Finding balance is tough. The last couple of years, NASCAR has tried multiple new ways to enhance the road-racing product. Whether they’re getting closer to success or not, is open to debate.
Just think about what we’ve seen the last two years; First, we tried eliminating stage breaks, hoping that the natural flow of the race would bring strategy back into play more than it had been with scheduled time for pit stops.
When that ended up producing some of the shortest races we’ve seen in years, the fans complained and stage breaks were brought back.
Then, in response to the First Turn maelstroms at Indy and COTA, we pushed the restart zones back. After watching that change play out at Indy and the Roval last year and at COTA last week, I have solidified my opinion: it’s supposed to be hard. They do tell us they’re the best in the world.
I think, in an effort to protect the drivers from themselves, we’ve tamed these road courses too much. Move the restart restart zones back to where they should be let the drivers figure it out. They’ll adapt. They did at Bristol a couple of weeks ago.