Almost every week from mid-February to early November, NASCAR hosts an event of exciting racing. Fans of NASCAR get to experience intense, action-packed racing throughout a long grueling season. They are witness to quality racing at a variety of tracks along with large personalities filling the seats of the cars. Drama fit for television plays out through on-track rivalries that occasionally spill over to pit road. It is everything NASCAR wants. Unfortunately for NASCAR, this quality product is taking place on Saturdays with the Xfinity Series.
The Xfinity Series is the best racing NASCAR has right now. While it may be a bold proclamation, it is difficult to argue against that statement. No matter the track, NASCAR’s “B” series is usually the one producing the top tiered content of a race weekend. Plus, it avoids the messy off-track drama that plagues the Cup Series. Outside of the antics of Ty Gibbs, the Xfinity Series has compelling stories that stem from the events of the race rather than the safety of the car, NASCAR’s wild inconsistencies with penalties, or what new insult Denny Hamlin has for NASCAR on Twitter. It is the relaxing escapism that sports are supposed to provide to viewers. After a race, there is no dash to social media to vent frustrations about the sanctioning body of the sport. Bottom line, the Xfinity Series is fun.
NASCAR has an issue on their hands. Their top series is being outclassed by its own minor league series. Some race weekends, both the lower series shine brighter than the Cup Series. If not for the constant immaturity of the drivers, the Truck Series would also be placed above the Cup Series. This is not a 2022 issue for NASCAR. Though the Next Gen car has provided more issues for Cup this year, the Xfinity Series has been a better product over the past few seasons. It has even produced some decent races at Texas Motor Speedway. How can NASCAR have one consistently great lower series yet their top series is mired in mediocrity?
Removing the Buschwhackers
“Buschwhackers” were plaguing the middle series of NASCAR in the mid-2000s/early-2010s. For those unaware, “Buschwhackers” were fulltime Cup Series drivers racing in the Xfinity Series. From 2006 to 2010, the Xfinity Series champion was a Buschwhacker pulling double duty. After Brad Keselowski’s championship in 2010, NASCAR changed the rules when it came to who could earn points. A driver could only earn points for one series during a season.
This initial change was a start, but the issue remained. Cup Series drivers were still plaguing the Xfinity Series field. While the full time Xfinity Series drivers were winning championships, they were not winning races. Austin Dillon won the championship in 2013 without winning a race. NASCAR again had to implement a change to fix this issue. Starting in 2017, NASCAR restricted the amount of races a veteran, full time Cup Series driver could race in the lower series. What started out as a ten race limit now has turned into five. This rule change has saved the Xfinity Series.
Cup Series drivers still can spoil some races by popping into the Xfinity Series from time to time. Kyle Busch won all five races he entered last year. Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson also won Xfinity races this year. However, the focus has now shifted back to the full time Xfinity drivers. Not only in terms of media attention during their races, but the team owners have to focus on racing full time drivers, especially the top tiered teams. “Buschwhackers” hampered the flow of young drivers into the Cup Series. Now, each manufacturer has at least one highly competitive team with a lineup that features future Cup Series hopefuls.
Rather than relying on Cup Series veterans, teams now have to develop their programs with drivers committed to the Xfinity Series. That shift has allowed the series to return to its former glory. There is good mix of developmental drivers and veteran drivers that are committed to dominating the Xfinity Series. Instead of being a glorified practice session for half the Cup Series field, the Xfinity Series is a stand alone brand.
Formula for Success
There is good recipe brewing in the middle series of NASCAR. All the factors that play into quality racing are featured almost every week.
The Xfinity Series car is the best vehicle in NASCAR right now. A composite body that is forgiving for banging against the wall or another driver without being an automatic tire failure or safety nightmare is ideal for stock car racing. This is what NASCAR wanted to replicate for the Next Gen car. Drivers are able to push the car to its max without fear of injury. Both Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs have discussed a hesitancy to push the Next Gen while having no such fear in their Xfinity Series ride. A quality car allows drivers to push the limit without hesitation.
In addition to the car, the mix of drivers in the Xfinity Series adds to the success. Developmental drivers work through the series to get ready for the Cup Series. As seen over the past few season, it sometimes takes a driver two or three years to start dominating the series. Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Noah Gragson are examples of this. Ty Gibbs is an outlier with how well he has run since the word go. Mixing it up with the kids are veteran drivers who are the perfect tests for the young drivers. Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, and, formerly, Elliott Sadler are the tests for advancement. Win against guys like that and it means something.
Plus, there are the feel good stories of the Xfinity Series. Smaller teams that find their way into the playoffs like Jeremy Clements Racing and RSS Racing with Ryan Sieg are compelling stories to watch each week. Both teams beat out a Kaulig and RCR entry to make the playoffs. Then there are the surprise feel good stories that pop up sporadically such as Ryan Vargas qualifying in the top-10 twice this year and Bailey Currey showing speed at Bristol. Everyone loves a good underdog story.
