Absolutely. Bring back the Firecracker 400. Throwback paint schemes at Darlington better fit the nostalgia in the Southern 500 on Labor Day rather than in the spring.
Not a surprising outcome. I figured once Pitbull left Trackhouse Racing that Suarez's days would be numbered. 2 wins and 2 playoff appearances in 9 seasons. He drove for SHR during their peak, in the #19 at Gibbs replacing Carl Edwards, and currently with Trackhouse. They are no HMS, but teams like Spire Motorsports and Trackhouse Racing are respectable organizations.
Chicago Street Course sucks but it’s not nearly as bad as the Detroit Grand Prix course.
Spot on. This pile up collecting all of the cars after Hocevar tagged the wall is a prime example. I never got behind the street course. This is one event if NASCAR can't finish in time before darkness sets in, they cut the race short while the city has to prepare to go back to its regular setting.
I wasn't familiar with The Detroit Grand Prix so I went to YouTube and saw that it's an Indy Car Race. I have nothing against Indy I just probably haven't watched a race since Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon were in open wheel.
It’s a trash track. Almost no passing zones and the track is very narrow.
SVG is unstoppable on the street courses. On traditional road courses he hasn’t shined as bright.
Well I'm hoping someone else gets to the Winners Circle next week. Nothing at all against SVG but just to mix things up a little. I've had a hunch that Kyle Busch is going to break his slump on a Road Course. He ran a heck of a race today but was spun out and had a speeding penalty. I think Larson and Byron will be hard to beat next week.
It was nice to see this race playout without weather on the street course. I don't mind rain on a road course once in a while for a change of pace, and see the different strategies come in to play. I hated to see McDowell have mechanical issues that ruined his day. He was fast out there early on. There is definitely some ongoing tension between those two that seems to reach a boiling point on road and street courses over the years. Some rivalries brewing this summer with Bowman/Bubba, and Stenhouse/Hocevar. Looking forward to Sonoma next weekend! Who do you think is the favorite there? I would love to see #5 go back to victory lane again. Trackhouse has some good drivers in their organization for road racing. SVG, Chastain and Suarez even have road course wins for them, and the development driver Zilisch. It would have been cool to see Trackhouse field the #87 for him today.
Chicago and Mexico City are considered street courses. He’s 3/4 on wins thus far. Outside of either venue for road courses he’s not won a Cup race.Well I'm hoping someone else gets to the Winners Circle next week. Nothing at all against SVG but just to mix things up a little. I've had a hunch that Kyle Busch is going to break his slump on a Road Course. He ran a heck of a race today but was spun out and had a speeding penalty. I think Larson and Byron will be hard to beat next week.
Regarding SVG on Road Courses he's still been pretty darn good imo. Won Mexico City this year and 2nd The Glen last year. Xfinity wins at Portland, Sonoma and Watkins Glen.
Im sure most folks are ready to get back to an Oval, we've got Dover in 2 weeks, but Sonoma may be my favorite race of the year. Unpopular opinion i know
Those road course ringers back in the day were exciting to see come in and give these smaller teams a chance for a good finish who would not otherwise run up front. It was fun to watch Juan Pablo Montoya come back last year at Watkins Glen. I saw the entry list for Sonoma, no Zilisch again. Penske would field a 4th entry part-time for Cindric at these road courses before we went full-time in the Cup Series.
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Man that's a lot to unpack there. Why do you think Chicagoland failed the first go around?Unpacking the NASCAR 2026 schedule rumors | RACER
NASCAR raced on the streets of Chicago for the third and potentially final time over the weekend.The initial three-year deal between NASCAR and the city of Chicago ended with Sunday’s race. However, there is a two-year option in the contract that could be exercised, allowing the event to...
That was fun to see Boris said race at COTA a few years ago, and that Sonoma race last year you mentioned with HMS giving him a good opportunity in the #17. It was a blast from the past seeing him and JPM in 2024. The emphasis on playoff points, along with NASCAR’s rule that drivers won’t receive a waiver for missing a race unless it’s due to something beyond their control, has definitely limited opportunities for traditional road course ringers. Fewer open slots than in years before to race their way in. Many of the younger drivers are much more proficient in road racing these days than the older generation was.
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I read back then about the declining attendance and NASCAR wanting to change up the schedule to get away from so many of the cookie-cutter tracks for reasons Chicagoland was dropped. A San Diego street course may be the way to go for this form of racing if NASCAR continues with street courses. Changes up the schedule and back in the California market. We were fortunate the weather held off this past weekend. San Diego good weather year-round. The plans to turn California into a short track have stalled. Destroyed a fine racetrack, didn't finish the job, and this is what is looks like now. Auto Club ruins : r/NASCAR They have a few different options for venues in Canada if they expand there in the Cup Series. NASCAR has some history with the Xfinity Series racing at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Also, they used to Truck Series ran at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park not too long ago.
. There are a bunch of sunny days and picturesque locations so maybe it would be ok. I'm still not sure Street Racing is the best option but I guess we'll see.
Thanks man. Appreciate your perspective. I remember going to San Diego for vacation 7-8 years ago. It was in August. I flew out of Austin and it was 104 degrees. Landed in San Diego it was 66. I felt like I was going to freeze to death
Its honestly depressing as hell to think that Auto Club went from This... 4 wide!
To This.... more pictures in the replies
So I went down the YouTube Rabbit Hole watching videos about abandoned Race Tracks. Are there any tracks still standing that have had a Cup Race in the last 10 years or so and don't now besides Chicagoland and Kentucky? It seems Kentucky Speedway is hopeless at this point.
The Charlotte Roval needs to go back to the oval race in the fall and never take off the Crown Jewel Brickyard 400 again for their roval. The idea of the street course was cool at first, but we saw how initially the downside to this style of racing. The first two being shortened due to weather which would have had the race finishing late, and they don't have the lights to keep going into the darkness. The city's event permit ends on Sunday night. Chicago has to reopen roads, remove barriers, and return the area to normal city traffic and public access for Monday morning. Not to mention, what you said Sunday about the passing zones, tight corners, walls everywhere. The track is a joke. Road courses offer runoff areas which are more forgiving for driver mistakes.
NASCAR needs to start listening to feedback from their older drivers, like they did when Dale Sr. was still around. The vast majority of fans and veteran drivers do not want that many road courses. That is roughly 20 percent of the entire NASCAR schedule. If NASCAR wants road racing in the sport so badly, they should create a division like the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for these events. I doubt it would be a success. You cannot mold the fan base and old school drivers into something you want them to be when there is a lack of interest as a whole. So many of them are brought up running quarter midgets, sprint cars, and late models. Even kids today like Harvick and Busch's sons. It is apparent that California does not care about racing nearly as much as NASCAR is trying to force themselves into a market that is not hungry for it, based on so many tracks getting torn down.
No matter what NASCAR ends up doing, someone will always be unhappy about the schedule. Whether it is the driver or fans. Rovals, road courses, dirt racing, or pack racing at Atlanta. They will never appease everyone.
