The 2017 NASCAR season saw the implementation of stage racing. 2023 Nascar Chronicle. NASCAR awards a playoff point to the stage winner along with 10 points. The Weather Underground forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and a high of 60 degrees. This allows for planned breaks around the middle portions of the race which, while generally not as eventful as the start or finish of the race, can have moments that fans dont like missing. The second stage also makes up 25 to 30 percent of the race. A crew chief can determine that after stage 1, a guaranteed 9 or 10 points outweighs the uncertainty of racing later in the pack. To determine stage length, NASCAR usually splits the first 60 percent of the race between the first two stages. Drivers now earn bonus points by finishing in the top 10 at the end of the first and second stages of a race. Stage racing is simply NASCAR's way of bunching the field up a couple of times and trying to create something interesting . link to Is NASCAR Racing Profitable for Teams? Each Cup race with the exception of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (with four) has three stages. NASCAR racing did not always include stage racing. As NASCAR viewership moves to a larger digital spectatorship when compared to trackside fans, the race format has needed to adapt as well. It depends on what you watch NASCAR for and what you wish to get out of a race. Racing throughout the years has been exciting and entertaining, but as the technology in the cars improved and the drivers became better, the close racing of the past was lost in the smoke. This bet occasionally pays off, but it can also have disastrous results. All the drivers are bunched together, 2-by-2, trying to make the most of their fresh tires and improve track position while they still can. Rockingham Motor Speedway will begin a new life as a dedicated used car storage centre for the owner of Cinch and WeBuyAnyCar. Playoff points are NASCARs version of home-field advantage seen in other sports: they are a way to reward regular season success in the playoffs. There are points assigned to each stage, and then the points at the end of the race are added in. Confused yet? All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. Stage racing has been controversial among fans but is now a staple of NASCAR competition. If there was a wild wreck or two, it was even better. The racers in the lead change more frequently, which makes the races and, therefore, the season closer in points and more suspenseful for fans. Stage racing means every pit strategy becomes entirely based on the stages. There are 3 stages in nearly all NASCAR races. So, in a nutshell, stage racing has achieved what NASCAR anticipated: adding interest and strategy to the sport. 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The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. "It [not having laps count] would really throw a wrench in the whole strategy game. Those who do not make the cut are left to prepare for the next racing season. But some drivers say it makes superspeedways even more dangerous; lets look at why NASCAR started stage racing and what the stage racing format is. Stages in NASCAR explained First adopted in 2017, stages in NASCAR effectively break the race up into three mini-races. Most first and second stages make up about 25 to 30 percent of the total distance while the final stage is 40 to 50 percent of the total distance. *Added a required . Baker recalled a lengthy meeting with . But NASCAR is, first and foremost, an entertainment entity and recent history has shown its decisions will most often reflect that reality. CONCORD, N.C. NASCAR will do away with stage breaks in all six Cup road course races and select Xfinity and Truck races this season, but teams will continue to score stage points. the device limits the power output of the motor and hence slows both the acceleration and the overall top speeds . Although there are caution laps and times when racing is under a yellow flag, it can be difficult to time commercials perfectly and still give clients the required airtime. They want it to matter. Answers to the 8 Most Interesting NASCAR Questions. The shorter portions of races create different race day strategies that tend to make for a more explosive and action-packed race. Instead of a long 100 or more lap race that requires endurance and only slows down for yellow flag laps and or caution flags, NASCAR decided to add 2 more stages to each race. The main reason is there are no commercial breaks at live race events that can interfere with active racing moments. Stage points incentivize racing throughout the race and not just for the win and to offer more passing opportunities during the race. The first two-thirds of 35 of 36 Cup races feel all but irrelevant. NASCAR instituted stages prior to the 2017 season in a dual effort to create closer competition on the track and make a better television product for fans watching from home. 20 in 2018, Keselowski: Current car design not up to par. The winner of Stage 2 will start second for the final stage provided that driver finishes 15th or better in Stage 3, and the Stage 3 winner will start third in the final stage. I was side-by-side with (. The reasoning behind the change in how the NASCAR races were set up all boils down to one thing. Stage racing falls exactly in line with this philosophy. Furthermore, by vying for highly prized stage points, stages provided NASCAR drivers with additional motivation. During the scheduled