The race was Pooles first Cup start of the season. Simply put, this will make our great racing even better, France said. When did NASCAR implement pit road speed limits? Depending on the course, the first stage can be anywhere from 25 to 30 percent of the races overall duration. If a driver is pegged back every 65 laps or so as is the case at the Daytona 500 it will ensure they cant get to far away. So, the 2nd-place driver earns 9 stage points, the 3rd-place driver earns 8, and so on. Stage racing means every pit strategy becomes entirely based on the stages. While it is true that 10 points for winning a stage is nowhere near 40 points for winning a race and sacrifices are often made, such as not making a late pit stop, to finish stages in the top 10, those point totals still add up. That decision was no doubt aided by a thrilling NASCAR Xfinity Series race that took place on the road course last season as a sort of test for what was to come. And certainly a group of fans would shake their heads in disgust. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. His "Garage Mahal" in Mooresville, NC, was a . The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the only NASCAR race that does not have 3 stages. For new fans of the sports, stages have been a welcome addition. The obvious reasons why this change was made in 2017 can be blamed on numerous things, starting with the most important. Should NASCAR get rid of stage racing? - beyondtheflag.com Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. link to Is NASCAR Racing Profitable for Teams? Daytona 500 stages: Explaining the format, stage lengths for 2020 NASCAR: Is shortening race distances really a good thing? 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race: How the New Format Works - Sportscasting Maybe I'm Just Being an Old Guy, But NASCAR Really Sucks Now The Weather Underground forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and a high of 60 degrees. Build your customFanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis onAll Racing and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. This, in the end, brings in more money for the drivers, the teams, and the racetracks. The first two-thirds of 35 of 36 Cup races feel all but irrelevant. I thought Austin did an awesome job with what we had at Martinsville, running 12th there, that was good. These points, different from the previous stage points, accumulate for a playoff-style race where each stage winner gets one playoff point. There is a lot to dissect regarding the stage racing format, including how it works and why it was introduced in the first place. NASCAR has come to accept a lot of artificial excitement into their product, and stage racing is a result of that. All with the aim of making racing both closer and more exciting a spectacle. There always was a feeling that a driver who dominated but got caught up in someone else's accident or had an engine expire with 10 laps remaining received nothing for those efforts. Similar complaints have been levied about the various playoff formats NASCAR has used to crown its champion since abandoning the season-long format after the 2003 season. Again, isnt the goal to win races? I did not mean to do that at all, Chastain told his crew via radio. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". However, after Dale Earnhardt, Sr.'s fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500, safety burst to the forefront of NASCAR's technology development. Answers to the 8 Most Interesting NASCAR Questions. The reasons that the stages were added to NASCAR racing all boil down to one thing. For some unknown reason of late, when it comes to racing in the rain, NASCAR has decided to go where it has never gone before. Some longtime fans and NASCAR purists met the change with skepticism and outrage. This is important because it reduces the number of full-screen commercial breaks during green flag racing, something that often irks fans watching from home. Table of Contents Since 2017, the main three sections of NASCAR (cup cars, XFinity, trucks) all compete in races that have three stages per race, with a fourth stage being added into the longer Coca-Cola 600. NASCAR instituted stage breaks and stage points for the 2017 season and has kept the system in place since. Yeah, we get it. Furthermore, the introduction of stages gave NASCAR drivers an extra incentive by competing for highly coveted stage points. Playoff points, typically coveted and only available when a racer finishes the full race, are available at the ends of stages. Sometimes stages work out as a 40/60 split, with 30% each for the first and second stages and the remaining 40% representing the final and longest stage. Now he's molding its future, Sports leagues unite to set limits on betting ads, Kaulig Racing has points restored by NASCAR, Larson races past Logano to win at Martinsville, Nemechek holds off Smith for 2nd Xfinity win, Preece claims pole at Martinsville; Elliott 24th, Elliott vows to keep snowboarding after accident, NASCAR star Elliott set to return at Martinsville, Zane Smith to drive in place of suspended Ware, NASCAR's Ware arrested on assault charges, Dirt-racing star Bell tops Reddick to win Bristol, Bowman, Byron penalized for postrace violations, Hamlin's penalties for hit on Chastain upheld, Team owners' feud with NASCAR gives fans excuse to tune out -- again, Owners skip NASCAR meeting over revenue talks, Jones replaces Kenseth in JGR's No. Motor Racing Sports is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This race has 4 because it is NASCARs longest race, 100 miles longer