' in the chase. Absolutely ridiculous. One of the best races every summer was the Xfinity race in Montreal. Add Montreal to the Chase and there'd be guaranteed tension.
What about creating a street course? That would be radical. What about going down to Brazil and racing at Autódromo José Carlos Pace? What about racing overseas? These are drastic decisions. They involve NASCAR taking a risk by offering something new. Clearly, the product they produce right now isn't working.
It is time for NASCAR to stop playing it safe and make some real changes to their schedule. Until then don't expect the 2020 changes to be praised.
Post a Comment