Inching Toward 2021 – NASCAR
This has been such a crazy year that looking to 2021 is hard to fathom.
Normally, we get to August, some championships are entering the final stretch of races, drivers are disgruntled and looking for a new lease on life, other drivers are proving their worth and earning promotions and series are looking to increase profiles, visiting new venues and finding new sponsors.
Most championships are still getting started and even the ones that have been in session for most of the summer have many questions hanging over the conclusion of their 2020 campaigns.
We are at a point where we have to start looking ahead. The calendar will flip over to 2021 before we know it and the pandemic will follow us into the New Year. It is unclear how it will affect the start of 2021, but we have to preparing and setting dates. Tracks need to know when their races will fall. Teams need to know how it should plan their travel itineraries. There are going to be changes but something has to be down on paper first. We need a plan A for a plan B to exist.
NASCAR had circled 2021 as a major year for change. It was going to be the first year after the five-year track contracts were up. After years of promised variety, 2021 was NASCAR's chance to deliver. We knew of one change, Dover dropping a race to bring back the previously long forgotten Nashville Superspeedway. Whether the last six months prevented other new venues from joining the Cup schedule remains unclear, but we should find out in the next few weeks.
The 2020 season does feel like a break point. We have seen a rather stagnant schedule for almost two decades and there have been enough calls for short tracks that the message is clear. Knowing NASCAR, it was not going to delivery on the demands. It never intended on meeting the demands. It is hoping to shuffle the deck enough for the masses to notice a difference.
I am tired of the current NASCAR Cup schedule. I am not looking for a massive shakeup. I am realistic about what is possible. A few minor changes can go a long way.
More trials have been made in 2020 than in the 50 years of NASCAR. Some things have stuck, others need a little work and a little more practice and some we can move on from.
If there is one thing this year has convinced me of is no 1.5-mile oval should have more than one race. None of them. There is no point in two Texas races or two Las Vegas races or two Kansas races. Run it once and move on.
One-day shows are possible. Doubleheaders can exist but not many and 500-kilometer races are fantastic.
I avoid hypothetical calendars because it is a lazy exercise and you could do it once a month if you so dared. It doesn't show much creative or intelligence. And yet here I am participating in said practice. A different 2021 NASCAR Cup calendar is out there, and I am doing this with the intention of having 36 races with a handful of new tracks mixed in.
1. Daytona 500 - February 14 (NXS and Truck)
It makes sense to start the season as we have been for nearly 40 years.
2. Las Vegas - February 21 (NXS, Trucks)
3. Fontana - February 28 (NXS)
4. Phoenix - March 7 (NXS)
5. Sonoma - March 14 (Trucks)
The western swing now includes all the western races. It makes no sense for NASCAR to leave Sonoma for the middle of June when all its other trips to the Pacific time zone are condensed in February/March and the finale at Phoenix.
Move Sonoma to the middle of March when the runoff area is green, the weather is comfortable and have a road course race early on. And bring the Truck series along. It needs more than one road course race.
6. Homestead - March 24 (NXS, Trucks)
7. Atlanta - March 31 (NXS)
If you can do math, you would know there are ten days between Sonoma and Homestead, which means Homestead is a Wednesday night. Before you question why a race would be held on a Wednesday in March, the thought process is these two races would avoid running on an NCAA tournament Sunday. Instead of being lost in the drama of round of 32 and Elite Eight matchups, NASCAR gets to stand out on Wednesday nights.
Both these races would be 500-kilometer races and we can get it before 10:00 p.m. ET with a 7:30 p.m. ET green flag.
I am still trying to figure out how to squeeze in the other two touring divisions. Would they run on Monday and Tuesday night? Would one be Tuesday night and the other be Wednesday evening with a 4:30 p.m. ET start before the Cup race? There are still holes but if we can figure out midweek races in 2020, we can come up with a suitable plan for 2021 and beyond.
The Atlanta race would also take place four days before Easter, so it would be a way to run an extra race and still get the holiday off.
