A New Way Of Racing: NASCAR’s Big Changes

NEWS

By: Mike Garrett

24th January 2017 139 Comments

There’s a lot of talk happening around the major changes going on with Formula 1’s new ownership, but F1 isn’t the only major motorsport series experiencing a big shake up right now.

With the 2017 Daytona 500 about a month away, NASCAR just announced some big changes to its racing format for the upcoming season. All three of NASCAR’s national series, including the top-level Monster Energy Cup (formerly Sprint Cup), will see a new way of distributing points to championship contenders.

Each race on the schedule will now be divided into three stages separated by scheduled caution flags, and at the end of each stage championship points will be rewarded to all of the top 10 finishers, regardless of their final finishing position. The top finishing driver for each stage will also receive bonus points to be used in the playoffs (formerly the ‘chase’) should they advance that far. After the first two stages, races will end how they did before with championship points divided among the whole field with extra points and a ticket to the playoffs for the race winner.

The idea is of course to make the racing more competitive and avoid situations where the only real excitement comes during the final few laps of the race. While it will take some time for everyone to become familiar with the new system, initial feedback has been pretty positive.

This isn’t NASCAR’s first attempt at shaking up its competition format. The introduction of the playoffs back in 2004 was already a big departure from a traditional motorsport championship, and NASCAR is hoping this new style of racing will reignite interest and boost TV ratings. I enjoy watching NASCAR races when I can, and I’m very interested to see what happens at Daytona next month.

Who knows – we may soon see F1 developing similar changes in hopes of making its racing more exciting.

Mike Garrett
Instagram: japanifornia
mike@speedhunters.com

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139 comments

2:29 pmJanuary 24, 2017 zapsnyder

How about more road racing of cars we can buy. sorry for being negative, any racing is good fun.

3:38 pmJanuary 24, 2017 fortytwoeyes

"initial feedback has been pretty positive"
Really? Because what I've been reading has been universally negative. And even though it's certainly better than the previous situation where 90% of the race didn't matter because every advantage was always reset by cautions, I don't think it's the right solution.

3:43 pmJanuary 24, 2017 dadecode

zapsnyder No you're right. In the US, pro-racing involving showroom floor Iron is sorely lacking. And don't gimmie that BS about safety and affordability. I don't ralet to the racing because it's too far removed from it's roots.

3:48 pmJanuary 24, 2017 johnbezt

So... take a pit and lose points on the 'stage'?

3:52 pmJanuary 24, 2017 Mike Garrett

dadecode zapsnyder There is plenty of production-based road racing in the US. Check the Continental Sports Car Challenge.

3:52 pmJanuary 24, 2017 Mike Garrett

fortytwoeyes "Better" is a step in the right direction, no?

3:53 pmJanuary 24, 2017 Mike Garrett

johnbezt I'm sure it will factor in, although the caution sessions are after the end of stage. It will certainly change pit strategy, especially early in the race.

3:55 pmJanuary 24, 2017 fortytwoeyes

Mike Garrett fortytwoeyes Not if it's the wrong step. I can't remember a single instance where complicating the rules has helped a form of motorsport, and this is a lot more complicated.

4:39 pmJanuary 24, 2017 Twitch_6

Like Mike said, check out CTSCC, it's GT4 cars, and then production based touring cars like MX5s and 2 Series BMWs. The series is in the middle of some pretty significant rule changes, so grid size is a little bit down over the last 2 years, but is expected to go up as teams settle into the new GT4 regs.
There's also Pirelli World Challenge, which has 3 series. GT is for GT3 machines. GTS is for GT4 cars. Touring Car is for production based cars, and has 3'classes: TC, TCA, and TCB. TC is cars like 370Z, Mustang, M2 Clubsport, Cayman, MX5, Accord. TCA is MX5, Kia Forte, Civic, and a few others. TCB is Mazda 2, Chevy Volt, Honda Fit, etc. In 2016, the GTS class had some amazing racing all year long, some of the best I watched across any catagory.
Both of these series go to amazing circuits as well. Some of the most classic tracks left anywhere in the world, like Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America, Mosport, Long Beach, St. Pete, Mid Ohio, Leguna Seca, Sonoma, and more.
The biggest problem with these series is their lack of TV coverage. CTSCC is an IMSA series, so it's on Fox, but gets shit times 1 week after the event happens. PWC is on CBS, but again, shit time slots, delayed broadcast, etc. In both cases, you miss more of the race than you watch because of commercial breaks. The commentary is not very good, and the program directing and camera work is infuriating. I think they let trainees for Wearhertek and Indycar have a go.
Best way to watch either series is on the web. CTSCC on the IMSA website, under IMSA TV. Unfortunately, you still get the edited for TV version. PWC streams their events live for free, and you get to see the whole race, no action missed. However to watch a replay if you miss the live show, you can either watch the edited version on TV, or pay for Motortrend On Demand app, which has full recording of the livestream.