than the next highest event. In those races, stage points will be awarded on a designated lap, but there will be no green-and-checkered flag and the racing will continue. The top 10 finishers in each duel do earn stage points in the same manner as every other race. Despite the fact that NASCAR prioritizes driver safety in some cases, on some superspeedways, things can actually become more dangerous. NASCAR earlier this month announced the stage lengths for those 36 Cup Series races in 2020, beginning with Sunday's 200-lap Daytona 500. At the end of the final stage, the race winner gets five playoff points in addition to 40 race points. Apr 20, 2022 12:01 AM. It seems to be something (Chatain) does a lot recently. NASCAR: Dover Cup race not being broadcast on Fox. The driver in first place during these stages will be awarded 10 points, second will get 9, third gets 8, and it continues to count down to the 10th position, which is awarded one extra point. Important racing question: Can NASCAR race in the rain? These criticisms are all fair. It seems one common trend in sports and entertainment has been to try and make traditional live spectator sports better adapted to a digital audience. Yes, stage racing adds the element of strategy. Many would say yes. The higher the rank, the more points they earn, which is reason enough for most drivers to race hard.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'motorracingsports_com-banner-1','ezslot_5',114,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-motorracingsports_com-banner-1-0'); Al lifelong Motor Racing Fan, with a particular love of NASCAR and IndyCar racing. I have been good a lot and have won a lot of races (but) not at restrictor plate tracks, Busch said. Driver intros will take place at 11:30 a.m. 2023 Daytona 500 cheat sheet: Everything you need to know - ESPN How NASCAR Stages Work. 20 in 2018, Keselowski: Current car design not up to par. Bobby Allison flipped into the fence in 1987 and nascar flipped its shit. How has NASCAR safety changed over the years? - MassInitiative Having points available at predetermined increments during a NASCAR race has changed the way races are run in other ways as well. Even some drivers were skeptical about the pending changes, wondering aloud if stages would negatively impact races. These points were crucial because they determine how many points each driver receives after a race when they are added together. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. The three most-cited reasons: --Cost of the trip. Each three-race playoff round is a crucial time to earn playoff points. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. These points are different from playoff points and help with qualifying and other track position reward in future races. Your email address will not be published. Continuing its tradition of innovation, NASCAR, in collaboration with drivers, teams, and manufacturers, built a new generation of car the NASCAR Next Gen car aimed to further reduce costs. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. When did NASCAR implement stages? As the season continues, this is especially true for teams vying for postseason spots since they know that every point counts. The caution laps counting seems kind of right but so wrong. Even if NASCAR just shortens the races and doesn't include those laps, it would still seem right. NASCAR is heading to the dirt track on March 27-28, 2021. Your email address will not be published. USA TODAY Sports asked about 200 fans at tracks, on the phone and on social media who have reduced their racetrack trips to explain why. Those playoff points (including those earned in the playoffs) carry over to each reset playoff round, except for the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Generally, the first two stages are a quarter of the total race distance each, and the third stage is the remaining half, although that exact split is usually not that easy per existing track lengths. NASCAR - Pros, cons of new stage-racing format in 2017 - ESPN The piece highlighted several factors explaining why stock car racing has yet to recover from the slump caused by the 2008-09 economic crash: A less affluent audience base than other major. What is stage racing and why does NASCAR do it. NASCAR also had a an issue when it red-flagged a stage at Pocono after the pits were closed and then issued a one-lap, green-flag dash to the end of the stage, which didn't allow time for drivers . This creates more drama and crashes while preventing breakaway victories. Stage racing falls exactly in line with this philosophy. There is a 1% chance of rain for the start of the race. All the drivers are bunched together, 2-by-2, trying to make the most of their fresh tires and improve track position while they still can. With that said, however, he also finished first in both Stages 1 and 2, netting him 20 extra points. If there was a wild wreck or two, it was even better. NASCAR back on dirt at Bristol with revamped Easter night race Advancing teams carry their playoff points all the way through to the Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway in November. Cars would pit when they could, hoping to get a caution so they could come in and get some fuel and new tires. 