The short-track racing package has been an issue ever since the Next-Gen car was brought into the Cup Series fray. NASCAR and Goodyear have tried several things to improve racing on tracks less than a mile but it just has not worked. There have been glimpses of better racing but things have just not been consistent. But William Byron believes that NASCAR can take inspiration from the CARS tour.
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The Hendrick Motorsports star took part in the mid-week CARS Tour race at the Caraway Speedway. The track is less than half a mile in length but the racing action was incredible. Byron started from P16 and used all of his racecraft to finish P2. It was a chaotic event but the 26-year-old believes that equipment fall-off could be the answer to the Next-Gen car’s short track woes.
We had a hell of a time tonight! That was fun running with the Cars tour. What a race at the end. https://t.co/LVHj5xZ80l
— William Byron (@WilliamByron) July 4, 2024
“For me, the brakes obviously go away which I think is always a good thing in racing,” Byron said. “I feel like the car starts to go away which is what we need in the Cup side. The race car starts to deteriorate and guys start to fall off, their equipment starts to go away.”
It was a highly entertaining night for the fans in attendance as they saw all kinds of racing incidents go down. It was a successful night for Kevin Harvick who was beaming after the event.
“Good old” short-track racing appreciated by Kevin Harvick
The 2014 Cup Series champion owns the event with NASCAR legends Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton. Speaking to a reporter after the race, Harvick said that they were being spoiled with the racing action. The CARS Tour truly has been a treat for race fans so far and the series is swiftly rising through the ranks in terms of popularity.
“We’re getting spoiled in a CARS Tour,” Harvick said. “That was a good old hard short-track race and we have been spoiled with some wild finishes.”
A good old short-track race is what has been lacking in the Cup Series for several months now and NASCAR is doing everything it can to make things better. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the short-track races in the competition play out this season.