8. Texas - April 11 (NXS, GOT)
9. Bristol - April 18 (NXS)
10. Richmond - April 25 (NXS, GOT)
11. Talladega - May 2 (NXS)
12. Dover - May 9 (NXS doubleheader, Trucks)
The heart of spring looks mostly the same, but with Dover going down to one Cup race, I figure it would be nice if it kept two Xfinity races and holds a doubleheader. This could be a case of Trucks on Friday, Xfinity on Saturday and Sunday and Cup on Sunday or it could be Trucks/NXS on Saturday and NXS/Cup on Sunday.
The Dover Cup race would also be 350 miles.
13. Martinsville - May 15 (GOT)
EX. All-Star Race - May 22 (GOT) (NXS at Mid-Ohio)
I am not sure where the All-Star Race would be, but it will carry a Truck race with it. If it is Charlotte, then fine. If it is Bristol, then Bristol gets a second Truck race. If it is Martinsville, then maybe Trucks do not run this weekend and that race moves to Charlotte the following weekend and run the Friday night before the Coca-Cola 600.
14. Charlotte - May 30 (NXS)
15. Pocono - June 6 (NXS)
16. Kansas Roval - June 13 (NXS) (Trucks at Texas with IndyCar)
Pocono moves back to its early June date and Pocono loses a race. A Pocono doubleheader was not enough to save its second race. If anything, a Pocono doubleheader stressed we do not need two Pocono races. Pocono gets one race, a 350-miler and the Xfinity Series tags along.
The big change is the shift to the Kansas roval. Charlotte doesn't get a monopoly on rovals and if no 1.5-mile ovals get two races this is a way for Kansas to keep two races. I think the Kansas roval would be better than the Charlotte roval. Let's do it. Two rovals will not end the world.
17. Nashville - June 20 (NXS)
18. Road America - June 27 (NXS, IndyCar doubleheader)
Boom! Big changes come summer 2021.
We get the lackluster Nashville return, and that race should not be longer than 500 kilometers but following that is the first Cup race at Road America in 65 years. Add to it that it is a doubleheader with IndyCar. How does it exactly work? Xfinity Series on Saturday, IndyCar runs Sunday afternoon at 11:30 a.m. local time, like we have seen the last few years, and the Cup race can follow at 3:00 p.m. local time.
Cut the Xfinity race down to 150 miles, shaving eight laps off, make the Cup race 50 laps, 202.4 miles and I think we would all be happy.
19. Indianapolis - July 4 (NXS) (Trucks at IRP)
Yeah, we are keeping Indianapolis on Independence Day weekend and let's just leave the Brickyard 400 on the oval. Keep the Xfinity race on the road course but for the love of all that is holy, send Trucks back to Indianapolis Raceway Park. That's a fun weekend. A short track race, a road course race and a superspeedway. People would love this weekend if IRP returned in some way, shape or form.
20. Chicagoland - July 10 (GOT)
Saturday night, 500-kilometer race. You are welcome.
21. Kentucky - July 14 (NXS)
Another midweek race and this comes the day after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. There are no other sports this day. Make it a full day of NASCAR action. Run a 225-mile Xfinity race at 4:00 p.m. ET and have a 500-kilometer Cup race follow at 7:30 p.m. ET.
22. Loudon - July 18 (NXS, GOT)
The final race before the Olympic break.
23. Watkins Glen - August 8 (NXS)
24. Michigan - August 14 (GOT)
25. Michigan - August 15 (NXS)
Our first, and only, doubleheader! A pair of 500-kilometer races at Michigan! Trucks lead off Saturday and Xfinity leads off Sunday. And this is right at the tail end of the regular season. The Michigan Truck race would actually be the final regular season race for that series.
26. Daytona - August 21 (NXS)
Cup season finale.
Round One
27. Iowa - August 28 (NXS) (Trucks - round one, race one)
28. Darlington - September 5 (NXS) (Trucks at Mosport - round one, race two)
29. Bristol - September 11 (NXS - round one, race one) (Trucks - Final race of round one)
NASCAR's best short track option is sitting there, and the series isn't using it. If Iowa got a Cup race, it would be one of the top three Cup races of the year. And NASCAR is on the verge of wasting Iowa completely. NASCAR cannot be that stupid. I know Newton, Iowa isn't some luxurious market but stop acting like Bristol and Martinsville can exist through some grandfather clause. Go to a great track, one that has been ready for a Cup race for 13 years. The race would be fantastic, and it deserves to be a playoff race.
