why did nascar implement stages

We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. At the end of the final stage, the race winner gets five playoff points in addition to 40 race points. The racers in the lead change more frequently, which makes the races and, therefore, the season closer in points and more suspenseful for fans. These points are different from playoff points and help with qualifying and other track position reward in future races. This is peak participation trophy logic and rewards the wrong individuals for focusing on the wrong aspects of racing. There have been eight races this season that have been more than 10 minutes longer than last season (not including red-flag time) and four that have been at least 10 minutes shorter. Why did NASCAR implement stage racing? (Chastain). NASCAR equips each car with an Incident Data Recorder (ICD) that is essentially the sport's "black box," mounted on the driver's side of the chassis in a "shoe" designed by safety engineers. Answers to the 8 Most Interesting NASCAR Questions. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". It also encourages a mix in the field of drivers on different pitting and tire strategies, which should lead to more passing and action. This added intrigue and strategy is exactly what NASCAR hoped stage racing would accomplish. It essentially breaks each race. Stage 01. There is a 1% chance of rain for the start of the race. How do they work in Cup Series races, and why did NASCAR opt to bring them in in the first place? Why did NASCAR implement stage racing? If a driver wins both stages and the race, he/she earns a . Each stage length is determined well before the race, and each is ended with a green/white checkered. There are points assigned to each stage, and then the points at the end of the race are added in. The average number of cautions per race (9.1) is well ahead of the first 18 races last year (7.5) but not a ton more than in 2015 (8.4). A crew chief may decide a guaranteed 9 or 10 points after stage 1 is worth the unknown that comes with racing in the back of the pack later. TV/RADIO: FS1 will broadcast the race at 12 p.m. Performance Racing Networks radio coverage begins at 11 a.m. and also will stream at goprn.com. Joe is the owner and creator of this website. You also earn playoff points per stage you win, which is added to your postseason total. The reasons NASCAR implemented stage racing is myriad, as outlined in the info that follows. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Every NASCAR driver will likely say that hasn't changed. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. This is because only the finishing order matters in determining a NASCAR champion. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. To attempt to bank stage points up front, they frequently exchange inferior track positions on the subsequent restart. NASCAR Sprint Cup formerly used restrictor plates at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Stage points for the top 10 drivers are awarded at the conclusion of stages 1 and 2. However, this is no longer the case. They want it to matter. Driver intros will take place at 11:30 a.m. It appears as an artificial way to bunch up the field and give teams extra time to make adjustments. Officials believed this was a great way to improve its races. Stage points are available at the end of stages 1 and 2 for the top 10 drivers. C'mon, admit it. Go figure. These criticisms are all fair. Its no surprise that the fanbase has declined in recent years. Older fans, however, believe this was a crucial blow to NASCAR's diehard fans. Who wants to waste laps running under caution? Bobby Allison flipped into the fence in 1987 and nascar flipped its shit. Now the drivers do get credit for strong starts. NASCAR racing did not always include stage racing. Now more rewards are given more frequently to racers at each stage, and points and stage endings replace multiple cautions per race techniques. This content is imported from YouTube. To determine stage length, NASCAR usually splits the first 60 percent of the race between the first two stages. The Cup garage will open at 9 a.m. Stages also replace pit stops and give drivers a break they would never have been able to take during the old races. NASCAR has been a common household name for decades. The weather is better for Cup drivers to race Monday at Dover Motor Speedway after rain postponed the event Sunday. It also has the added strategy of teams pitting during a stage by dividing the length of that stage in half or thirds, depending on the number of pit stops anticipated during the stage. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Stage racing falls exactly in line with this philosophy. Common critiques of stage racing from these fans usually revolve around the idea that stage racing is gimmicky. Stage racing means every pit strategy becomes entirely based on the stages. Each Cup race with the exception of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (with four) has three stages.2022-02-20. But why did NASCAR start stage racing? This quirk technically makes the Coca-Cola 600 the most valuable points race in NASCAR because it has 1 extra stage worth of points available. Elton Sawyer, senior vice president of competition for NASCAR, said the move away from stage breaks at road courses was made in collaboration with teams and response from fans. Each driver will earn the points above for each stage that is not the final one. Let's say Chase Elliott won a race at Pocono Raceway, earning him a total of 40 points. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. And what's not to like? Well, the reality is that there is a strong likelihood that a spectacular pass or a major accident will occur every time NASCAR green-flags a restart. The breaks in the middle of races also allow for food runs and snack breaks without any risk of missing exciting green-flag racing. Or four, when talking about the 600-mile race at Charlotte. The points for the race are all added together to give the driver and their team an earned amount of points for the race. He got the finish he deserved, and I didnt do a good enough job to get the finish that we needed out of that one (Dillon was third, Busch 32nd). LAST YEAR:Chase Elliott won last years race. Second place gets 35 points, third gets 34 points, fourth gets 33 points, until 36th-40th . It all just comes down to excitement and incentive at the end of the day. What NASCAR Track Has the Steepest Banking? At the end of each race stage, points and playoff points are tallied and awarded to the winning drivers. The pending end of a stage. There is a lot to dissect regarding the stage racing format, including how it works and why it was introduced in the first place. So, its kind of pathetic. The top 10 during regular season standings also receive a gradation of playoff points. The wreck happened in the first stage of the race, a fact both Larson and Poole pointed out after the crash. Racing throughout the years has been exciting and entertaining, but as the technology in the cars improved and the drivers became better, the close racing of the past was lost in the smoke. However, nothing public has been floated surrounding any imminent stage changes. Another driver, Ryan Blaney, finished third at Pocono and earned himself 38 points. DISTANCE: The race is 400 laps (400 miles) on the 1-mile track. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. To ensure ad space buyers and fans of fixed commercial spots that guarantee interruption-free green flag racing. That's why less people are buying tickets. Poole left the race. These points were crucial because they determine how many points each driver receives after a race when they are added together. DISTANCE: The race is 62 laps (250 miles) on the 4.048-mile road course. 25% for Stage 1 would be 92 laps. Safety has always been important to NASCAR. NASCAR currently has no plans to get rid of stage racing in favor of a traditional, unsegmented race format. Even if NASCAR just shortens the races and doesn't include those laps, it would still seem right. NASCAR created stage racing in 2017 to increase competition throughout the race. Playoff points are extremely valuable during each 3-race round of the playoffs. Officials issued the rules bulletin to teams . To the fans who've stuck with us today, we say thank you.Let's enjoy this #DAYTONA500 on FOX! The 2022 event was raced on a short track created inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Stage points are awarded to the top 10 finishers after stages one and two. While there are usually three stages in each NASCAR race, the exception to the rule is the Coca-Cola 600, which is given a fourth stage due to the longer distance. Stage racing is simply NASCAR's way of bunching the field up a couple of times and trying to create something interesting. Motor Racing Sports is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. To that, NASCAR likely views its new format as "modernizing tradition" and says something like, "Guilty as charged. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The playoffs start better for drivers with a string of triumphs than those who have to work their way through the regular season with no wins. While the new points system that accompanies the new race format will come more into focus once the playoffs start, every week there is talk about how stages will play into that weekend's event. So, in a nutshell, stage racing has achieved what NASCAR anticipated: adding interest and strategy to the sport. Caution periods and pitstops were the only breaks teams could count on from the rigors of the endurance race, and teams had to strategize accordingly. NASCAR is heading to the dirt track on March 27-28, 2021. Stage points are only handed out for the first and second stages. The televised racing experience was also a key factor in NASCARs decision to alter the framework of its races. Been in and out of cars of varying speeds since i was a child and sharing what i have learnt here. "And I think that NASCAR is pretty adamant that they want them to count, otherwise the teams would run the cars out of gas purposely on the last lap so they don't have to pace around and waste that energy. Similar to an ordinary NASCAR event, both the Cup Series and Truck Series races will be divided into three stages, but changes to the format were implemented after Friday practice produced a . Adding stages breaks up these types of leads and brings the audiences attention back to the field every time the next stage of green-flag racing starts. *Added a required . Often winners of stages and winners of the overall race are not the same, which also creates more action for sports betting, a very lucrative attraction NASCAR offers. NASCAR has faced questions from fans and competitors about stage breaks during road course races because those breaks alter strategy in a more defined manner than on most ovals. Stage racing also creates more restarts, sometimes the most action-filled laps of a NASCAR race at certain tracks. (Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, which has an extra stage) These stages are not equal in length in miles and are divided based on the total length of the track and the mile goal of the event. I have been good a lot and have won a lot of races (but) not at restrictor plate tracks, Busch said. Problems with racing back to the caution Safety How would stages make racing more exciting, you might ask? All stage points a driver accumulates are added to this number. Maybe thats just too old school. I was side-by-side with (. The second stage also makes up 25 to 30 percent of the race. In his free time, you can find him tinkering with his