Defending NASCAR Cup champion, Joey Logano recently opened up on an aspect of the sport which pops in and out instead of being a staple. That aspect is practice sessions. Strangely, in a sport like NASCAR where practice sessions are crucial for drivers to familiarize themselves with their car setups, some of the biggest races in the sport offered none. This absence of practice can make the event particularly challenging for drivers who enter solely for this one race.
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A number of drivers have expressed concerns about this unusual practice. Among them is Denny Hamlin, who openly discussed the issue, using an instance from when Travis Pastrana drove in his 23XI Racing team at the Daytona 500 earlier this year. Adding weight to this argument, Logano recently underscored the significance of practice sessions and how it is a concern in modern-day NASCAR.
Joey Logano discusses the importance of additional practice time
While speaking with Sirius XM NASCAR, the two-time Cup Series champion, Logano shared his thoughts regarding the matter. He explained how practice was one of his favorite things. Further highlighting how it helps every team and driver on the grid to prepare themselves for the great American race.
✅ Count defending and 2-time champion @joeylogano in the camp of additional practice time.
😍 “It’s one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend […] we actually get to work on our race cars.”
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Logano stated, “I love it. I actually like its one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend is practice. And because like we actually get to work on our racecars. Like we get to go out there and make some laps come in, actually change something.”
“Here we can like change something. We like big we can change a spring we can change like grill things. Go back out. We can put another set of tires on and make a longer run and back-to-back a couple of things. Like it’s like, and you get done with practice like, ‘Okay, I think I learned something today.'”
Denny Hamlin shared how it was hard for newcomers to race without practice
This year’s Daytona 500 saw the Nitro Rallycross champion, Travis Pastrana, get behind the wheel of a third 23XI Racing car for the iconic race. However, with no practice sessions to help him get familiar with the Next Gen car, Denny Hamlin explained how they had to get creative to help him learn the gear shifts.
Still looking for answers. 🤨
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Hamlin stated, “We don’t have one lap of practice before we qualify for our biggest race of the year. Somebody had to explain that to me. I mean, I can tell you this from the owner’s perspective, it was never brought up to us, hey, we’re going to cut this you know.”
“I mean, we’re sitting here and Travis Pastrana is going to be driving for us. He hasn’t driven a NASCAR car in almost ten years. We’re trying to figure out what parking lot we can take him to try to figure out shifts because he’s got one shot on qualifying to not stall and then get all the shifting right.”
It’s indeed surprising to learn that NASCAR forgoes practice sessions before such a major event. But as more drivers voice their concerns over this issue, NASCAR surely needs to lend an ear. The easiest and most direct solution would be to implement at least a basic practice session for drivers and teams before future Daytona 500 races. This adjustment would not only address the drivers’ concerns but also potentially enhance the competitiveness and safety of this prestigious event as well.
