NASCAR’s Road Course PROBLEM | How They Can Fix It?

Over the past 5 or so years NASCAR has been upping its presence on road courses. While for many years they ran two races at these types of tracks with Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International they have since made it a much bigger piece of the NASCAR schedule pie. Now though many are saying that the series has oversaturated itself with road courses. With that today we look into this and see what could be done over time to possibly change the sport for the better with/without these tracks. So let's look into NASCAR's road course problem. How they can fix it?
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#NASCAR #Motorsports #racing

[@TheIceberg]

What is your favorite NASCAR road course?

[@se7enchampz788]

watkins glen

[@muhammadwahyuhidayat21498]

Sonoma,Portland and Watkins Glen

[@tobiojo6469]

The roval

[@muhammadwahyuhidayat21498]

Also Canadian Tire raceway

[@ethanvince8865]

Indi

[@bobovanic9738]

i love the fact Nascar is doing more road courses, watching ovals can be a bit tedious at times. It gives it a Aussie Supercar feel to it.

[@perhapscoleiro3164]

Particularly with Van Gisbergen heading over to do P91 for Chicago

[@elaineluikart5459]

There may be 10% less TVs on but road courses have a much higher percentage of awake viewers! Sleeping viewers don't see the commercials!

[@weirdfan88]

​@@QSqsQSqsQS Because the sport is trying to expand into different markets.

[@OneWiseGuy]

I like your idea about 4-5 road courses a year to be able to switch the schedule. I just wish they'd move some track dates around with the weather delays we've had the past few years..Sonoma looks better in May

[@allenandres2535]

Sonoma in spring would be great.

[@IsaacV24]

My favorite Road Course is probably COTA. So big. So challenging. And it allows for tight corner racing.

[@anareel4562]

COTA would be my favourite IF they moved the start line to between turn 1 and 2

[@americanwalmarts3565]

And it's an F1 track outside of a big market like Austin TX

[@sethbomgardner9030]

I flew down there this spring to see the race. My cousin had never seen a NASCAR race loved every minute of it. Would definitely go back

[@johnthefalcon2903]

COTA would be great if they moved the start / finish line as someone else suggested OR just did single file restarts. The outside line at COTA gets completely hozed. Especially when drivers can't help themselves and continue to create cautions (intentionally or unintentionally) late in the race.

[@naparacingfan9275]

To me, this isn't a problem but I understand why some believe there should be 0 or limited road courses on the schedule. I love road courses. 10 wouldn't be too many for me. Perhaps its because I love racing and not just NASCAR.

[@ethanweeter2732]

10 is too many. There are only 6 short track races. 9 is you want to include Gateway and Phoenix.

[@acuto4245]

Think 10 is too much. I think we get rid of Indy and replace it with the brickyard. Get with of Chicago and bring back Chicagoland. I say we get rid of a Phoenix race and bring back Road America

[@naparacingfan9275]

@@acuto4245 I like your idea. I think 6 is the right number of road courses for cup. I was just saying I wouldn't be opposed to 10. They can change the Fall Charlotte race back to the oval also.

[@elaineluikart5459]

@@naparacingfan9275 get rid of some of the tracks that get rained out every year

[@99dndd]

In that case, you’re already catered for with Trans-am, Weathertech Sports Cars and the SRO GT Series. I think there’s room for some road courses in NASCAR but too many moves the sport into a very crowed market.

[@millennialchicken]

yeah they road racing this week... in TWO different continents.

[@ChrisBl33p]

NASCAR Road Course Domination!

[@f9nestsvp]

Different countries but ok

[@jarkson2901]

@@f9nestsvpdifferent continents too.

[@Rgirton326]

I like the idea of 5 with Sonoma, Glen, and COTA being mainstays, and the other 2 being a rotation. Would be cool to see like Sebring or Road Atlanta have at least a 1-off

[@benwalter4842]

Road Atlanta and Laguna Seneca need to happen

[@penskepc2374]

Cota is garbage. F1 tracks are the safety scissors of racetracks

[@blueredlover1060]

@@penskepc2374 Some of them for sure, but some of them are actually decent racing, and might actually be good for a more enclosed series like a NASCAR. NASCAR could probably put on a better show at a track like Monaco than F1 does. Why? The drivers would get their elbows out, use the front bumper to move people, and actually have something that resembles passing. It's the short track of street circuits, and NASCAR would actually be able to take advantage of it, unlike what happened in the 2023 F1 race there.

[@blueredlover1060]

I wouldn't mind it if NASCAR split off for a full on road racing series at some point. You have the somewhat spec aspect of modern NASCAR going to road courses every week or so, while also having a more traditional Cup schedule, with the traditional 2 dates for road coursses.

[@allenandres2535]

Road Atlanta would be amazing I would love.

