Superspeedway racing has become controversial in recent years. Fans mostly love it, especially the casual NASCAR fan. Most drivers seem to hate it. Joey Logano has been a vocal critic of modern superspeedway racing, calling it broken. After Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race, Chandler Smith voiced his distain for that type of racing. AJ Allmendinger won the Xfinity Series race on Saturday and still stated how he hates the style of racing. Meanwhile, NASCAR has embraced superspeedway racing.
Whether it is called superspeedway racing, pack racing, or restrictor plate/plate racing, it is a fixture of the NASCAR schedule. NASCAR has put a priority on this type of racing. The Cup season starts with the Daytona 500. NASCAR switched the summer Daytona race to the regular season finale. Talladega’s second race is in each of the three series playoffs. NASCAR changed Atlanta to a superspeedway despite drivers’ objections. There are now six superspeedway races on the Cup Series schedule. Why has NASCAR done this? Simple reason: these races draw huge ratings. Putting this type of race during important parts of the schedule is helps bring eyes to the product when NASCAR wants it most.
It is easy to see why fans enjoy superspeedway racing. Pack racing means the cars stay close to each other throughout the entire race. Outside of when the single file train forms, there are constant battles for position, fights for the lead, and every moment is filled with entertainment. If one driver slips up, it normally leads to a multi-car accident. Almost anyone can win at a superspeedway rather than the same assortment of drivers who usually dominate the rest of the season. At the same time, those same reasons are why drivers (and owners) hate these races. One slip-up can ruin multiple drivers’ races. A race winner can be determined by surviving to the end rather than excellent driving ability. Both sides can use the same reasons and reach different conclusions.
However, superspeedway racing was not always like this. There used to be an appreciation for pack racing. Some drivers excelled at these tracks and they were revered for it. This was not that long ago either. Looking at the superspeedway races in the 1990s and 2000s shows a completely different type of racing than seen today.
The Big One(s)
Racing at the superspeedway tracks has evolved over the years. Prior to the restrictor plates, the cars were spread out as they are at every other track. Once the restrictor plates were put on, pack racing became the norm. During a brief period introduced with the Car of Tomorrow (COT), tandem drafting was the style. Today, pack racing has returned. However, this pack racing contains more danger than the previous iteration.
The looming threat of the “Big One” will always follow pack racing. It is the nature of that style of racing. Pack twenty-plus cars within a second of each other and a minor mistake can lead to carnage. However, the difference between the past and now is the amount of “Big Ones” there are today. Today, there seem to be at least three or four “Big Ones” per race. Superspeedway races finish with over half the field with significant damage. While those races would happen previously, it was not every single superspeedway race.
Saturday’s Xfinity Series race was a shock to the system. Outside of a single car spin early in the race, the race went caution free (besides stage breaks). Also, a last lap pass did not end up with half the field crunching sheet metal. That is unbelievable in today’s superspeedway racing. In the 1990s/2000s, that type of race would not have been a complete shock. During that time, most superspeedway races would have the “Big One”. However, those races would only have one of them, hence the name. The only series that would be a wreck fest would be the Truck Series. Meanwhile, Xfinity Series and Cup Series were calmer.
While NASCAR sells their product with wrecks in their advertisements, it should not be a major selling point. The “Big One” should be a looming threat to keep the audience on its toes during the race. It should not be an inevitability during the closing laps of every stage. A superspeedway race should be exciting for the intensity of the racing rather than a glorified demolition derby, especially with the safety concerns with the Next Gen cars.
Drivers Share Blame
There is a form of irony to hear Joey Logano complain about the wrecks that accompany superspeedway racing. When it comes to those wrecks, it is not uncommon to see Logano as the cause. Logano has become notorious for throwing late race blocks and generally driving aggressively. His block in the 2021 Daytona 500 caused the massive wreck that saw Austin Cindric’s car go up in flames. During his Duel race in 2022, Logano spun himself out trying to block Chris Buescher from taking the lead. This year’s Coke Zero 400 saw Logano participate in some aggressive driving that wrecked Michael McDowell and himself. For someone who complains about the wrecks, Logano finds himself at the center of some of these incidents.
While NASCAR constantly messes with the setups for the plate tracks, drivers share a good chunk of blame for the increased carnage at the superspeedways. Last second blocks, aggressive bump drafting, pushing in the corners, and not lining up correctly are all driver based issues that lead to wrecks. Across all series of NASCAR, the level of aggression behind the wheel has increased. This type of aggression on superspeedways is a recipe for disaster. After every big wreck at these tracks, you can normally point to a driver mistake as the issue rather than a mishandling car.
Once again, the Truck Series used to be the main series where driver mistakes frequently caused wrecks. It made sense though. The Truck Series usually has the most inexperienced drivers piloting the largest vehicles in NASCAR within inches of each other. That leads to more accidents. However, the drivers of the Cup and Xfinity Series were supposed to be more refined in their ability to avoid wrecking each other. Now, every series is filled with these driver errors causing wrecks throughout the superspeedway races.
The Lost Art
Dale Earnhardt used to say that he could “see the air” during superspeedway races. Watching Earnhardt drive around Daytona or Talladega was a sight to behold. Earnhardt could maneuver his car through the field with ease. That ability was seemingly passed to his son. Dale Earnhardt Jr was able to drive his car up and down the running order at will. In a handful of laps, either Earnhardt could navigate from outside the Top-20 to battling for the lead. It demonstrated that there was an art to driving at superspeedways. Rather than purely luck, it took skill to win these races.
There were some drivers who specifically thrived at superspeedways. Prime example is Michael Waltrip. All four of his Cup Series wins came at Daytona or Talladega. Even if he was not a top driver during the season, he was always a threat at the superspeedways. Waltrip thrived at these places. Nowadays, those types of drivers are growing fewer. Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr stand out as some notables who run well at superspeedways. However, it is different than it used to be.
When was the last time a driver was able to weave their way through the field in a handful of laps? It does not happen as much anymore. Drivers struggle to move through the field without cautions and pit stops helping them. Even when it is not single file, the field seems to get stuck in place during races. The most dreaded words during a superspeedway race to hear is “high speed pace laps”. Commentators say that as if it is a good thing that is happening. However, it definitely is not.
“High speed pace laps” means the two racing lines are stagnant. There is no real passing going on. Drivers are unable to push their way up through the field. It takes a driver double digit laps to regain the positions he would lose for attempting to start a new line. For most races, the only way to move a line forward is to get outnumber the other line with overwhelming numbers. When the commentators are wondering why no one is stepping out of line with ten laps to go, it is because getting kicked from line means losing a chance to win the race.
Stagnant double-wide racing is not the recipe for great superspeedway racing. Hate to break it to NASCAR, but it is not entertaining watching the same two cars yo-yo the lead for twenty laps. Watching drivers cycle through the lead due to other drivers successfully pulling off runs is more exciting than watching the leader hop between the faster line gaining on him. The skill of superspeedway racing seems to be vanishing from the sport. It might have been an underappreciative form of racing, but it was better than what the current product is giving fans. Instead of watching drivers demonstrate great ability, NASCAR is producing wreck fests and roulette wheel winners.
