Another Crossroads

Yesterdays race at Kansas Speedway was suppose to be a breath of fresh air as the race track has been looked at as one of the better tracks or maybe even the best track in the Next Gen era. The car races well, there’s multiple grooves, the tires wear decently and there’s strategy at times. The restarts can be chaotic which leads to cautions breed cautions moments as well so there’s something honestly for every fan to enjoy. However at least on social media, the discourse wasn’t too thrilled about the race. The discourse really didn’t like the fact that it didn’t seem like much passing towards the front of the field as they would have liked which is understandable, but also a lot of concern about the grandstands which also had people wondering if Kansas should go to one race instead of 2. This is also the 4th race in a row where the discourse hasn’t been pleased about the Cup series product as of late. Let’s take a closer look.

Ever since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022 the racing on the intermediate tracks has been arguably the best out of all track types on the circuit. The races often featured a lot of parity, comers and goers, and more passing throughout the whole field. A lot of people liked the racing and for good reason as there was action everywhere on the track. However this was partly due to the fact that it was basically a clean slate and teams were still working on figuring out the car and as time went on, the gaps between teams opened up. However one track stood out as a fan favorite which was Kansas. Since the Next Gen has raced at Kansas there has a lot of moving around in the pack and typically the races would come down to a late race battle to the finish or a late race battle before a late race caution. Dirty air didn’t look as significant as it has looked at other tracks either, however during my visit to Kansas for the playoffs last fall I started to notice dirty air playing a factor more, and yesterday really showed that dirty air was playing a factor as it seemed unless someone had a tire issue or if it was a restart there wasn’t much anyone in the top 3-4 could do to pass the car in front. Everyone beyond that has dirty air on all of their cars so it equaled out and they were able to mix it up like normal at this track. The restarts were crazy but as far as for the lead, after a few laps the lead car was gone, and then the 2nd and 3rd place cars were gone but the gaps between the those positions would sort of stabilize once the run was able to get going. Larson dominated the race but teammate Chase Elliot showed that he had speed by challenging Larson on the restarts. A good pit stop put him out in front on a restart as he won the race on pit road and was now the control car. When the race restarted and Elliot cleared Larson, Larson went from the fastest car to maybe 2nd or 3rd as even Brad K was able to pass Larson and even gap Larson. Brad was starting to catch Elliot before a tire ended his day, and on the next pit stop a horrendous stop for Chase put Larson back to the front, ultimately winning him the race. My takeaway from this is it seemed like whoever got to the lead probably wasn’t going to get passed on the track which Kansas is known for in this car, the side by side racing. As we progress into the Next Gen era, unless there is a package change dirty air is going to get more and more crazy and I believe we have reached that crossroad. A track widely described as one of the best tracks in the Next Gen era and a breath of fresh air from other tracks is slowly coming back to reality.

Another issue that isn’t new but was put in the spotlight multiple times in the last month is the 2 date vs 1 date argument. While it might have to do with when the race is scheduled Bristol spring has long had attendance issues. While the tracks total capacity can reach over 150,000 and even getting half of that will make that place look empty, the summer Bristol race has for a long time had way more attendance. Yesterday’s race at Kansas also looked more empty compared to the playoff race in the fall which also saw openings in the grandstands. You can argue that it was due to Mother’s Day however attendance had noticeably empty areas in the stands in the fall as well and with now races at Iowa and Stl I wonder if the market is starting to over saturate. Maybe going to one Kansas race will help like it did for Texas. Texas known as a track that hasn’t lived up to what it once was before the reconfiguration hosted its biggest cup series crowd in years and they now only race once a year despite how the racing may look (I personally enjoy Texas). Also with a few tracks that currently aren’t on the point’s schedule that do have real potential for a Cup race (Rockingham, North Wilksboro, Chicagoland), maybe some tracks could lose a date.

My last point is the current situation of Cup Series racing. A lot of fans, drivers, even engine builders have suggested that the lack of horsepower is the reasoning behind lackluster races especially at the short tracks and Superspeedways. The short tracks have been okay at best with NASCAR pushing Goodyear to make a tire to help the racing rather it’s a shorter tire or the option tires. Talledega racing has seen drivers fuel save most of the race then when it’s time to drop the hammer the racing is mostly gridlocked in two by two racing and popping out of line typically sends your car straight to the back of pack. Texas hasn’t been liked necessarily because of how the track is built and the bump especially in turn 4 can be a hindrance. Having Bristol, Dega, and Texas stacked up behind each other has fans eagerly looking forward to Kansas and with a lackluster race by Kansas standards, and the next race being an all star race at North Wilksboro Speedway, people are already looking ahead to the Charlotte for the 600.

There definitely a lot of positive things going but in the last month there have been negatives that have been put on full display and now the band aid that was how this car runs on intermediate tracks is becoming too small for the bruise that it is covering.