[@jabber1990]

NASCAR fans until 2020: "we need more road courses and less 1.5 milers" NASCAR: *adds road courses, 1 by accident* Fans: "no, why did they add road courses? I hate Road courses, my TV will be off that week"

[@Stephenmabe636]

The place I want to see is the Cleveland Airport as an INDYCAR/NASCAR double header. The long WIDE straightaways with open field would lead to incredible racing. Watching an old IROC race, it’s a shame no one has revived this race.

[@nathanwebster8445]

Here are my 5 road courses I want: COTA Sonoma Road America Watkins Glen Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

[@MathiasTheGiant]

I love that Nascar is building a repertoire of tracks, because I think the future could be a base set of tracks that run yearly, and another set of tracks on some amount of rotation. Perhaps the Roval becomes an alternating configuration of Charlotte every year. Chicago and Nashville can alternate between ovals and street courses. Places like Daytona or Indianapolis can add extra dates every few years with their road configurations. It may be unrealistically expensive, but that novelty that made Nascar put dirt on Bristol and run the road course at Indy is certainly a draw, and a race you see every other year has a shine the regular tracks lack.

[@craigstephenson7676]

I really like the idea of having a rotating track list. Maybe that’s the only way we get Nashville Fairgrounds back on the schedule, by having it every other year.

[@sethbomgardner9030]

I think rotating tracks would definitely help some of the attendance issues. We're seeing. If a race is there every other year you're definitely going to get a higher percentage of stands filled.

[@TheFredster32]

We need Mexico City and Montréal back.

[@naparacingfan9275]

Wouldn't be against taking Indy RC and Charlotte ROVAL back to the oval but i think 6 is a good number for cup.

[@cito1101]

Well, COTA was pretty exciting to watch, despite the messy ending. But if we can get back to 2016 levels of good racing, I think it's worth it

[@ksteinwand6744]

CotA was fantastic up until the end!

[@acegarcia3719]

Many of the markets Nascar wants to enter only have Road Courses suitable for cup racing, so while a sizeable section of the fanbase doesn't like the increased presence on the schedule I fully understand why it has happened.

[@ksteinwand6744]

The problem for that though is all of these "true fans" refuse to accept any kind of expansion outside of the south. The only real exceptions are Watkins Glen and Dover. New Hampshire has always had a bad taste to them because it took away a date from North Wilkesboro, Pocono is constantly plagued with weather issues, and if it's not a weather issue, the racing isn't that great, Texas much like New Hampshire has always had a bad taste for the same reason, and then every other track out further west than Texas is almost the exact same arguement: It costs too much to travel, and nobody on the West Coast wants NASCAR. Look at Auto Club for instance. For the last 6 or 7 years now, that track has put on some really great racing because the surface actually aged. Yet everyone complained that it was a boring race. Then plans get announced to rebuild it as a short track and all the sudden it's one of the best tracks ever made? NASCAR certainly has some issues it needs to work on, but it's biggest problem that nobody ever seems to acknowledge is the fan base and it's public perception. If it's restricted to the throat to have 85% of the schedule remain in the south, the sport WILL die because there's not going to be any possibility of growth. The higherups at NASCAR aren't wrong at all that there are markets with some good potential in them. But the "true fans" scream that there isn't. Look at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA. It's just outside of Seattle, and with a little bit of work and a slight shift in schedule, the timing would lend itself out really well in the summer when NASCAR comes out this way. But of course the "true fans" scream it will fail automatically because "Those Seattle liberal people don't want NASCAR!" That's not true at all, I used to live in Seattle, and the intrest is certainly there. But intrest can not and will not grow if the headlines are talking about Bubba's radio channels being hacked instead of Kyle giving an old school ass whooping. And look at LA with the Coliseum. A high majority of comments against it all revolve about LA being full of gangs and crime and say that Bowman Gray is the better choice when Bowman Gray is widely more known for it's absurd fights! How in the absolute hell are you suppose to actually grow intrest in an area if that area is just being repeatedly being insulted over and over and over again? And what about Chicago? Holy shit, look at the comments anytime that track is brought up, an extremely high majority of them involve some comment about how either teams are going to have all of their equipment stolen or that there's going to be a mass shooting occur. If you're living in Chicago, why in the absolute fuck would you want to have to deal with the inconvience of traffic reroutes if that's the kind of audience viewing your city? The Chicago Street Course could end up being the greatest race of the season, but the "true fans" will never say that because they'll be too busy commenting about how so shocked they are that there wasn't a mass shooting event. So yeah, a lot of these markets are gonna be easier to tap into because of a road course. But that won't mean a damn thing if these markets are seeing the "true fans" before they see any of the racing product, no matter how damn good it might be.

[@craigstephenson7676]

And there are some markets with perfectly fine ovals that have absolutely no races in the area (Pikes Peak)

[@ksteinwand6744]

@@craigstephenson7676 Exactly. Like I said, Evergreen Speedway just outside of Seattle would need some track work to meet NASCAR requirements, and if they can get the short track package figured out, that could be a really great race.