2023 Nascar Chronicle. The top 10 at the end of a stage score points. The longest stage of the race is always the final one. Stage racing wasn't always a thing in NASCAR, and is probably one of the newest changes the sport has made over the years. NASCAR vs IndyCar: What are the 4 main differences? That's OK. Let's just think about the stages themselves. At the end of each race stage, points and playoff points are tallied and awarded to the winning drivers. It is also less exciting because there is less chance of someone quietly nailing the strategy in the background to emerge the winner in the last pit cycle. Some of them are quite surprising. The points for the race are all added together to give the driver and their team an earned amount of points for the race. Through 10 races, Busch has two wins, three top fives and five top 10s. Stages are currently present in all NASCAR point races. These points add up to positions and advantages in playoff races and continue to accumulate through the first stages of the championship race. Caution periods and pitstops were the only breaks teams could count on from the rigors of the endurance race, and teams had to strategize accordingly. The top 10 finishers in each stage receive points on a 10-1 scale in the NASCAR points standings. NASCAR currently has no plans to get rid of stage racing in favor of a traditional, unsegmented race format. You shouldnt be better positioned to make a playoff run because you were leading a random race on lap 130 of lap 250 or something and ended up 28th while someone who ran 11th in the races early stages gets nothing playoff-wise with a second place finish. The weather is better for Cup drivers to race Monday at Dover Motor Speedway after rain postponed the event Sunday. NASCAR All-Star Race adds element for pit crews Why Did NASCAR Go To Stage Racing? - SpeedTwitch Stages in NASCAR explained First adopted in 2017, stages in NASCAR effectively break the race up into three mini-races. This applies to all top 3 levels of NASCAR competition: the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Truck Series. TV/RADIO: FS1 will broadcast the race at 12 p.m. Performance Racing Networks radio coverage begins at 11 a.m. and also will stream at goprn.com. NASCARs equivalent of the home-field advantage found in other sports is playoff points. There will be no stage breaks for Xfinity races at Circuit of the Americas (March 25), Sonoma (June 10), Chicago street course (July 1), Indianapolis road course (Aug. 12), Watkins Glen (Aug. 19) and Charlotte Roval (Oct. 7). The leaders know they will vie for that stage win and the regular-season points that go with it. The pending end of a stage. Proponents of the changes agree that it is nice that 1st place-driver, 2nd-place driver, and 3rd-place driver, as well as the following several, get some points on a 10-1 scale. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". The 150-mile races are too short for stage racing, so NASCAR drivers race all 60 laps with no designated breaks. All NASCAR races across the 3 major series have stages because the sport wanted to create a better television product by adding more urgency during the middle portions of a race. According to The Times, Constellation Automotive is purchasing the decommissioned racing track Midlands racing track, which was Europe's quickest banked oval racing circuit, for 80m. So, I think it was the No. This immeasurable change would save many lives in years to come. Each of the stages starts and ends with a checked green/white flag, not the traditional end of the race checkerboard. Obviously, we have our ups and downs, and I would say that we have struggled at times for sure, Martinsville being the worst. Playoff points are also distributed to the top-10 finishers in the regular season standings on a sliding scale. At the end of the year, the drivers at the top of the points leaderboard move on to the playoffs, when wins are taken into account. It all just comes down to excitement and incentive at the end of the day. It also encourages a mix in the field of drivers on different pitting and tire strategies, which should lead to more passing and action. The top 10 during regular season standings also receive a gradation of playoff points. Most NASCAR races are broken down into three stages. TV/RADIO: Qualifying coverage on CNBC begins at 11 a.m. Pre-race . This Isn't The Brickyard 400, Anymore - Autoweek There are points assigned to each stage, and then the points at the end of the race are added in. AVONDALE, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 10: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway on November 10, 2019 in Avondale, Arizona. Essentially, the stage racing format in NASCAR is designed to help keep the pack together and not let one driver dominate. NASCAR had a problem in a truck race when the pits were closed under caution but were reopened after the leader had passed the commitment line. Regardless, love them or hate them, NASCAR stage races are here to stay. This event marks the first NASCAR Cup Series race on the dirt since 1970. To ensure ad space buyers and fans of fixed commercial spots that guarantee interruption-free green flag racing. every driver a more significant incentive to race harder, https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/19966894/nascar-pros-cons-new-stage-racing-format-2017, https://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/08/nascar-cup-series-stage-racing-new-format-martin-truex-jr-chase-playoff-points-standings, https://promo.espn.com/news/pages/story?page=NASCAR-Points-System. If fans plan ahead, they can figure when to start eating certain snacks. NASCAR now races in stages during Cup, XFinity and Trucks Series races but what actually are stages in NASCAR? Would love your thoughts, please comment. Until 2017, the races were merely qualifying events that awarded no championship points.

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