stage breaks, it is much easier for NASCAR to sell commercial space for official races, which helps with televised broadcasts. Then-NASCAR president Brent Dewar talked about stage racing and its effect on television viewership in 2017, saying our fans are eating it up.. The NASCAR racing stages are very easy to understand once you know how it works. Many would say yes. Every NASCAR driver will likely say that hasn't changed. The obvious reasons why this change was made in 2017 can be blamed on numerous things, starting with the most important. What are stages in NASCAR? The now-former CEO also cited fan engagement during his announcement, saying stage racing resulted from industry-wide collaborative brainstorming sessions with the ultimate goal being strengthening the sport for our fans. Modern-day NASCAR always strives to put on a great show for fans and is willing to alter tradition to do so, even if the decisions are not always beloved by everyone. There is nothing better than watching a close race from the comforts of your living room, except for maybe a viewpoint from the trackside. This is especially true of teams near the playoff bubble as the season progresses because they know every single point matters. So what's to like about the stages? This applies to all top 3 levels of NASCAR competition: the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Truck Series. While it doesnt happen often, once is enough to piss off a casual fan. After a near-miss between drivers Casey Mears and Dale Jarrett at the Sylvania 300 in 2003, NASCAR opted to implement the rule to halt all racing whenever there was an incident on the track, and the beneficiary rule allowed slower cars to catch up. Through 18 races, the races have been a total combined 80 minutes longer -- 4.4 minutes a race -- than the five-year averages for those events. The soul of NASCAR was a bunch of drivers go toe-to-toe and laying it all on the line for one specific reason to win the race. All picks and predictions are suggestions only. DISTANCE: The race is 400 laps (400 miles) on the 1-mile track. By doing this, they will often trade worse track positions on the next restart to try banking stage points on the front end. On average, the races have lasted seven minutes longer this season than in 2016. Formula 1 on the verge of an amazing all-time record in Abu Dhabi, NASCAR: All the facts and figures from year 1 of the new package, NASCAR: Monday Dover race not being broadcast on Fox, NASCAR changes Dover schedule again due to weather. It makes the race much more exciting because the drivers are not only pushing their cars to the limit to get the winning points at the end but to gain the extra points they can earn by placing in the top ten of every stage. Stage racing is simply NASCAR's way of bunching the field up a couple. According to The Times, Constellation Automotive is purchasing the decommissioned racing track Midlands racing track, which was Europe's quickest banked oval racing circuit, for 80m. By placing in the top 10 at the end of the first and second stages of a race, drivers may now earn additional points. Stage winners and the overall race winner both get playoff points. This race had heat races to set the field but did not have stages during the main event. The reason these points were so valuable is that they are tallied up at the end of a race and decide how many points each driver walks away with. USA TODAY Sports asked about 200 fans at tracks, on the phone and on social media who have reduced their racetrack trips to explain why. Stage 1 makes up roughly the first quarter of the race, though this can vary depending on the track. Whether or not stage racing is good for NASCAR may always be a debated topic for as long as it exists. ", Button battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut. Instead of the field being strung out halfway through a race, the leaders are suddenly brought back together, creating more intensity. 'I belong here': R. Truex wins first NASCAR race, Hendrick to drivers after injuries: Take it easy, Bowman out at least 3 races after sprint car crash, Busch barely makes finish in OT win at Talladega, Burton wins Xfinity Series crash-fest at Talladega, Hamlin claims first superspeedway pole at Dega, Harvick was once NASCAR's punk kid. A pit road penalty or bad pit stop early has consequences. Playoff points are also distributed to the top-10 finishers in the regular season standings on a sliding scale. Stage points are available at the end of stages 1 and 2 for the top 10 drivers. For almost all of its history, the only time a caution flag flew was because of an incident on track. The length of stages at Phoenix Raceway will be different than the stage lengths at other major series races like Daytona. Second place gets 35 points, third gets 34 points, fourth gets 33 points, until 36th-40th . It all just comes down to excitement and incentive at the end of the day. What is stage racing and why does NASCAR do it. Stage racing was implemented in NASCAR to remove the chance of race domination by single race drivers. So, for all those long-time NASCAR fans who dont quite get the race these days, heres your chance to get up to speed on why NASCAR implemented stages. The Clash is an exhibition race that opens each NASCAR season. Still, due to circumstances beyond either of their control, way back when, the Cup series left the city. At Auto Club Speedway, the stage breaks went for 12 . C'mon, admit it. Great for the drivers, but for me personally as a fan (and . How do they