[@Phineapoo]

A good example of your main argument here is the Portland race last week in the Xfinity series. That race was GREAT, but "no one out west wants NASCAR" (lies). Evergreen would be perfect as well, and either track would expand the reach of NASCAR to the Pacific Northwest! The key will definitely be to diversify the locations of the tracks, whether or not the tracks are road courses or ovals. Make sure the vast majority of the country has a cup race at least once a year close enough that they could attend should they be able to. Even have one or two international races a year, maybe one in Canada and one in Mexico or overseas. They could designate certain race slots for certain regions instead of specific tracks (like giving a spot to New England or the Pacific Northwest instead of New Hampshire or Evergreen/Portland). That way, fans can have a rotating schedule with more track variety and better odds of a race close to them, NASCAR can keep experimenting with their schedule and reach new fans in areas they don't normally explore, and more tracks can enjoy the bigger fan attendance and income that can help them continue to maintain and improve themselves. Drivers also get to benefit from the different styles of racing that the variety of tracks provide as they learn and potentially develop new strategies.

[@acegarcia3719]

@@Phineapoo It's a game of numbers, if you go to google trends for instance while the rural south tends to have a highest density of Nascar fans, if you divide it by percentage of population you'll find that some big markets still have a of people that are interested in the sport

[@MarshallDog]

I want to see them try Slap's idea of an airport race in Greenville.

[@shanez0643]

I love the road courses and don't take them away. The only problem is the first turn they could figure out how to do that

[@GrandpaShark]

100%! Some are OK. But the Indy RC & COTA have long, wide starting straights going into turn 1. They get 4 wide, & immediately have to funnel down to 2 wide. The xfinity race at Portland is the same. Either move the start line, or change turn 1.

[@angelogarcia2189]

there is a lot of historical precedence for road racing in Nascar.

[@austynwright6612]

First off the road coarse racing has been amazing lately in nascar.. some of the most exciting races.. now this may be unpopular, but the season should be split in fourths because nascar has always been known for its differant tracks and driver skill at those tracks, so hear me out.. they should make 1/4 races at ovals, 1/4 road courses, 1/4 short tracks, and the catch 1/4th of the season should be dirt.

[@themidnightinator]

For the sole reason that I feel there’s not enough short tracks and too many ovals in places NASCAR wants to be at, I don’t think this will work, sadly

[@1320crusier]

No dirt. The cars suck on dirt.

[@blueredlover1060]

I like the idea, but NASCAR has way too much invested into certain tracks and markets, that they're not going to give up races there. Why do you think Texas still has a race, despite being one of the worst tracks on the schedule over the past few years.

[@theintake8961]

I believe 4-5 road courses is okay. Fix the gen 7 for the short tracks and imo you have a great season. Thanks for the video 😎👍

[@RexKarrs]

Lolol! More road courses, fewer short tracks, please!

[@patmanbnl]

If you're gonna remove the roval than you need to move a road course into the playoffs. Perhaps move the Glen to late September/early October. Would be absolutely beautiful with the fall colors.

[@brandonmastin7823]

If they bring back Road of America that would look great in fall colors as well

[@Skeejus]

Man, I got COTA in my backyard but I would literally love nothing more than to get to go to Road America or Watkins Glen for a race

[@Double5Racing]

It would be freezing though

[@brandonmastin7823]

@@Double5Racing freezing probably not, chilly or brisk yes

[@Tw1tch3108]

​​@@Skeejusuperbikes are July 4th, 40 min drive for me, you can camp in my yard

[@Steventhe2nd]

Idk why road course racing is hated so much, (except for the Roval, I hate it), it's fun to watch and it tests the drivers skill, mental and physical strength, it's always exciting to see what'll happen in every turn and every lap

[@americanwalmarts3565]

Yeah like in the 2018 season when all the drivers overshot turn 1 and crashed out... They always produce good crashes

[@racingaerials4493]

There are oval tracks in underserved and untapped markets. People forget that Pikes Peak Raceway is still just sitting in Colorado hosting concerts every year. The track is race ready.

[@Dyson41]

I think circuits need a chance to show their product before making a call on whether they should stay or go, since the racing product is the whole point of the show. Making a call on whether Chicago should stay or go based on some back ground stuff, before a car even turns a lap, appears to be jumping the gun. Maybe there's a bunch of details (politics, etc) I've missed.

[@BuggsOgden]

Even though I live near Sonoma, my favorite road course is Watkin's Glenn. I prefer oval racing where NASCAR is concerned but I agree 4 or 5 road courses is about right for a season. I also agree that right now we have too many, and I don't care for street racing at all, leave that to Formula 1 and Indy.