Round Two
30. Richmond - September 18 (NXS - round one, race two)
31. Talladega - September 26 (Trucks - round two, race one)
32. Charlotte Roval - October 3 (NXS - Final race of round one)
No big changes here but you have a round with a short track, a superspeedway and a roval. You cannot complain about variety.
Round Three
33. Kansas - October 10 (NXS - round two, race one) (Trucks - round two, race two)
34. Texas - October 17 (NXS - round two, race two)
35. Martinsville - October 24 (NXS - Final race of round two) (Trucks - Final race of round two)
Remember how I said no 1.5-mile oval should have two races? This is where the exception to the rule falls into play and it is not because Texas is any good, but it is because Eddie Gossage is in charge and you got to pick your battles. Texas is bad and Gossage made it worse when he screwed up turns one and two. Texas should have only one race, but Gossage has the biggest mouth NASCAR has to appease. We all have to suffer because of Eddie Gossage. Direct your letters to the man in Fort Worth.
Championship Race
36. Phoenix - October 31 (NXS - Championship Race) (Trucks - Championship Race)
Same as 2020, and I am not sure Phoenix is going to be that great of a finale. But NASCAR has made its bed and now it has to sleep in it. It could be the start of NASCAR repeating an IndyCar problem, never being satisfied with the finale and constantly be chasing a dream destination.
At a Glance:
This 2021 schedule would feature (and I am breaking these very specifically because NASCAR fans are too picky with classifications of each racetrack)...
Ten intermediate tracks (1.5-mile ovals and Nashville)
Nine superspeedways (2-mile ovals or larger)
Seven short tracks (Everything under a mile)
Five road courses (Three natural-terrain and two rovals)
Four one-mile ovals (Which should just be lumped in with short tracks)
Darlington (It really doesn't fit the intermediate or short track mold. It is one of a kind)
Yes, the intermediate tracks would still lead the pack, but the number would be down and only one would be visited twice. Of those ten intermediate track races, half would be 500 kilometers and we would also get 500-kilometer races at both Michigan races. The front end of the schedule would be a little top heavy with intermediate tracks, but after Kentucky in July there would not be another one until Kansas in October, nearly three months without one. You have to be satisfied with that change.
We would trade races at Dover, Pocono, Las Vegas and Kansas for races at Nashville, Road America, Iowa and the Kansas roval. It is progress and there is not much else out there, other than Gateway and Circuit of the Americas.
Whenever the actual 2021 schedule is released, it will not look like this, but this is not as far-fetched as one may think.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Lewis Hamilton but did you know...
Nikita Mazepin and Dan Ticktum split the Formula Two races from Silverstone. Liam Lawson and David Beckmann split the Formula Three races. Beckmann was elevated to first after Aleksandr Smolyar was issued a time penalty for weaving.
Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Cup race from Loudon, his third victory of 2020.
Braden Eves, Artem Petrov and Sting Ray Robb split the Indy Pro 2000 races from Mid-Ohio. Christian Rasmussen swept the three U.S. F2000 races.
The #7 Acura Team Penske Acura of Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor won the IMSA race from Road America. The #81 DragonSpeed Oreca-Gibson of Ben Hanley and Henrik Hedman won the LMP2 class. The #3 Corvette of Antonio García and Jordan Taylor won in GTLM class, Corvette's third consecutive victory. The #12 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Townsend Bell and Frankie Montecalvo won in GTD class, the third consecutive victory for Lexus.
Scott Redding won the bookend World Superbike races from Jerez with Jonathan Rea winning the Superpole race. Andrea Locatelli swept the World Supersport races.
Nico Müller and René Rast split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from Spa-Francorchamps.
Coming Up This Weekend
Formula One remains at Silverstone and celebrates its 70th anniversary.
NASCAR has a doubleheader in Michigan.
MotoGP will be at Brno.
World Superbike heads east to Portimão.
Formula E has not one, not two, not three but four races from Berlin this week from Wednesday to Sunday.
Super GT has its second round of 2020 at Fuji.
European Le Mans Series has its second round of 2020 at Spa-Francorchamps.
Supercars has its first of two consecutive weekends at Hidden Valley Raceway.
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Series begins its season at Misano.
GT World Challenge America heads to Sonoma.