work in Cup Series races, and why did NASCAR opt to bring them in in the first place? Here's a sampling of some of the changes for 2004. This race has 4 because it is NASCARs longest race, 100 miles longer than the next highest event. There is a lot to dissect regarding the stage racing format, including how it works and why it was introduced in the first place. Similar complaints have been levied about the various playoff formats NASCAR has used to crown its champion since abandoning the season-long format after the 2003 season. Do fans, especially those watching on television, like these breaks as real breaks when talking about events that often last more than three hours? All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. To attempt to bank stage points up front, they frequently exchange inferior track positions on the subsequent restart. But (a) there are still questionable caution flags thrown at times, and that will never change, and (b) stage-ending cautions still create artificial racing that doesnt belong in NASCAR, or anywhere for that matter. So, I think it was the No. It essentially breaks each race. Just look at the differences in the final 2019 championship standings, the standings without playoffs, and the standings without stages. Kyle Busch, a two-time winner 10 races into the NASCAR Cup Series season, said communication is good between his team and that of teammate Austin Dillon at Richard Childress Racing. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. The total number of laps in the race remains mostly unchanged but how races progress through these laps changes drastically. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. (Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, which has an extra stage) These stages are not equal in length in miles and are divided based on the total length of the track and the mile goal of the event. The pending end of a stage. Stage racing is simply NASCAR's way of bunching the field up a couple of times and trying to create something interesting. All Cup races have stages now, and every Cup race has at least 3 stages. Spend time assessing the needs of those affected by the . To ensure ad space buyers and fans of fixed commercial spots that guarantee interruption-free green flag racing. Race stages also break up speed top-speed races that push cars to their limits for 100s of laps. Because the sport intended to improve the broadcast product by introducing greater urgency during the middle sections of a race, all NASCAR races in the three major series feature stages. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". At the end of the year, the drivers at the top of the points leaderboard move on to the playoffs, when wins are taken into account. To that, NASCAR likely views its new format as "modernizing tradition" and says something like, "Guilty as charged. This means selecting, designing and developing the intervention to be implemented. Buschs win at Talladega last week, his first at the 2.66-mile track in 15 years, gave the team a boost. By all public indications, leadership is happy with the increased urgency during the middle portions of the race and the different strategies which come from them. The top 10 finishers in each stage also earn regular-season points, which is important because at the end of the regular season, drivers ranked 1 to 10 in overall regular-season points earn additional playoff points on a 15-10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale. Stage racing also creates more restarts, sometimes the most action-filled laps of a NASCAR race at certain tracks. Larson returned to the track after repairs. The Daytona Duels are 2 qualifying races that set the field for the Daytona 500. The more entertaining the races are, the more viewers they will get. Although it has caused quite a controversy, stage racing is now a standard feature of NASCAR competition, and its something we all need to deal with. Build your customFanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis onAll Racing and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. The regular season point and playoff point systems are used for all three series; thus, each stage winner receives ten regular season points and one playoff point. The third and final stage decides the winner and all other positions. If any word can define the 2017 NASCAR Cup season, it could be this one: stages. Again, isnt the goal to win races? Initially, only on-track incidents resulted in raising the red flag. Then-NASCAR CEO Brian France addressed the media upon announcing stage racings implementation and was confident the leadership group made the correct decision. Restrictor-plate races have been found to cause bunching up of racers which leaves less time to react to race obstacles. Each of the stages starts and ends with a checked green/white flag, not the traditional end of the race checkerboard. Caution periods and pitstops were the only breaks teams could count on from the rigors of the endurance race, and teams had to strategize accordingly. No matter which side you fall on, it seems like stage racing is here to stay. Stage 1 is 65 laps long, starting at lap 1. Even if they occasionally occur naturally during the race, there are other moments when the chance isnt there. Each race is divided into three stages (four for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway), and points are awarded to the top 10 drivers at the end of stages one and two, with regular points still awarded at the end of each race to each