[@Raldo5324]

I pretty much agree. Indy Road and The Roval need to go. I also like the idea of maybe not having as many road courses one year and then having more the next. I feel like in the years that they dont have as many road courses, they could play with the double header weekend idea some more since i thought that was fun.

[@SiVlog1989]

There's a similar conundrum in terms of the F1 schedule. When I started watching it in 1996, Street Tracks were a novelty, Australia and Monaco were the two races entirely on public streets (at the time, 2/3 of the Spa track in Belgium was ordinary roads, but it'd be a stretch to say it was a street track at the time, besides, all of it is a private race track now). Nowadays, there are more and more street tracks being added to the schedule: Valencia (added in 2008, withdrawn after 2012), Singapore (joined the calendar in 2008), Korea (would have become a street track if things had gone to plan, ie the local economy hadn't gone belly up, added in 2010, withdrew after 2013), Sochi (the car park for the 2014 Winter Olympic venues, added in 2014, withdrawn after the Russian war against Ukraine began in 2022), Baku (added in 2016, initially and inaccurately named the European Grand Prix, known as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from 2017), Jeddah (labelled as the fastest street track in the world, added in 2021), Miami (definitely a controversial one to European F1 fans, added in 2022) and lastly Las Vegas (no relation to the car park track at Caesar's Palace that staged races in 1981 and 1982, this one, utilising The Strip, is being added in 2023). There are now 7 tracks on the F1 calendar whose layout utilises city streets out of the originally scheduled* 23 races for the 2023 season. *the race at Imola, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, was called off because of the devastating flooding that affected that part of Italy

[@craigstephenson7676]

I think there need to be a few rotating dates on the schedule. There are plenty of tracks that are perfectly ready, but aren’t feasible to get every year, or maybe are too much of a wild card to put on the schedule permanently. We got tracks like Sebring, Road Atlanta, Pikes Peak, Road America, Chicagoland, even Kentucky, possibly Nashville Fairgrounds, Eldora, Milwaukee and then some street courses Tracks that I’d like to see every once in a while, even if it’s not every year. (A few of them I would like to see every year tho.) We could for example have either Bristol or Richmond lose a date (maybe have them alternate having 2 dates) and give the other date to a street course. Alternate between Nashville Superspeedway and Fairgrounds (if Fairgrounds works out,) have Texas and Kentucky alternate for the Trash Poopy 400. I like racing, and I want Nascar to help preserve our racetracks by racing at them. Also Pikes Peak is a fun track in a part of the country entirely devoid of Nascar, more people should talk about putting PPIS on the schedule in some capacity, it just seems like an all around smart move.

[@benwalter4842]

The problem is that professional racing series are not allowed to race on PPIR.

[@revelare_xvii6269]

The Garage 56 Le Mans entry is proof that Nascar is capable of taking on road courses. I seriously hope they consider making a new racing series for it.

[@roushmartin6952]

Garage 56 is proving how much better the car can be if they get rid of the engine power reduction

[@buffboy24]

4-5 is a great number to fall behind, but five woukd be great. Sonoma, the Glen, and COTA are great fixtures to the schedule, but I do have an idea for the last two. The rotating road courses is a good idea. There are many road courses in the country that need to be seen, such as Portland, Pacific Raceways, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, Sebring, etc. Let a selection of these tracks rotate out. For the fifth, there was news that NASCAR could be racing Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as early as 2024 in Canada, maybe a rotating international road course could work with Montreal, Mosport, and Mexico City to name a few with future exploration to European countries; this can help build an international audience, much like how F1 is doing.

[@americanwalmarts3565]

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park outside Toronto Canada...

[@buffboy24]

@@americanwalmarts3565 Canadian Tires is also known as Mosport.

[@blueredlover1060]

I would like to see a NASCAR Cup car try to go flat out up the hill of Eau Rouge and into Raidillon. That could be fun to see at least once.

[@WinstonPinetorum]

NASCAR needs more road courses! Great video as well!

[@ainahko16]

If NASCAR wants a race on a temporary course, they should take a page out of Indy/Champcar and setup tracks on a huge parking lot instead of closing down an entire block for a race. Not every street is like Monaco and Long Beach.

[@ainahko16]

When I meant a huge parking lot, I meant the ones outside major sports stadiums like what Indycar did around the Astrodome and NRG Stadium.

[@flyingpizza98]

they need Sonoma, Glen, COTA, Road America, and the Roval. Then have a street course race every year at a different city that doesn't have NASCAR nearby (like Seattle, Denver, Salt Lake City, Omaha, etc.)

[@Phineapoo]

Imagine a sprint down Alaska Way in Seattle on the Waterfront or Side by Side racing right next to Temple Square in SLC! That would be interesting. I think highlighting a local track in some way would probably be the better option in my opinion (so there's less politics involved with road closures), but if done correctly street races can be viable pretty much anywhere!

