NASCAR boasts one of the most extended seasons in professional sports, with the Cup season maintaining a consistent lineup of 36 races annually for the past 24 years. The introduction of greater parity within the sport has diversified the roster of winners, necessitating complex algorithms to track who leads the standings, analyze performance averages, and forecast outcomes for upcoming races.
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When Joey Logano was asked about the possibility of reducing the number of races in a season to benefit the drivers’ personal lives, he expressed mixed feelings.
“I would like that but there’s so many other things. I think it kills the momentum of the sport for one I think that’s not really good. I think if you shorten the season well everyone you got to justify everybody’s salary somehow,” he stated.
Further adding he said, “So, that’s got to go down. Some of us are going to make less money. So there’s less sponsors there’s less like all that like comes down everything shrinks a little bit.” Rather he argued for a balance between personal and professional life.
But while reducing the season’s length might seem like it would halt the sport’s momentum, it could also provide a much-needed respite from the relentless pressure.
For example, this year, having gone through a lackluster beginning, after a two-week break due to the Summer Olympics, Kyle Busch returned to finish the last four races of the regular season with remarkable results. He secured top-5 finishes in three of them, coming in second place in two.
Since NASCAR’s inception in 1949, the series has varied widely in length, featuring anywhere from 8 to 62 races annually. The first year saw the fewest races, while the busiest season was in 1964 when Richard Petty claimed victory driving a Plymouth, participating in the most races that year.
Alex Bowman and Logano are not on the same page
For NASCAR drivers, the weekly grind to various racetracks can be a taxing ordeal. According to Hendrick Motorsports’ Bowman, while a trimmed-down schedule could be advantageous, it’s the road crews who would benefit the most. As the pilot of the #48 car sees it, these crew members tackle the toughest tasks in the series.
The allure of traveling across the country loses its shine when you consider the grueling work hours involved. Bowman highlighted that road crew members often work until 3 a.m. and then regroup for an 8 a.m. start.
He emphasized, “Their hours are insane. There are nights at HMS they’re there till 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. The cars have to be ready, there’s no way around it…”
His teammate, Chase Elliott, also voiced his thoughts on the current length of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule back in 2022. He tweeted in favor of a more compact schedule spread over a shorter period, regardless of the number of races, believing that such a change would better serve TV ratings and other considerations. He expressed,
“I’m a firm believer that less is more, in the sense of the timing of a schedule and when we could end our season to make the most for TV ratings and things of that nature. I think we could do better, personally.”
It would certainly be intriguing to get the perspectives of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch on this topic.
