CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR opened the season with nearly leaching in the first two races of the year, it could have set the tone for a miserable 2024 campaign.
Instead, the biggest motorsports series in the United States showed it can be flexible, moving up its preseason race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum by a full day to set the stage for a year unpredictable.
There have been 18 different winners, including Austin Dillon, who was disqualified from entering the playoffs for the aggressive driving that secured his victory. Joey Logano was the controversial Cup Series champion and sparked discussion about playoff fairness.
NASCAR heads into 2025 season with a paid Cup Series race outside the United States for the first time in the modern era: a trip in Mexicoa highlight of the first year of NASCAR’s new 7-year multi-partner TV package. He also continues to fight against a federal government antitrust suit filed by two teams, one of which is owned by Michael Jordan.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps found himself defending the four drivers competing for the title last month and promising to review the format if it was warranted. He also touted the positive TV ratings and what worked for the series in 2024.
“It shows that the sport is resilient and growing,” Phelps said.
How it started
In incredible rain.
The third edition of the exhibition Showdown at the Colosseum was threatened before crews arrived due to heavy rain heading toward California. With one eye on the radar, NASCAR knew there was no way it would be able to race on the scheduled day.
So the officials piled in an entire two-day event in a single Saturday — one day The Colosseum wasn’t even supposed to be open to fans – in an unprecedented move that cost NASCAR dearly, both in terms of television viewership and money.
“We did something we had never done before. We ran one race a day and we raced Saturday night,” Phelps said. “I got crushed in the ratings, didn’t I? Saturday night is the lowest rated day of the week, but it was the right thing to do.
The rain too postponed season opener Daytona 500 in February, and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was shortened by rain – that one spoiled Kyle Larson’s shot for complete the Indy 500-Coke 500 double. Chicago Street Race was also interrupted by rain, rendering three of the season’s biggest events spoiled by weather.
And yet, Phelps noted that NASCAR came out of a 27% viewership gap at the end of the season.
“If you had asked me at the start of the year, ‘I bet you you can climb out of a 27% hole in the 500 and then two double-digit rating drops in your next two highest-rated races,’ I would. I said it wouldn’t happen,” he said. “And we’re sitting here for our Cup races, we’re in positive numbers.”
How they ran
Most of the winners were familiar faces: Larson, with a series-high six wins, and William Byron, winner of the Daytona 500 was one of five drivers to achieve three victories each this season.
Logano, who won his third Cup championship, had only one victory in the regular season. But he won three playoff races to become just the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win three or more Cup titles.
There were also a few surprises. Chase Briscoe And Harrison Burton won the final two races of the regular season to clinch the final two playoff spots among the 16 drivers. It was bittersweet for both.
Briscoe represented Stewart-Haas Racing, which essentially folded at the end of the season. Burton, a first-time Cup Series winner, won in his final season with Wood Brothers Racing.
Dillon earned his first victory in nearly two years with a victory at Richmond Raceway that was ultimately overturned by NASCAR because he wrecked two cars in the closing laps. There are also allegations that Richard Childress Racing purchased configuration information on Dillon’s car by a Joe Gibbs Racing employee. JGR declined to comment and no formal complaint has been filed.
In the penultimate race of the season, with championship places on the line, NASCAR imposed heavy fines on several teams to cooperate with each other to help drivers representing the same manufacturers. NASCAR found he is manipulative and has stated that he will not rule out suspensions of drivers in the future.
The playoffs
NASCAR also won’t rule out taking a look at the playoff format after the title was won by Logano, who was technically eliminated from the field after the second round. But when Alex Bowman’s car failed inspection following the elimination race, Logano was reinstated and continued to give Roger Penske wins his third straight Cup Series title.
NASCAR was adamant the four good drivers raced for the title — Logano, regular-season champion Tyler Reddick, Byron and 2023 champion Ryan Blaney — but said he would revisit the system if necessary.
“We’re always looking to see if there are opportunities to tweak something,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s chief operating officer. “We are not the only sport where the best statistical team does not reach the Final Four, the Super Bowl or the World Series. We’re not going to give up on the playoffs. We read the fans and everything. We will, as we always do, absolutely look at what shape the playoffs will take during the offseason.
The trial
NASCAR has been engaged for more than two years in contentious negotiations with teams over its revenue-sharing model, based on charter agreements. A deal described by the teams as a The final “take it or leave it” offer was presented 48 hours before the start of the playoffs in September.
Of the 15 teams holding 36 charters, 13 have signed. The two that refused – 23XI Racing, owned by NBA Hall of Famer Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by businessman Bob Jenkins – are now suing NASCAR for antitrust allegations.
NASCAR has since revoked lease offers to both teams, which held two each. The charters guarantee a place in the field in all 38 races as well as guaranteed income. The teams can still compete as “open” cars but will not have the same protections. The two teams had reached agreements to purchase charters from Stewart-Haas Racing to expand their organization to three cars, but NASCAR said it would not honor those transfers.
The teams requested a hearing in December to obtain an injunction to provide some clarity to the situation before the charters expire at the end of this year. NASCAR on Monday asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed outright.
The ramifications are enormous, but it is unclear how 23XI and Front Row can or will proceed if there is no resolution by February. A lawyer representing the teams, Jeffrey Kessler, says drivers and sponsors can leave both organizations if cars are not chartered. And without the transfer of SHR charters, expansion is in question even though both teams have hired drivers for 2025.
It’s a complicated fight that will likely last until a judge reaches a decision or a settlement is reached – and no one knows if that will happen before the Preseason Clash, which will take place for the first time. at Bowman-Gray Stadium in North Carolina on February 2.
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