[@connorbrown2746]

i think cota, sonoma, the glen, and charlotte roval can stay, but i wouldnt mind seeing a shorter road course like portland (for the cup series) or lime rock be on the schedule. i think a street race is an interesting idea but ill wait to watch chicago to have an opinion on it

[@jek4837]

I couldn't understand why he said to get rid of the Chicago street race as it's been a disaster so far. I had to google to figure out which race I'd missed there. It's not been run. My hometown (Joliet) is actually where the Chicagoland speedway is located (and I believe it's his too), so maybe he's a little biased? I honestly think the street race is going to be lousy, but I'm in full favor of trying this new location for variety sake. Maybe it'll be great.

[@crystaljon]

I seriously doubt Lime Rock will be an option, considering the local laws in place there.

[@POB_.963]

I’m excited to see what it’s like with no stage cautions

[@laconvail9484]

They need local yellows for road courses. Its insane to only have a full course yellow on a long track like those road courses with the longer lap times. Also take some cues from the Garage 56 entry at le mans and have a road course spec for the cars that works better for that kind of racing. Probably skip the dive planes though, those would be gone by the end of lap one anyway.

[@Mattsbeybattles]

They definitely need to go to 4 or 5. I think part of the problem right now is the placement. COTA is the only one in the first 15 races and you don't want more than 1 in the playoffs, so that leaves a stretch with 4 of the 6 road courses all coming in a 10 race span. That's way too many in such a short span of races. Do exactly as you said. Keep Sonoma, the Glen, and COTA and rotate one or two in and go to different places.

[@braydenlewis7438]

Watching these older clips makes me realize how much better the cars looked with the number in the middle of the door!

[@jefferyrobertson7520]

I Like Riverside International Raceway In Riverside California In My Opinion NASCAR Road Course History Thanks For Uploading

[@scout222]

How they fix the problem is get rid of a few because there are too many. All we need is The Glen, Sonoma, Road America, and either Mid-Ohio or Montreal. Ovals are usually better than RCs.

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

That's better than keeping COTA.

[@tosemcriatividade6449]

On my opinion, I feel like NASCAR should I adapt to the current times, which means 50% of road courses in 50% of ovals, then, just like IndyCar have two arrow packages, one specifically for ovals in the other one for circuits, similar to what Garage 56 did on Le Mans, that’s something I would be willing to pay to watch

[@silentrage5425]

I'm normally a short track fan, but I do like The Glen and COTA. I think if you're going to do a road course, look for a city with a history of handling those kind of races like St. Pete. Also, stay out of areas that clearly don't want you there. Yes, I'm talking about Chicago Streets. I'd also like to see more allowable contact. This bubble wrapping BS is for the birds. Bring back door slams and bump n' runs. Let the guys fight for a win! Havin' said that, there needs to be a clear line. If you are trying to wreck someone just to get them out of the race, clearly that shouldn't be allowed.

[@ethanweeter2732]

I think Chicago could be a good track if done right.

[@alectolleyvaillancourt9616]

Personally, I would like to see Sonoma go because I don't think the racing is good there. I would keep COTA and Watkins Glen, would like to see one rotate every year in the US, and another one rotating in Canada and Mexico. Indy and Charlotte back to the oval yes, and move watkins glen in the playoffs. That would be my personal preference for the road courses.

[@benwalter4842]

COTA, The Glen, Road America, CGV, Sonoma, and Portland should be the only six road courses on the schedule.

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

Spike strips and land mines can solve all the problems of out-of-bounds driving.

[@sqweeps.03]

Death Race irl lol

[@dmoran1093]

I like the idea of having a road course/street course alternate every year. It would be fun to see nascar run a race at Sebring and road atlanta, maybe have it the weekend before IMSA race's at those tracks

[@DuddleBug5]

Hi! Also Cup should race at Mid-Ohio

[@zack-kr3uz]

add the fifth one go to portland or montreal. cota, sonoma, glen, daytona. bring back chigagoland, charlotte oval, brickyard

[@bloqk16]

With the bulk of the fields being Mustangs and Camaros, the NASCAR road races harkens back to the 1960s/70s SCCA Trans Am series. The current NASCAR schedule, with including road courses, gives the race attendees/TV viewers a taste of what the Trans Am series was like a half-century ago. It is a _problem_ I can easily tolerate.

[@acepilot22]

I think you are 100% correct in your assessment and solution!

[@brandoncofrancisco789]

Dead wrong about the roval. It’s NEVER been dull there. Everything else i agree with you on

[@paulkris7]

I think they should get rid of double-file restarts and overtime in road courses. The yellow that comes after accidents are just too long.

[@SuperHamrick94]

5 or 4 is good to me. I think the roval could stay, but I like the idea of one date being a rotation of tracks

[@willminnich8543]

I think the big issue with road courses is the differences in racing we see from the Gen 6 to the Gen 7. We have to get some of the quirks back from that era racing and there won't be so many complaints.

