Power isn’t the biggest problem in short track racing

For whatever it’s worth, short track racing is a key part of NASCAR’s DNA. This is a big part of what makes NASCAR what it is.

Throughout the sport’s 76-year history, short tracks have been a big part of the program, and in the early days they made up virtually the entire program. They are beloved by drivers and fans alike because of their rich history, close-quarters action, and representation of grassroots racing.

Many, if not all, drivers racing in NASCAR today got their start in racing as youngsters on local small-town short tracks. This is where they cut their teeth and learned their trade. Because of this, NASCAR, as a sport, feels right at home every time it visits these tracks.

Since hosting its first race in 1949, Martinsville Speedway has had at least two dates on the Cup Series schedule each season. It has consistently been one of the best tracks that NASCAR has visited, year after year, with its paperclip shape creating endless action and memories.

However, after William Byron’s victory at Martinsville gave Hendrick Motorsports a 1-2-3 finish last Sunday, the discussion about this great track and its product has not been positive. In fact, it was simply adding fuel to an already burning flame: the downfall of short track racing.

THE A new generation car has been developed by NASCAR for years to accomplish a lot, but the main goal was to right the wrongs of the Gen 6 car used from 2013 to 2021 in terms of how the cars could compete.

Although the new car largely solved its predecessor’s problems on mile-and-a-half tracks, it came at the expense of quality short-track racing. In an incredibly rapid turn of events, every time there is a week of short track racing, a collective groan can now be heard across America.

As a result, it has become extremely difficult to overtake, for a multitude of reasons to explain, even if a car is much faster than the one in front of it. This has led to many recent instances of single file racing, lap after lap after lap, for multiple races on multiple short tracks.

As is seemingly the case with everyone in NASCAR these days, this has sparked a lot of debate about what can be done to improve the racing. The one argument that has continually been made is that NASCAR should just allow teams to run more horsepower at these tracks.

After the race at Phoenix Raceway in early March, this argument was the talk of virtually everyone in the NASCAR garage.

Adding more power under each driver’s right foot would undoubtedly make a difference. This would increase speeds, which would introduce more time for the brakes entering a corner, and more time to release the throttle into a corner. In theory, a car’s performance would be more dependent on the skill of the driver.

Although this would indeed solve some problems, it is not a panacea. Remember, the late Gen 6 era almost always had great short track racing despite only having 80 more horsepower than the current cars. There are several problems with this Next Gen car as a chassis that even 10,000 horsepower could never fix.

First of all, the tires are much wider on the Next Gen car than on the Gen 6 car, and they have a smaller sidewall. They are also way too hard, meaning there is virtually no tire drop. All of this makes the tires much more forgiving and allows drivers to drive as hard as they want with little to no consequences.

Then there’s the car’s body, which is made of composite materials to reduce impact damage. But it also comes at the expense of a good race. Gone are the days when a driver could perform a subtle “bump and run” on the driver in front of them, as the cars are now so strong that they can withstand a few shots without issue.

Finally, there is the transmission. With the Next Gen car’s five-speed sequential gearbox compared to the traditional four-speed H-shaped gearbox of years past, shifting gears has become a common occurrence for a driver who wants to avoid a mistake. If a driver makes a mistake and their revs drop, they simply downshift, put their foot down and lose almost no time.

Of course, this does not mean that these cars are easy to drive, because no ordinary person or athlete could sit in the seat and be as fast as any professional driver.

However, what NASCAR currently has is a car that has a very small setup window compacted into a very tight set of restrictions, and there is only one optimal way to drive it. There is no way to be creative and differentiate yourself from the rest of the field.

Combine that with the small skill gap between all the top drivers, and you get a follow-the-leader scenario, in which every car is almost the same and every driver drives at a very similar pace, unable to do anything to stand out and make a difference.

NASCAR made it minor changes to the short track package to start the 2024 season, but it has produced little to no positive results. In the days following the lackluster Martinsville race, NASCAR said they ‘have to work harder’ make more improvements, but what changes really need to be made?

In the short term, the simplest and quickest solution would be for Goodyear to bring a very soft tire to the rest of short track racing in 2024. The only objectively good short track race in recent years was last month’s race at Bristol Motor. Speedway, with everyone hanging on to their cars after just 50 laps of racing with destroyed tires.

There were finishers and spectators throughout the race, a ton of overtaking and plenty of pit strategy on display, with some teams trying to outlast the competition and stay on the track while others pitted early and were up to four seconds faster than everyone else. other.

It proved that even with a flawed car, NASCAR can put on a great show, with or without a power increase.

However, in the long term, every change imaginable should be on the table, including an increase in power. What’s important is that NASCAR finds the right combination of changes to implement, and not just a bunch of knee-jerk reactions like they’ve already done to start 2024 – to no avail.

The sport cannot afford to have tracks representing its roots putting on mediocre shows in front of its core fans for much longer.