Ahead of 2024, Ryan Blaney Wants NASCAR to Make This Big Change for the Drivers

Every season of the Cup Series is a grind. This grind begins from Daytona in late February and continues by Phoenix until early November. The drivers usually really feel drained out of vitality after 38 weeks of touring continually and placing a lot on the line as they buckle themselves up to the inventory automobiles. This usually impacts their bodily in addition to psychological well being. Meanwhile, the reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney appears to maintain a “private vendetta” towards NASCAR.

“Personally, from a driver’s perspective, I’d like to possibly have one or two extra weekends off all through the 12 months, as a substitute of going 4 or 5 months straight, having one break, after which 4 or 5 months once more,” said the quantity 12 Ford sensation in an interview.

Even NASCAR stalwarts like Michael Waltrip and Jeff Burton expressed that 36 races have been too many for the drivers. For starters, there isn’t a room for errors, particularly when it comes to delays in the race due to unfavorable climate. Moreover, it’s troublesome to cope with the tremendous condensed schedule if unexpected occasions, like maybe a hauler breaking down, happen. Something similar to that occurred final 12 months with Alpha Prime Racing. In a put up, workforce co-owner and common supervisor Tommy Joe Martins wrote:

This reveals that NASCAR’s rigid schedule takes a toll on the groups’ tools. Every line of work calls for some break. But it looks as if NASCAR’s tight schedule doesn’t enable that. The drivers have to be continually making commutes from one racetrack to one other.

What do off-weekends imply for the fandom?

For a long time, NASCAR has accomplished all the things it may have accomplished to hold its followers glad. Unlike Formula 1 and IndyCar, which usually race each two to three weeks, NASCAR followers have one thing to watch each week. However, if NASCAR does introduce off-weekends, that might imply that the followers wouldn’t have something to watch on sure weekends.

From 1972 to 1990, NASCAR would run round 28 to 31 races each season. The schedule was finalized in 1981, with the Daytona 500 being held on the President’s Day weekend and the remaining race someplace round mid-November. Back then, NASCAR used to have roughly 10 off weeks per season. But the present 36 point-paying race schedule turned a regular for NASCAR in 2001 and it’s been the identical since then.

Needless to say, there are drawbacks to having races each week. Hence, NASCAR has to stability it out. One; it has to hold its followers glad by being constant in internet hosting races and two; it has to be certain that the groups are snug operating the races. Longtime NASCAR crew chief Jimmy Fennig appears like the groups and the drivers ought to have the opportunity to adapt. But simply because they’ll, doesn’t imply they need to.