[@ACfairgrounds]

I think we should have Sonoma Watkins Glen circuit of the Americas, and the roval and then have a fifth one as alternating. So like how we could go to Canada, Portland, Road Atlanta, and road America.

[@lorenyoder8696]

I would like more road courses not less. Although I would like to see a gt3 style downforce package at road courses, maybe the garage 56 car would work better?

[@ethanweeter2732]

And get rid of Bristol dirt and go to Eldora.

[@johnthefalcon2903]

As someone from Chicago, yes the street course has been a debacle BUT the race may NOT be as bad as people expect. Yes it may be a caution fest but there may actually be a lot out of passing. Lots of long straights for out braking, which will either mean passes or crashes. I think it could go either way right now.

[@Bullhead_JW]

No, NASCAR needs less ovals and more road courses. All of the oval races end up being the same snoozefest these days minus the big events like Talledega, Daytona, and some of the short tracks. The cookie cutter speedways are awful to watch. If NASCAR gets their shit together and brings the Garage 56 Le Mans package to the road courses, you have a serious setup for success. Though, road courses like Indy and Chicago really aren't that good. Send NASCAR to Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, Sebring, etc.

[@joshuamessenger]

I love road course racing. Removing the Stage Breaks was a huge positive. But I agree, Indy needs the Brickyard Oval race. And the Chicago street race is going to be a catastrophe- would prefer Chicagoland. Bring back the 500 mile oval race at Charlotte & then alternate a 3rd race date between the Roval & Daytona RC.

[@ATK10155]

When NASCAR started to add Road Courses I was PRAYING for either Road America or Sebring.. I was so fucking bored by the Road America races. But I loved racing them in NASCAR Heat. I would love to see NASCAR race at sebring during their swing down to florida just before the playoffs start for the Daytona Coke 400. Just once. Sebring has a good mix of chicanes and straightaways that’d make it challenging even for drivers with the pole.

[@dageanhardy8929]

im not a road course fan... although i think the glen is awesome. i like COTA, Sonoma and the glen.

[@pauljanssen7594]

The only road course problems you have for NASCAR is this you need drivers that know how to drive a road course. Sort of like gentleman's racing not a round around construction Derby.

[@nhoskins25]

I’m with what you’re saying for sure. It would be a good idea to do rotantional scheduling too on not just RC but other markets too! It’s working for MLB attendance where you’ll see every team every other year in your home team stadium. It’s cool idea. Nice work

[@JAutry]

I would love to see COTA, Watkins Glen, Sonoma, Road America, and Daytona Road Course as the mainstay road courses.

[@Tcottong]

The biggest road course problem was that nascar tried to make stage racing a thing. I'm willing to see how the rest of this seasons road courses go without the extra cautions before I decide.

[@stellingbanjodude]

I love road courses, I personally feel that a racetrack should only have 2 races if each race is a sale out, loose your full capacity status, lose an event. I would like Nascar to go to Laguna Seca, and circuit Gilles villeneuve. International races, spa and Bathurst maybe autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez ( Mexico City)

[@PhantomThiefOfSports]

Sonoma, WG, COTA, and RA should be the 4 RC in cup. Though the 4th slot with RA could be a even-odd year rotation with another road course like Montreal

[@nsidor1234]

I'm quite surprised that road courses (a more challenging test of true driver skill) aren't more popular than the ovals. I never miss them...

[@andrewdotmp4]

I think NASCAR's biggest issue is that they're going with big venues as opposed to circuits that can actually suit a stock car. NASCAR obviously doesn't race like F1 (hence why COTA continually sucks and Watkins Glen is always amazing), and if the series looked at tracks like Road Atlanta and Montreal that are more flowing and fast the racing will be better

[@ethanweeter2732]

Montreal is not bad, though turn one sucks for bigger cars.

[@philmariop]

Lol. G56 is at Le Mans. Today. This weekend. The penultimate road racing celebrates it's centennial. NASCAR has an opportunity to become relevant to the eyes of those who admire sports car racing.

[@ivertranes2516]

I love NASCAR at COTA. Where I would love, love, love to see them race is Laguna Seca. NASCAR in the corkscrew? Yeah, baby!!!

[@Josh-in4ux]

I think 4 is the sweet spot. Sonoma, Watkins Glen, COTA, and a wild card. I also agree with getting rid of the Roval. The first 2 races or so were fun, but I’d rather Nascar just race on the oval.

[@styxx0500]

The Roval has honestly run it's course... So has Bristol Dirt... I want two Charlotte oval and Bristol oval races back each year!!!

[@ethanweeter2732]

Bristol for sure. Think the Roval is more watched than the Charlotte oval fall race.

