IndyCar had a 51st-time winner in Scott Dixon and a first-time winner in Patricio O'Ward. Oliver Gavin made his final start driving a Corvette in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Formula One is going all-in on sprint qualifying races, though it might not use them everywhere. Turkey will replace Canada. There was a positive winner in MotoGP. Hypercar ended up on top after all. Motorsports could be returning to Vancouver. NASCAR keeps raising the bar on redundancy for its all-star race. There was also a birthday winner. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.
Let's Have a Real Throwback
The 2021 NASCAR schedule has been different through the first 11 events. The calendar has not had a rhythm, and that is not a complaint. We started with a superspeedway before running a road course, a pair of 1.5-mile ovals, Phoenix, Atlanta, the Bristol dirt race, another pair of short tracks and Talladega.
While there has been some movement and there will be some more new races to come, the next race is something rather usual: a spring race at Darlington.
Until 2004, NASCAR regularly visited Darlington twice. Then it lost a date and the Southern 500 moved to May until it returned to Labor Day weekend in 2015. Darlington came in handy last year when the pandemic altered the schedule, and the 1.366-mile oval hosted the first two races back. After a pair of fun races last spring on top of the Southern 500, NASCAR revived the 400-mile spring race for the 2021 season.
When the Southern 500 returned to Labor Day weekend, it was celebrated as a throwback weekend and teams sported tribute paint schemes for past iconic teams and drivers. With the Southern 500 now in NASCAR's playoff, the series made this spring Darlington race the throwback weekend.
The throwback weekend has kind of been worn out. Many of the paint schemes are just repeats from the previous year. Some "throwbacks" aren't throwbacks. Some are not done properly and does not look all that good. NASCAR has tried themes each year and wanted to honor a specific era, but teams will then run throwbacks from other eras, and it doesn't match. It is alright, but it has run its course.
Only the paint schemes are different after all. It is a visual throwback, but what if the race was an actual throwback?
I am talking about no stages, no lucky dog, no wavearound, no choose rule, single-file restarts, lapped cars to the inside.
We constantly hear from the fans who want things to return how they once were, back before 2003 when a NASCAR race had been practically the same for over 40 or 50 years. If NASCAR can pour dirt on top of Bristol and run a dirt race, why not run a race that is to a set of rules from a different but not all that distant time?
The practical stuff can change. Let's keep the pit lane speed limit and inspection can remain the same and I think racing back to the line doesn't have to return, but all the other things NASCAR has changed regarding the race procedure is flexible.
A race doesn't need stages. Restarts don't have to be double-file. We even saw NASCAR change course in the middle of the Bristol race and run single-file restarts when the race got bogged down and drivers were experiencing visibility issues. The choose rule varies from track to track. It wasn't used at Bristol and it is also not used at Daytona, Talladega and the road courses. Heck, the Coca-Cola 600 has an extra stage, and the Daytona 500 qualifying races are effectively stages with each winner getting ten points.
I don't think it would be that hard of an implementation. The series just doesn't have to throw two cautions during the race for stages and coming to a restart the lead lap cars would stay in order on the outside while the lapped cars dropped to the inside and moved to the front of the field. It would be a shock to the drivers because very few of them ran prior to the double-file era. It would change strategies as the removing the wavearound would trap drivers on the tail end of the lead lap and the driver in 18th could be the car leading the restart.
A different race procedure isn't a bad thing. NASCAR has changed its procedure on a regular basis and arguably it finds a problem with each one. Everyone loved double-file restarts and then drivers found they were at a disadvantage at some tracks where one lane was better than another. Drivers started purposely giving up positions on pit lane to be in the preferred line on a restart. Then NASCAR added the choose rule and now a driver can choose what lane he or she starts in.
If NASCAR is willing to change the track surface for one race, it can surely have one race where it is using an older procedure and I think it would be a good thing to see.
NASCAR had great races with single-file restarts and drivers trapped on the tail end of the lead lap. We didn't need a lucky dog for someone to come from behind. It would be good to show that there is not one size fit all to how a race should be. There is nothing wrong with giving a top driver more power and if someone can lap up to tenth, we should be able to see that race. Teams should be forced to figure out a problem instead of banking on a caution to get a lap back.
There is a skill to the different procedure. With single-file restarts you have to pass a guy for position. You can't just bank on getting the right line. There is a skill in negotiating lapped traffic and using it to keep a driver behind you or using it to make a pass. A true throwback race would take a lot of these drivers out of their element, but it would also allow others to showcase skills we don't get to see with the current procedures.
Darlington is probably the track best set up for it. It is not a wide track, the surface is rough, and drivers have to lift in the corners. It would probably spice up a race at Texas or Kansas. You don't need to do anything at the short tracks. Michigan could be a fun place for it or Loudon. I am not sure it would matter on the road courses, but that could be an option. An oval would likely be better.
I know Darlington has taken on the "throwback" identity because of its history but a true throwback race could take place anywhere, and it could be a fun movable event. One year it is Darlington, the next year it is Pocono or Richmond. With the number of people dismayed with Richmond, a true throwback race there could change the tune of many people.
The paint schemes are fun, but if the drivers and the fans want a true throwback the race itself should be a throwback. It should be different, and it should be something everyone is open to experiencing.
Champion From the Weekend
Cooper Webb clinched his second Supercross championship with a victory in the season finale in Salt Lake City. Webb only needed to finish 19th or better to take the title. It was his eighth victory of the season.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Cooper Webb, Scott Dixon and Patricio O'Ward, but did you know...
Lewis Hamilton won the Portuguese Grand Prix, his second victory of 2021 and 97th of his career.
Jack Miller won MotoGP's Spanish Grand Prix, his first victory since the 2016 Dutch TT. Fabio Di Giannantonio won the Moto2 race, his first victory since the 2018 Moto3 race in Thailand. Pedro Acosta won the Moto3 race, his third consecutive victory to open the season.
The #8 Toyota of Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brandon Hartley won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. The #22 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson of Filipe Albuquerque, Phil Hanson and Fabio Scherer won in LMP2. The #92 Porsche of Kévin Estre and Neel Jani won in GTE-Pro. The #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Nicklas Nielsen, François Perrodo and Alessio Rovera won in GTE-Am.
Kyle Busch swept the NASCAR Cup and Truck races from Kansas.
K-PAX Racing swept the GT World Challenge America races from Austin with the #3 Lamborghini of Jordan Pepper and Andrea Caldarelli winning race one and the #6 Lamborghini of Corey Lewis and Giovanni Venturini won race two.
James Sofronas and Brendan Iribe split the GT America races from Austin. The #47 Nolasport Porsche of Jason Hart and Matt Travis swept the GT4 America races.
Coming Up This Weekend
Formula One moves northeast to Barcelona.
The Monaco ePrix returns and Formula E will run the full Monaco circuit.
NASCAR has its race in Darlington.
Supercars visit Tailem Bend.
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup opens its 2021 season at Magny-Cours.
Super GT has its 500km race from Fuji on Tuesday.
