Kyle Busch believes NASCAR can expand its street course portfolio after profitable Chicago outing

In 2023, NASCAR decided to mix things up by adding the Chicago Street Course. Sure, the rain played a spoilsport role in the Windy City, but it also added a touch of thrill to the race. This twist in the NASCAR calendar introduced NASCAR to a new face: Shane van Gisbergen.

With NASCAR hinting at the idea of ​​spicing up the track roster, could we see more street racing on the horizon? Kyle Busch recently weighed in on this topic, sharing his thoughts on whether street circuits could become a regular feature and offering his picks for potential new battlegrounds for NASCAR.

Kyle Busch thinks including more street classes wouldn’t make some people happy

There’s something electric about being in the driver’s seat during a race, especially when it’s in the concrete jungle of an inner city. The idea of ​​avoiding the city center, with its sharp turns and narrow streets, thrills many drivers, eager to flex their driving muscles in a setting a little off the beaten track. But it’s not just about turns on the track. NASCAR’s brilliant next-generation car, with its aerodynamic design, beefier tires and wider stance, tends to challenge drivers to the max as they weave through streets and road courses.

As for whether NASCAR could see more street racing in the upcoming season, when Kyle Busch was asked, he reflected: “Looking at the city of Vegas, they weren’t all very happy about F1 being there, but it was a great show, it was a great race, it really put on a really neat look there so maybe there’s something with that uh you know there’s obviously other areas that have been rumored about something in Manhattan or not in Manhattan , but like the Long Island area or something like that, but you never know, we’ll see that it will definitely make some people not too happy, “ since they enjoy driving on street or highway courses equally.

Three years ago, the bigwigs at NASCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway decided to change things up, swapping the traditional oval race for a road race. Kyle Busch wasn’t thrilled, even calling the road course a “parking lot” at the time. During a conversation with the Indianapolis Star last year, in February 2023, the two-time champion did not mince his words. He laid it out clearly.

Furthermore, he expressed his grievances regarding the road routesaying, “But I don’t know why we went to the road course, to be honest with you. I don’t think it increased or changed anything in Indy. If we can’t do a good enough job of attracting enough people to Indy to keep us on the oval, then we have to go somewhere else, like anywhere. Well, things have changed a lot in just a year.

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From 2020 to 2023, NASCAR has been adventurous with new road courses, adding courses like Daytona, Indianapolis, Road America, Circuit of the Americas and the Chicago Street Course. Now, road races represent a sixth of the season’s program. Since road racing generally has fewer accidents than oval tracks, NASCAR may want to toy with the idea of ​​having more street racing in future years. However, according to Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR could soon move more towards traditional ovals.

Jordan Bianchi had a heart-to-heart with fans about the NASCAR Cup Series schedule

In June of last year, while a fan was eager to know what the 2024 Cup schedule might look like, Jordan Bianchi, without beating around the bush, pointed out that NASCAR had more wiggle room in its schedule these days, allowing them to stray from the tracks. it doesn’t quite measure up in terms of thrilling racing.

He implied, “Expect such fluidity to continue.” Partly because a number of fans (and drivers) believe that NASCAR visits too many road courses each year, combined with lukewarm racing, the 2024 schedule is expected to feature fewer road courses with the strong possibility that the Indianapolis race will return to its 2.5. fast one mile track. Also don’t be surprised if there is pressure for Speedway Motorsports to move Charlotte’s fall playoff race from the Roval to the 1.5-mile oval.

Kyle Busch makes his expectations clear with RCR in his second season

Now, just because Bianchi has an inkling of these changes doesn’t mean NASCAR is set in stone to follow suit. But it shows they’re not afraid to shake things up if necessary. If road racing continues to get a bad reputation, Bianchi thinks NASCAR might just put the brakes on it.