[@86sVideoDump]

I disagree with Bristol Dirt but the Roval absolutely has

[@styxx0500]

The novelty of them both has just gone downhill in my opinion... The dirt race isn't all it was hyped up to be... The Gen 7 cars aren't dirt cars lol it's nice for an exhibition event but it shouldn't be a points race

[@DeryckAllen]

We need more imo. Nascar's real problem is restrictor plate racing...

[@roushmartin6952]

1 date per track and you could have such a great diverse schedule. Only tracks that could keep 2 dates are daytona and dega because of the unique racing and Charlotte because of using the oval and rc and being nascars home

[@tylerhelton9444]

5 or 6 Road Courses are my preferences. Daytona RC as a Stock Car Class In 24 Hrs of Daytona. Cota , Mexico City, The Glen, Road America, Sonoma.

[@RyanPetrynka]

Glen, Sonoma, COTA, Road America should be staples. As for races 5 and 6 there are lots of options. Laguna Seca would be interesting. Portland would help NASCAR break into the PNW region. Road Atlanta and Sebring are possibilities. The old Cleveland airport track used by IndyCar could be fun. Canadian Tire Motorsports Park near Toronto and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal have hosted NASCAR before. What about Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City?

[@zacharyphillips8910]

WG and Sonoma are the best They need to get Road America at they pulled in 100k fans both years they ran there. Indy needs to go completely and I would rotate COTA Canada Portland and maybe a street course

[@jakez5467]

maybe we should have more road course races so they learn to stop crashing

[@chloe-stephlis6281]

I still prefer ovals but I am for more road courses. No more than 8 though. I think that’s perfect number. Wish we raced on Daytona road course again though. I loved the 500 and the road course being the first 2 races in 2021.

[@rwwrestlingpodcasts1390]

I just love road course racing, but i do agree they have maybe 1 or 2 to many races, 4 to 5 is good, and road America should definitely be one with the glen, sonoma, and Cota.

[@QuantumOfSolace1]

In the old days - at Sonoma - there was a section called the “S’s” that is gone now - why?

[@mesousagaby740]

I don't think they're oversaturated at all, though. The only issue is that I don't think the Indianapolis road course is that necessary anymore since it's a bit too chaotic and they just wanna race the rectangular track again, and I doubt they'll return to the Chicago street course. Although with the rumors of Montreal maybe returning next year and maybe race at a different street course, I think 6 road courses are just about right, especially showing that without stage breaks, they definately flow a lot better now.

[@jacobevenson8702]

My idea: Keep Sonoma and Watkins Glen. Forever. Until the tracks or the series itself folds (also shift the 'west coast swing' down the schedule a couple weeks and move Sonoma into the last race of that group, we need a green Sonoma...). COTA has proven that it can produce good racing even with the next gen, so it should stay. More importantly, I think that should be moved to the second race of the season. Show any casuals that watched the 500 that may watch the next weekend that NASCAR races at a damn F1 track. Then have a slot for 1 street course a year. Doesn't matter what location (as long as it isn't Chicago passed this year). I'd love to see NASCAR at a place like St Pete WITH Indycar for a weekend at some point. Then have a 5th and final road course slot that is both in the playoffs and at a different track each year. I'd love to see cup cars at Sebring at some point, but I just know damn well that wouldn't work for a long term yearly date. Summary: -COTA moved to second race of season to try and hook casuals that may have stuck on for a bit after the 500. -Sonoma moved to the west coast swing so we can see green Sonoma (Never leave this damn track) -Mid Summer street course slot, different each year (Any ESTABLISHED street course. St Pete, Long Beach, fuckin Toronto, hell even Nashville maybe). -Watkins Glen in its normal August slot (Never leave this damn track Pt.2) -Rotational road course slot, likely in the playoffs (ROVAL, Sebring, Road Atlanta, Road America, Barber Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Montreal...) I don't know why I spent so much time typing all this.

[@CanuckIV]

I love road courses. I'm fine with how many races there are. If anything get rid of the Indy Road course. It causes havoc too much anyways and besides would be nice to see the Brickyard 400 to return

[@thedeadsoul3775]

I agree with the roval being gone but I feel that we need a road course in the playoffs because then we'd have every type of race other than the outlier dirt race in the playoffs

[@mattdemey9324]

I agree with ditching the Indy RC for the Oval, Chicago SC for Chicagoland and the Charlotte Roval for the Oval. I would ditch COTA too because the people focus too much on the final lap of 2022 and forget that no one passed in the first two stages of that race and the third was a yellow fest. Green flag runs of 2, 5, 2, 8, 2, 4, 1, 2 laps. Then we had another dive bomb fest this year and last year, no one knew who was on or off the course in the esses. I would bring back Road America instead of COTA

[@Dj_Not_Nice]

The problem with Chicagoland is the infrastructure is not good the track itself is built very well but everything outside the grandstands just doesn't work

[@nicolesgaming8917]

Road courses are definitely a must in NASCAR. Anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves.

