NASCAR is always hard at work trying to do what it thinks will please hardcore stock car racing fans. It gets things right sometimes, and other times, it simply doesn’t. One such move it made was to reduce the length of practice sessions.
The belief was that it would make the entire racing experience crispier and also reduce unnecessary expenses for teams. But more and more insiders are expressing their discontent with this conception. The latest to do so is Jeff Burton. The former driver, currently a commentator for NBC Sports, spoke with Kenny Wallace in a recent interview about how NASCAR is not satisfying any hardcore fans by cutting down practice sessions.
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Burton explained that there are some obvious advantages, such as reduced costs for team owners, but underlined that fans ultimately want to see more action on the track. He said on Kenny Wallace’s YouTube channel, “I think they want to see cars on the track. I like to think that there’s going to be a day when we do get back to having cars on the track more often than we currently do.”
“We, of all the motorsports that are televised on a nationwide or worldwide feed, I would say have the least practice. F1 has three-day events. IndyCar has multiple-day events. I think we are on track… races are longer. But outside of the race, we are on track less.”
Wallace and Jimmie Johnson aren’t happy with the reduced practice
Earlier this year, Wallace was brainstorming ways to bring back race fans to the tracks on his YouTube channel. The idea that high ticket prices could be a reason for the low turnout was slashed away. What was left were the practice sessions. The driver concluded, from analyzing fan sentiment and comments, that they wanted a longer weekend experience.
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That is to say, they want the race activities to begin as early as Thursday. Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson would agree with this. However, his reasons might be different. As a team owner of Legacy Motor Club, Johnson firmly wishes that his drivers get more time on the track ahead of races.
He said on the Rubbin is Racing podcast last year, “You get 25 minutes of practice at the track, and then you qualify, and then you race. How do you get better? How do you hone your craft? Now it’s shifted to where, wow, you don’t get much seat time. You need seat time.”
He also noted that the limited practice time is why some Cup Series drivers are even resorting to dirt races and other platforms to hone their skills. The sanctioning body has made multiple moves this season that fans have appreciated. Hopefully, it will make another one in the area of practice sessions as well.
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