competitor as well. Those events will keep stage breaks because they have non-live pit stops where the field comes down pit road together and positions cannot be gained or lost provided the stop is completed in the prescribed time by NASCAR. The reasons NASCAR implemented stage racing is myriad, as outlined in the info that follows. The truth is that every time NASCAR green-flags a restart, there is a good chance of a great pass or a big wreck happening. As far as the playoff points are concerned, leave that for the race wins. This event marks the first NASCAR Cup Series race on the dirt since 1970. This is because only the finishing order matters in determining a NASCAR champion. NASCAR announced the change Tuesday in a session with reporters at the NASCAR R&D Center. Drivers now earn bonus points by finishing in the top 10 at the end of the first and second stages of a race. With NASCAR, it is always possible future officials could change course in favor of something new and inventive. Please logout and login again. However, the older lot might still reminisce about the old days prior to these additions. NASCAR hasnt just captured the imagination of its race fans, but also of much of the wider world through the medium of film. This is a key decision-making phase in implementation. How would stages make racing more exciting, you might ask? There are some folks out there who just can't grasp stage racing in the spirit of what they view a race should be. NASCAR races were once run start-to-finish with no mandated breaks in the action. I think the fans would ultimately lose.". . I did not mean to do that at all, Chastain told his crew via radio. There will be no stage breaks for the Craftsman Truck Series race at Circuit of the Americas (March 25). NASCAR isn't quite ready for that, aside from the Busch Light Clash, so in 2017 the sanctioning body came up with the ideas of breaking up races into three stages. Your email address will not be published. The 2022 event was raced on a short track created inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Title sponsorship changed the game; it made sense to make sure the sport's biggest stars would be on hand no matter where the series went each week. Despite the fact that NASCAR races typically include three stages, the Coca-Cola 600 is the exception to the norm because of its extended distance. Stage points for the top 10 drivers are awarded at the conclusion of stages 1 and 2. The top 10 at the end of a stage score points. TV/RADIO: FS1 will broadcast the race at 12 p.m. Performance Racing Networks radio coverage begins at 11 a.m. and also will stream at goprn.com. Since 2017, the main three sections of NASCAR (cup cars, XFinity, trucks) all compete in races that have three stages per race, with a fourth stage being added into the longer Coca-Cola 600. In the area of fantasy sports leagues and sports betting, these points offer ways to create more action and build a rooster of winning racers. Stage 2 ends at Lap 250. Stage 3 is made up of whatever miles are left over after the initial two stages, which is typically about half of the race. NASCAR has transformed the football field at the Coliseum into a quarter-mile track and hopes Sunday's race attracts football fans who wouldn't normally watch racing. There was no doubt that the stages changed how people raced and how crew chiefs approached the season-opener, but I don't think we can blame the stages for the unusual amount of carnage, which. If a driver wins both stages and the race, he/she earns a . You might be wondering why NASCAR races now have stages. If fans plan ahead, they can figure when to start eating certain snacks. The top-10 drivers in the first and second stages will qualify for these extra points. Maybe it hasn't. But when I watch NASCAR, I don't get that vibe anymore. Wave them off with a green flag, and about three hours later, see them in with a chequered one. It is frustrating when green flag racing is interrupted by a commercial break, leaving fans mostly clueless as to what is happening. Safety has always been important to NASCAR. With that said, however, he also finished first in both Stages 1 and 2, netting him 20 extra points. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. NASCARs equivalent of the home-field advantage found in other sports is playoff points. Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag after qualifying was canceled Saturday by rain. The final stage goes off the points listed above. But while stage racing likely isnt going anywhere following its first three seasons in the sport, you really have to wonder why its here, what purpose it serves, and above all, whether or not NASCAR should just do away with it. In fact, up until 2017, the race was all-out until you finished. Stage 01. That is just the nature of that beast of restrictor plate racing.. The final stage most closely resembles a traditional, old-school NASCAR race, as there are no more mandated cautions once the green flag flies and drivers hit the gas. Why did NASCAR implement stage racing? Except now, cars flip into the fence with regularity. But it is one part of the system that just seems a little too foreign, riding around waiting for the pits to open until television coverage comes back from commercial breaks. Be the first one to comment on this story. Yes, stage racing adds the element of strategy. The race can end at any time during Stage 3 at NASCAR's discretion . This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. But Would that still be good? The