own vehicles, trying to make them faster and more exciting. What things can we look for and try to do. While there are plenty of logical and lucrative reasons to implement seasons of stage racing, not everyone is completely sold on it. Each race is divided into three stages (four for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway), and points are awarded to the top 10 drivers at the end of stages one and two, with regular points still awarded at the end of each race to each competitor as well. A short track built within the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum served as the venue for the 2022 competition. ET Monday. The main reason is there are no commercial breaks at live race events that can interfere with active racing moments. The longest stage of the race is always the final one. And coming off pit road under caution after Stage 1, Hamlin made it off pit road first to keep the lead -- just as the left front wheel came off his car and zipped past him at the exit of pit road. By nature, stage racing also creates another unnecessary element that takes away from the competition itself. Stage racing has been controversial among fans but is now a staple of NASCAR competition. For almost all of its history, the only time a caution flag flew was because of an incident on track. Wave them off with a green flag, and about three hours later, see them in with a chequered one. I thought Austin did an awesome job with what we had at Martinsville, running 12th there, that was good. When NASCAR races first began, there were no required interruptions during all of the action. NASCAR, known for its trackside excitement, has not remained unaffected by this trend and broke up the 3+ hour single races into stages.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'speedtwitch_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',183,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-speedtwitch_com-medrectangle-3-0'); The number and distance of stags per race vary, but the resulting opinions on stage racing have been contentious. Is it really too old school or too much to ask for a race to be run without scheduled breaks that create manufactured strategy for which planning for the entire race generally becomes much simpler? At the end of the year, the drivers at the top of the points leaderboard move on to the playoffs, when wins are taken into account. The total number of laps in the race remains mostly unchanged but how races progress through these laps changes drastically. By placing in the top 10 at the end of the first and second stages of a race, drivers may now earn additional points. The top 10 finishers in each stage also earn regular-season points, which is important because at the end of the regular season, drivers ranked 1 to 10 in overall regular-season points earn additional playoff points on a 15-10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale. "Considering feedback from teams, drivers and fans, NASCAR has implemented these changes to enhance competition," NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller said last year after. This, in the end, brings in more money for the drivers, the teams, and the racetracks. By placing in the top 10 at the end of the first and second stages of a race, drivers may now earn additional points. I know it used to be, but nowadays, its like its almost not even necessary. The final race wins are worth 5 points for the playoff, so a driver that wins both stages and the overall race can leave with 67 playoff points. NASCAR announced that the Dover Cup race has been postponed to Monday because of rain. Fortunately for the sport, a lot of younger fans seem to dig into the Saturday night dirt heat feel of the race stages, and aren't turned off by it. The NASCAR racing stages are very easy to understand once you know how it works. Bill France Jr., former NASCAR president, did too. Knowing when the caution comes out allows teams to choose between finishing well in a stage or possibly putting themselves in a better position to win the race. The drivers have something to race for, even when it's just lap 20. Some like the different element stages add during the middle of races, while others consider stages an abomination and will never support the concept. All NASCAR races across the 3 major series have stages because the sport wanted to create a better television product by adding more urgency during the middle portions of a race. Spend time assessing the needs of those affected by the . The caution laps counting seems kind of right but so wrong. 1? It depends on what you watch NASCAR for and what you wish to get out of a race. AVONDALE, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 10: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway on November 10, 2019 in Avondale, Arizona. While it doesnt happen often, once is enough to piss off a casual fan. Because the sport intended to improve the broadcast product by introducing greater urgency during the middle sections of a race, all NASCAR races in the three major series feature stages. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. But (a) there are still questionable caution flags thrown at times, and that will never change, and (b) stage-ending cautions still create artificial racing that doesnt belong in NASCAR, or anywhere for that matter. NASCAR Cup Series: Jimmie Johnson could return in 2021, Broncos' Derek Wolfe to Get MRI on Elbow Injury; Vic Fangio 'Not Optimistic'. Since 2017, the main three sections of NASCAR (cup cars, XFinity, trucks) all compete in races that have three stages per race, with a fourth stage being added into the longer Coca-Cola 600. So, for all those long-time NASCAR fans who dont quite get the race these days, heres your chance to get up to speed on why NASCAR implemented stages.

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