A healthy mix of drivers with some great personalities help boost the entertainment value. Any postrace interview with Noah Gragson has some intrigue to it. Whether it is his interesting victory celebration or his unfiltered interviews, it is much watch TV. AJ Allmendinger’s lack of filter also is great for the series. Add in Chris Rice’s over the top personality to that and Kaulig has enough for the entire series. If Daniel Hemric can ever find victory lane again, there is a back flip waiting. Ty Gibbs is the established villain of the series. The plethora of grizzled veterans who do not allow the young guys to push them around fuels some rivalries to watch week to week. It is the best cast of characters in NASCAR.
Perhaps the biggest drawback to the Xfinity Series is the lack of depth. Outside the superspeedway races, the list of potential winners is down to a handful of drivers. However, it works in the Xfinity Series. Part of the reason is because once a driver dominates the series, he moves up to the Cup Series. After Briscoe won eight races, he was called up by SHR. Cindric won eleven races and a championship in two years then got moved up by Penske. Gragson has been the leader of the pack this year. Next year, he will be racing in the Cup Series. The constant flow of talent helps keep it fresh.
The other part of why it works is because the racing is competitive from start to finish. Even if there are only five possible winners, those five normally stay close enough throughout a race to keep it interesting to the checkered flag. It is okay to see the same names at the front each week. If they are duking it out for the wins in the closing laps (without NASCAR manufacturing a late race caution), who cares if it is Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, or Penske drivers every week?
Lessons for the Cup Series
NASCAR needs to learn some valuable lessons from the Xfinity Series to improve the Cup Series. While the Cup Series draws millions of viewers compared to hundreds of thousands for Xfinity, that does not mean the Cup Series is the premier product. Alter the marketing between the two series and the Xfinity Series could get closer to drawing a million viewers most weeks.
Perhaps the primary thing NASCAR can learn is to leave the Cup Series alone. NASCAR is constantly meddling with the Cup Series. This was especially true with the Gen 6 car with the horsepower and downforce. Every week, it seemed that NASCAR had to announce what the restrictions were for the car. Did it ever lead to better racing? Not really. Meanwhile, NASCAR has only made a minor change to the setups for superspeedways for the Xfinity Series in recent years. NASCAR is trying to puppet the Cup Series into being entertaining while leaving the Xfinity Series (and Truck Series) alone. Crazy how a hands-off approach is leading to better quality.
NASCAR’s insistence on being hands-on with the Cup Series can be tied to the Next Gen issues. Altering the Cup Series to a centralized chassis has caused the most chaotic season in years. It has been so bad that NASCAR has to foot the bill to pay for changes that will be coming for the car this offseason. Plus, the Next Gen car has failed to bring a sniff of a new manufacturer. Dodge, who was reportedly interested in returning previously, has decided to not pursue an imminent NASCAR future. All of this meddling and it has not accomplished a better product or attracting new manufacturers.
The Cup Series has seen historic parity this season. With four races left, there have been twenty different winners. Does that parity equal improved racing? No. Parity does not equal quality. Cup Series races this year have felt like a roulette wheel of winners. It is nice to see Trackhouse, Petty, and RFK find victory lane in a season. However, most fans would prefer a higher quality of racing even if it meant less diversity in winners. Other than early in the season, the drama surrounding the car and NASCAR has outweighed any quality on track. That is not a recipe for a successful brand.
Meanwhile, the Xfinity Series has been producing exciting racing. On-track quality has been better even though three drivers have won seventeen races. The issue with the Cup Series has not been a couple of drivers dominating the season. Rather, it has been how the dominating is happening. NASCAR seemingly mistook Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson’s large win totals as the problem rather than the lack of intrigue in the finishes. Noah Gragson won four races in a row yet it never felt like a foregone conclusion halfway through the race. AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs battled it out for Allmendinger’s fourth ROVAL win in a row. Drivers dominating does not mean the product is stale or boring.
The Xfinity Series has thrived in compelling racing from start to finish. Short tracks race and feel like short track racing. Dirty air has not been as much of issue as it has been for the Cup Series. Road courses have been entertaining. Superspeedways are superspeedways; it is difficult to mess that up. A diverse set of winners is not necessary to quality racing. NASCAR should know this but it seems that they do not. The worry and focus is on evening out the field for them. How is that working?
Obviously, there are some things that the Cup Series cannot replicate from the lower series. The main thing being the constant cycling of drivers. Drivers are supposed to move through the Xfinity Series and hopefully remain in Cup for a lengthy career. That will not change. Also, the costs for starting a Cup Series team is never going to drop to the level of the Xfinity Series. NASCAR can try, but it cannot force the market that low. While Trackhouse and 23XI have early successes, what other new Cup Series team is rising up like Kaulig Racing did in the Xfinity Series.
With that said, NASCAR can do an honest review of their product and see something is off with the Cup Series. While NASCAR fumbles around with the Cup Series, fans can continue to enjoy the Xfinity Series. It is the best product NASCAR has going right now. If they are smart, NASCAR will realize what it is (or is not) doing with the Xfinity Series and replicate that with the big boys.