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7:18 pmJanuary 24, 2017 MTDatsun

Mike Garrett dadecode zapsnyder It's hard to get coverage of those events consistently though, and when you do, it's often not with as many angles or cameras as NASCAR, F1, etc.

For those of us in California it's easy to get to events at places like Willow, Sonoma, and Laguna Seca, but for people not in areas with tracks, the TV coverage is severely lacking in my opinion.

8:12 pmJanuary 24, 2017 MilesHayler

That sounds overly complicated...

10:01 pmJanuary 24, 2017 motorness

Nascar at Laguna Seca - excitment x 1 gillion

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3:44 amJanuary 25, 2017 Omer (beercoozie)

zapsnyder I'd be more interested in NASCAR if the cars were EXACTLY like the ones we're buying right now and they had to hit more than two road courses a year. Seriously, have the cars using front-wheel-drive and either turbo-fours or V6s or whatever the most powerful non-V8 the manufacturers have and put it in these cars. The current cars aren't even using actual engines from Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, or GM, and Chrysler's the only manufacturer currently selling a rear-drive sedan. If you want to see rear-drive cars in NASCAR, then it should be a field of Camaros/Corvettes, Mustangs, Chargers/Challengers/300s, and Toyota 86s since those cars are the rear-drive cars sold by the manufacturers.

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6:58 amJanuary 25, 2017 Twitch_6

Umm, Toyota and Lexus have a fleet of RWD sedans.
GM also had RWD sedans in the Cadillac lineup.
And if you want cars EXACTLY like a showroom car, then we wouldn't have racing, as a showroom car isn't designed to go into a concrete wall at nearly 200mph and survive.

8:55 amJanuary 25, 2017 corbintjansen

Omer (beercoozie) zapsnyder Chevrolet's car in Nascar is the SS(caprice) and other than it being a 4 door. It's rwd and has a large powerful V8. It's essentially a Holden Commodore. I get your point tho.

9:24 amJanuary 25, 2017 Omer (beercoozie)

corbintjansen Omer (beercoozie) zapsnyder the SS has been discontinued after this model year. Toyota only sells RWD sedans in America with Lexus.

11:18 amJanuary 25, 2017 Therealstig

They did it pretty well for decades upon decades so I'm not buying that twitch

11:20 amJanuary 25, 2017 Therealstig

There's Camaros, mustangs, and challengers in the us that would be great to see race nascar. Toyota flat out doenst need to be there in any capacity

12:01 pmJanuary 25, 2017 PowerTryp

Therealstig I'll let you ask Dale Earnhardt that one directly. Wait... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NASCAR_fatalities

1:45 pmJanuary 25, 2017 Twitch_6

Why doesn't Toyota need to be there? Do Chevy and Ford have no need to be at Le Mans? Does Haas have no place in F1? Should Nissan quite Aussie Supercars? I guess Honda has no place in Indycar too?
And you want to watch RWD "Stock cars" like Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, and ATS-Vs, watch Trans Am racing. It's Stock Cars on road courses, with the models that you want to see.
No need to change NASCAR so it's exactly as you want it. You need to broaden you horizons, because what you are looking for already exists.

2:53 pmJanuary 25, 2017 Mike Garrett

motorness Please!

2:53 pmJanuary 25, 2017 Mike Garrett

MilesHayler I'm guessing the drivers (and fans) will get the hang of it pretty quickly.

2:58 pmJanuary 25, 2017 Mike Garrett

Omer (beercoozie) zapsnyder While what you propose sounds interesting, but that's not NASCAR or what NASCR fans want to see.. NASCAR is pack racing at 200MPH, super speedways, short track battles and the occasional fun of watching the boys try to handle these heavy, powerful cars around a road course.

3:49 pmJanuary 25, 2017 HLB

I'm predicting they'll run with this for two years max before people complain and it reverses to the old format.
Wish they'd bring the cars to COTA, Road America and maybe Laguna and Sebring if there's room.

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9:13 pmJanuary 25, 2017 bluestreaksti

How about some jumps, a loop, and some vertical banks?

9:39 pmJanuary 25, 2017 spdcrzy

Therealstig And how many drivers died and/or endured severe trauma in the process? Nowadays you can hit the catch fence at 220 coming off a 3/4+ mile long straight and literally walk away from a crumpled and totaled car with nary a scratch and MAYBE a sore neck.

