*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideCircleTrack.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the NASCAR and pavement short track racing topics of the day.
Richard: In a story originally reported by Jordan Bianchi of TheAthletic.com, NASCAR will delay the roll out of its Next Generation car until the 2022 racing season. The latest in the continuous development of racing machines used on the NASCAR Cup Series had been set for the 2021 season opening Daytona 500 but the setbacks in this year’s schedule brought about by social distancing and “stay at home” measures instituted around the country have forced the sanctioning body to rearrange its timeline.
While this sounds like an easy call to make, it actually was not. Most teams had no doubt already begun their preparation as far as developing the new car was concerned and were also in the process of phasing out their current stables. Calling for this change has likely already caused organizations both large and small to go back to the drawing board as they plan for the 2021 campaign (and yes, they do plan that far ahead).
Based on a schedule circulated among teams by the sanctioning body, it is apparent that those at the top of the sport are dedicated to running the full 36-race slate in 2020 despite the numerous postponements that have already taken place or have been announced in the wake of the cornoavirus pandemic. What that means in terms of demands on crew members is that there will be plenty of overtime once the season resumes with double-header and midweek races being planned. There simply will be no time to do anything other than focus on the season at hand.
And with some counties that contain NASCAR shops under strict limitations in terms of the numbers of employees allowed to be working together at a particular time, it would not really be feasible to work on cars meant for next season during this shutdown.
Almost certainly, there was a great deal of thought that went into the decision to delay the roll out of the new car. And that decision will cause teams to change their courses of direction. But in the end, it was the only decision NASCAR could make, wan’t it?
NASCAR’s Next Gen car will not see the race track until 2022(Photo: Getty Images)
Michael: As big as NASCAR is and the amount of money that goes into the sport, they had no option but to delay the 2021 roll out until 2022. As you said, not many employees can work at one time right now. If all employees could be at the shop, now would be the perfect time to get a jump on the 2021 car. Teams aren’t fixing crashed cars, blown engines, and getting prepared for the next race. But they can’t, a delay to 2022 is the right call.
With teams already phasing out the current car, it will be interesting to see how quickly teams can stock up on cars to race next year. As you mentioned, the proposed schedule looks to be a grind. There could be some folks going from having little work to putting in a lot of overtime.
Richard: One thing I will say in regard to the current car is that with the aero package put in place last season, the racing did improve on the 1.5 and 2-mile tracks. And after adjustments for the shorter venues were made during the most recent off-season, the racing was significantly better in the one and only outing so far for the updated vehicle on the one-mile track in Phoenix.
That said, another year with the current car won’t be the worst thing to ever happen. While I understand that there are reasons to dislike a package that essentially allows drivers to run full laps with their right foot to the floorboard on many tracks, there was more entertainment in 2019 that had been the case in 2018. And if the short track package continues to work as well as it did in Phoenix, there could be something to look forward to at those venues.
Aside from the uncertainty placed on the race teams, particularly the smaller organizations, the racing may very well be some of the most exciting the sport has seen in a decade. Do you agree?
Michael: It has the potential to be very exciting. The drivers are chomping at the bit to get back to actual racing. The packed-in schedule isn’t going to effect them like it will their crew members.
I, too, liked what I saw out the short track package at Phoenix. Drivers were carrying so much speed in the corners with last year’s package that I felt it took away from the racing. But I also think some tweaks need to be made to the intermediate package. Atlanta usually produces some really good racing, especially with the worn out track surface that’s hard on tires. We really didn’t see that last year.
Clint Bowyer and Bubba Wallace just before a crash that led to Wallace’s departure from the Bristol iRacing event
Richard: Another thing that has dominated the racing conversation of late has been iRacing. With absolutely nothing else going on right now people have tuned in at the rate of more than one million per week to watch virtual races from Miami-Homestead Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, and Bristol Motor Speedway. And while it is a video game, I have found it entertaining to watch and have been glad to have something competitive on my television.
Competitive is a key word. The first week of eNASCAR was all fun and games as the drivers and commentators poked fun at themselves and each other. However, weeks two and three have seen the drivers’ competitive natures come out.
William Byron promised retribution after being bumped out of the lead by Timmy Hill late in the Texas race. TV analyst and racer Clint Bowyer was becoming clearly annoyed at the needling he was receiving during the Bristol feature from fellow commentators Jeff Gordon and Mike Joy following incidents he was involved in. And eventually at virtual Bristol, tempers got the best of Bubba Wallace who quit before the race ended as well as Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez who were benched following multiple incidents.
They just can’t help it, can they? That competitive nature is going to come out no matter what the format. But one interesting aspect is that it seems some of these drivers are showing more emotional fire playing a game than they do when participating in the real thing.
Michael: Competitors will be competitors whether it’s in the real world or the virtual world. I thought Wallace took too much heat on social media for quitting. One reason I have refrained from iRacing is having to go against the people that take it way too seriously. Not speaking for Wallace, but I wonder if he was thinking the same thing and decided to do something else on a beautiful day. At least they’re giving us something to talk about instead of debates that have been hashed over time and time again.
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