[@3litersodoom573]

Sears point is a staple on the west especially after shrinking Fontana not to mention all the dirt tracks that are dying on the west. So can we keep the crumb we have.

[@JJA1987]

There is no Road Course problem - The amount they have is fine

[@ryancourtney27]

I like the idea of several road/street courses (4-6), but I despise watching the cars run 3, 4 or 5 car widths off the track on corner exit. Track limits need to be enforced. Having to wrestle these heavy cars and keep the car on the proper track will evoke more mistakes and, thus, more passing. Now you just let the car go wherever it wants and no finesse is required.

[@chrisguardiano6143]

As an Indycar fan in addition to NASCAR, Indycar has a similar issue to NASCAR when it comes to ovals. However it's not because there are too many of them it is because there are too few of them on the schedule. Apart from Gateway, Indy, Iowa & Texas, everything else is street/road courses. NASCAR & ISC have played a major role in making sure that Indycar has a road course heavy schedule by basically blocking every attempt by Indycar to race at tracks like Homestead & Richmond. Then there are the ovals that many Indycar fans want to go back to like Milwaukee but can't because the facilities are not up to Indycar standards. For those saying that Indycar should simply go back to tracks like Pocono, Auto Club & Las Vegas when it comes to ovals, it will never happen because of the safety risks & the fact that all three tracks have had fatalities at them in the past (with Dan Wheldon being the most famous example). Auto Club could come back to the Indycar schedule but only if it is turned into a short track while the other two will never come back because drivers find them way too dangerous. However Indycar should try with NASCAR's permission to do a race on the Daytona Road Course at some point as I think that would be an interesting race.

[@ryantreer7995]

Indycar should return to Pocono. Crowd was only getting bigger every year and indycar needs more than one superspeedway race a year. Auto Club will never return because the short track would simply be too small for indycar. Michigan would be a good replacement.

[@chrisguardiano6143]

@@ryantreer7995 I agree with you about Michigan. However even though I agree with you about Pocono returning, I don't think the majority of the current Indycar grid wants to race there. There are major safety concerns about the track in their view especially considering the fact that the last time Indycar raced there in 2018, there was a major wreck that basically ended the career of Robert Wickens & paralyzed him. For many of the drivers, the Wickens incident was the last straw when it came to their relationship with the track. Pocono would need to make major improvements to safety in order to even be considered for a future Indycar return.

[@PaperBanjo64]

The roval was awesome until the next gen car, I agree, let's bring back an afternoon 400 mile oval race, we desperately need less superspeedways, and fix the cars so short tracks are good again like they're supposed to be, I'd like 5-7 road courses, if they fix the package at least 10 short tracks, I just love me some short track racing! But they have GOT TO fix the cars so they can put on a good show on them, if short tracks can't put on a good show like they're supposed to my interest in NASCAR goes way down.

[@buckman840]

You can't throw out Chicago street race before a single car hits the street for a practice or qualifying. Long term its not going to be a staple unless there is big $$$ for Chicago. Im not sure if it will last the 3 year contract it has. However I don't know how the contract is written and whom is responsible for pulling out early.

[@stehlfamilyfarm6886]

Replace the road courses with short tracks!

[@UofLFan1224]

I like seeing more road courses for NASCAR, but I want them to be unique to NASCAR. I'd prefer to see road courses that I don't watch F1 or IndyCar run. Sebring and Road Atlanta sound great

[@ZPaul_]

I feel like it’s the package and the way nascar runs the races. It’s the same shit over and over again. Restart then wreck, restart again and wreck again, overtime and wreck. Then you have the cars that drive almost flawlessly with no issues. They’re still a handful but they don’t really race the same way as the previous gen cars.

[@Newmanfan4ever39]

im glad we have more road courses cuz i get tired of hearing how Nascar only runs ovals but i agree with you're mostly scrap the indy RC and the charlotte roval and bring back the brickyard 400 and the fall charlotte oval race as for the chicago street race while i heard it was good the city officials don't want it back so idk where they could do another one and yes keep sonoma the glen and Cota maybe give road America another try and give Montreal or Mosport a try maybe even portland

[@AlessandroSebastian17]

Charlotte Roval needs to be removed from the schedule and give it back to the oval instead. The inagural race in 2018 was exiting but since that race, Charlotte Roval has been nothing but a snoozefest of a race. For 2 years consecutively, the gen 7 has performed amazing at the charlotte oval and bringing the oval charlotte back in the fall would be a great decision if Nascar decides to do it.

[@sim_kev]

Road courses are good, but it needs to be the right kind. These cars are too heavy for tight corners. Sonoma and Watkins Glen are fast, and they’re great. They need to be high speed sweeping courses otherwise it’s boring.