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5:45 amJanuary 26, 2017 dadecode

Exactly! And the racing is MUCH better. I've been to both. NASCAR is cool when you're standing against the wall and they fly by at 180+ in a pack, but for the most part it's just a bunch of visually and technically uninteresting cars going in circles. The noise IS amazing though.
NASCAR as a package works better on TV. On the other hand, the Conti series sucks on tv - at least the way its presented - but is amazing in person. Also the cars look and feel "street ready".
NASCAR is for "sports fans" all the rest is for auto enthuisiest. Heck even Top fuel in person, Is amazing if you are into cars, when you go to an actual race. NASCAR, not so much.

5:54 amJanuary 26, 2017 dadecode

Your argument is irrelevant. You can crash a production car now and survie at those speeds in a more dangeour enviorment - public roads. You also overlook that safty cages and personal gear plus purpose designed barriers and retainers are what saves lives in modern racing. Both of which can and are added to street cars with the same results in a crash.
Look up all the crashes that happen at half mile racing events. Those cars are literally production cars with too much hp, and a rool cage. 90%+ walk away and many times they were going over 200.

5:58 amJanuary 26, 2017 dadecode

No modern Trans- Am racing is more in common with NASCAR than street cars. Hasnt been production based since the very early 80s.
Continental is where its at for pro-production racing in the states. And the racing is MUCH better than TA.

6:21 amJanuary 26, 2017 dadecode

No its not. NASCAR was standard production based racing doing all that you mentioned. It evolved to the BS we have now with artificial points allotments and flag strategies and technically stagnant cars. In the late 50s through very early 70s, if it was experimental it was tested on the track. But then the sanctioning body started killing all the engineering focused advances to cut down on seasonal dominance. No OHC big blocks, no aero aids, no increases of performance based purely on engineering and design from the manufacturers.
It went spec. And like most "spec racing" lost most of the enthusiast appeal. NASCAR as it stands now is for non-car people. Its for "pro sports" fans. Its no longer driven by or attractive to auto enthusiast.
Its all about the drivers and only the drivers. The cars have been regulated to the "ball".
Now I’m not saying there aren’t great drivers in NASCAR. But there are definitely no great cars in NASCAR. And frankly F1 is just as bad. But at least the cars are unarguably state of the art in the pursuit of chasing speed and grip.

6:32 amJanuary 26, 2017 dadecode

Sidenote, you do know that NASCAR cars have been running 160-200mph since the late 60s right. Those were most definately "production based" cars...well at least till the very late 70s/early 80s. And even then most of the body was still there, just severly modified for speed and safety.

8:16 amJanuary 26, 2017 Twitch_6

Show me statistics that back up the idea that people regularly walk away from 200mph road car crashes.
How many 200mph road car crashes even happen in a single year?
I'm going to take a guess and say that other than myself, those in this discussion claiming "CTSCC is where it's at!!" don't even watch CTSCC. Because if you like production Sportscar racing so much that you think CTSCC is the car's meow, why aren't you watching PWC GTS? Because as someone who watched the full CTSCC season with its completely depleted GS grid, I can tell you that the PWC GTS class was objectively better racing than CTSCC all year long.
If NASCAR is so shit, and American Production based GT racing is so good....why are y'all constantly referencing the 2nd best series?? Makes it really tough to believe that you actually watch production car racing - kind of just seems like an acronym you've come to know.

8:18 amJanuary 26, 2017 Twitch_6

How many CTSCC races did you watch in full last year?

2:30 pmJanuary 26, 2017 joshb2448

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11:15 pmJanuary 26, 2017 Schwaglet

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True. I only singled it out, becuase its often looked down on by auto enthusiats as well. Which is a shame because if you're a hard core car guy, Top fuel is an amazing sport. Where else can you watch - just feet away - as the crew rebuilds entire race engines in minutes! Or standing near the burnout box and have it literally rain rubber as a car lights em up. The sound, the smells, the sights...pretty amazing. Another on of those car events thats FAR better in person than on TV.

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8:01 amJanuary 29, 2017 dadecode

No you are right PWC GTS IS better. I folow that as well. I was just refeencing the continental series as a refernece for US production based sports car racing.
As for statistics, lol as if anyone is keeping up with enthusiast wrecking their overmodified cars. It may be ancedotal, but there are many many vids articles and stories in car land of guys crashing at high speeds at drag strips, road courses and halfmile events al the time and most walk away. In fact when you hear about deaths, its usually street racing...and even, more octen than not, spectators.
Either way, all racing is FAR safer than back in the day. Production based or purposed built. There is no reason NASCAR cant go to a more production based formula.

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