main reason is there are no commercial breaks at live race events that can interfere with active racing moments. The closer the pack is together, and the more incentives they have to go for the lead, the better the entertainment will be for all the fans. Kyle Larson rolled into the crash area with nowhere to go and slammed into Poole. Furthermore, the introduction of stages gave NASCAR drivers an extra incentive by competing for highly coveted stage points. Depending on the course, the first stage can be anywhere from 25 to 30 percent of the races overall duration. When we introduced stage racing we took an element of strategy away from the event, Sawyer. NASCAR Sprint Cup formerly used restrictor plates at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. It's also an incentive to race as hard as you can, no matter what lap it is, which has made for some good racing in the past. And certainly a group of fans would shake their heads in disgust. 1? And it gave Ricky Stenhouse Jr. a reason to bump-and-run to get back on the lead lap, costing Kyle Busch a stage win. Bill France Jr., former NASCAR president, did too. Stage points incentivize racing throughout the race and not just for the win and to offer more passing opportunities during the race. They could round to 90 and then it would be 95, 95 and 187 - which makes Stage 3 pretty long. When the mid-point of the race is stopped for a stage change, instead of being the highest speed passing portion, some fans may be a little put-off. In that 2015 season, the average number of caution laps through 18 races was 47.1 -- two more than the average this year (45.1). The drivers have something to race for, even when it's just lap 20. Are NASCAR cars all the same? Even if NASCAR just shortens the races and doesn't include those laps, it would still seem right. The Stage 1 winner will start on the pole for the final stage - if that driver finishes 15th or better in Stages 2 and 3. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. NASCAR, traditionally an endurance sport, relies on racers staying focused and alive for 3+ hours while sitting in a 140-degree F cockpit and hurtling along a trick at 200 MPH. START: Actor, director, author and podcaster Kevin Smith will give the command to start engines at 12:01 p.m. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 12:10 p.m. PRERACE: Cup garage opens at 9 a.m. Driver introductions at 11:30 a.m. Dan Schafer, pastor of Calvary Assembly of God in Heightstown, New Jersey, will give the Invocation at 11:53 p.m. JAGMAC will perform the national anthem at 11:54 p.m. and then runs 40 percent of the race in the final stage. It is now somewhat common to see teams gamble with their pit strategies to maximize stage points. I think he was actually better than me at the Bristol dirt race and had a better long run car than I did. Brad Keselowski was initially against the premise of stage racing when rumors first spread about the concept in the early 2010s. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. All NASCAR races across the 3 major series have stages because the sport wanted to create a better television product by adding more urgency during the middle portions of a race. Some still wonder, wanting to see how it plays out with stage winners earning one playoff point and race winners earning five. NASCAR instituted stage breaks and stage points for the 2017 season and has kept the system in place since. NASCAR All-Star Race adds element for pit crews The formula for NASCAR has been pretty simple in terms of race format. The move comes in. Now we have a 30 year legacy with the knee-jerk restrictor plate. Drivers have an opportunity to accrue points in the regular season for qualifying in the championship competition. These changes are a far cry from the original spirit of NASCAR races but are working to bring in a younger audience base and provide better value to sponsors. You shouldnt be better positioned to make a playoff run because you were leading a random race on lap 130 of lap 250 or something and ended up 28th while someone who ran 11th in the races early stages gets nothing playoff-wise with a second place finish. The last stage is always the longest distance of the entire race, and usually involves a pitstop as well. Stage racing is impossible in 150-mile races; therefore, NASCAR drivers complete all 60 laps without any pauses. Playoff points are extremely valuable during each 3-race round of the playoffs. Stages help the most in preventing breakaway leaders in the first few laps of the race. The Xfinity and Truck Series stage structures are also much like the Cup Series description listed above. Some like the different element stages add during the middle of races, while others consider stages an abomination and will never support the concept. This is important because it reduces the number of full-screen commercial breaks during green flag racing, something that often irks fans watching from home. 06.06.2017. Stage 2 ends at Lap 29. If a driver is pegged back every 65 laps or so as is the case at the Daytona 500 it will ensure they cant get to far away. Half the field competes in each one based on the results from single-car qualifying held earlier in the week. It was my first time in a new Cup car, and 80 laps out for what? Important racing question: Can NASCAR race in the rain? A crew chief may decide a guaranteed 9 or 10 points after stage 1 is worth the unknown that comes with racing in the back of the pack later.
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