A few years ago, if you asked a NASCAR fan where to find the best racing, the answer likely would have been Bristol Motor Speedway or Martinsville Speedway.
Bristol and Martinsville, the two smallest tracks where NASCAR holds points races in its premier Cup Series, consistently had some of the best racing over the decades. Drivers struggled to get away from each other on the tight, half-mile circuits and thus treated fans to the type of fender-banging, physical racing that resulted in flared tempers and plenty of drama. In other words: classic NASCAR.
But since the 2022 introduction of NASCAR’s “Next Gen” car — the seventh generation of vehicles since the series was founded in 1948 — short tracks like Bristol and Martinsville have taken a hit. These days, if you asked a NASCAR fan where to find the most entertaining races, the response might be two-fold: an answer such as Kansas or Charlotte, accompanied by some unprompted lamenting about the decline of racing on tracks one mile or less.
NASCAR is not oblivious to this. While thrilled to see the Next Gen inject life into the “intermediate” style tracks (typically around 1.5 miles long), officials are highly conscious of the fan dissatisfaction over short tracks becoming less exciting. Those circuits represent NASCAR’s regional roots, long before stock car racing became a national sport and required palaces of speed with large grandstand capacities; they have to get back to putting on great shows.
Everyone from drivers to engineers to media members to fans seems to have opinions on what NASCAR should do, but a consensus — let alone a solution — has yet to emerge.
“Our stance is I’m not going to stand up there and say, ‘I know how to fix this,’” Brandon Thomas, NASCAR’s vice president of vehicle design, told The Athletic last fall. “I don’t know how to fix this yet. I’m saying I’m willing to go investigate where we think our issues are and then make some honest accounts of where we’re at and what we can go work on.
“It’s only a problem. Problems have solutions.”
Thomas was speaking one month before a December test at the 1-mile Phoenix Raceway, in which NASCAR tried a variety of tweaks to its short track “package,” a term that refers to the track-specific differences cars may have compared to another size of circuit. Ultimately, NASCAR landed on one significant change — which was revealed earlier this month but further explained to media members Tuesday in a preseason rules briefing with officials.
The Next Gen cars debuted with a large floor piece underneath the car, which will be dramatically reduced this season on short tracks and road courses. With less downforce created by the undertray, drivers in theory should be able to slide the rear of the car more and find increased maneuverability on the racetrack — thus allowing for more passes, which many fans equate to better racing.
John Probst, NASCAR’s chief racing development officer, said Tuesday it will continue to measure success by looking at passes within the top 15 as a whole, though officials learned last year many fans are more focused on the gap between first and second — and whether the lead changes hands often enough.
“A lot of times, a competitive race and an entertaining race weren’t always the same,” Probst said.
Will the 2024 changes make a difference? Perhaps, but probably not on the grand scale many would hope.
Part of the issue in finding an aerodynamic solution lies in simple physics. Of the tracks NASCAR races on, the lowest speeds are at short tracks and road courses; therefore, any aero changes are the least effective in the slowest air speeds.
“NASCAR threw the kitchen sink at it in Phoenix and the consensus was, ‘Eh, maybe a couple things might have helped,’” said David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development (which is one of NASCAR’s three manufacturers, along with Chevrolet and Ford). “Unfortunately, with…
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