The two-week break due to the Olympics was like a godsend for a lot of NASCAR drivers and team owners. Kyle Larson enjoyed his time off but hoped that there would be longer breaks from next season. The 2021 Cup Series champion referenced Formula One which takes almost a month off in its summer break. Something similar in the Cup Series would help a lot of the mechanics who week all week round without a single day off.
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Larson was not entirely switched off from racing during this time. He ran some local races but had the weekends for himself and his family. That’s something the drivers or anyone on the team get a lot of during a season. Yung Money went to a different country on a vacation with his family and revealed that his car’s chief did the same. A lot of teams went the F1 way in which they did not allow anyone to come into the shops and work. Those two weeks were a time only for relaxing.
“It’s great for the mechanics to kind of getaway,” he said on SpeedFreaks. The summer months get difficult and long and tough so it was good to have the two off weeks. Again I wish we had more, maybe not necessarily this year but looking to next year I think we only have one off week which is typical it seems here the last few years but I would love more, I think we all would.”
Larson is not the only one advocating for more off weekends throughout a Cup Series schedule. Several veterans have spoken in favor of it and NASCAR could go that way starting next year. After all, taking care of the teams is something the organizers should always strive to do.
Truex, Byron echoes Yung Money’s sentiments
Martin Truex Jr. also believes that such a two-week break should be there every year. That’s not just for the drivers but mostly for the crew members. “It’s definitely great for the crew guys. They work so hard, so many hours, they just don’t stop. So it’s a grind and it’ll be good for them to spend a little time with their families,” he had said in an earlier media interaction.
Larson’s teammate William Byron is also a huge advocate for such breaks in the middle of a season. The driver of the #24 car believes that such breaks help rejuvenate people which ultimately makes for a better product on track. “It’s definitely a good, much needed, break for a lot of the teams. It gives people the chance to reset and there’s probably a little better product because everyone’s probably got a little more energy,” he explained.
It will be interesting to see if NASCAR takes these opinions into account and makes the two-week break mandatory in every season from next year.
