If you’ve read my columns before, you’re well aware that I’m not a fan of races that devolve into embarrassing demolition derbies by the very end.
Not only are these finishes a black mark for the supposedly premier stock car drivers of the entire country, but they take everything that happened in the scheduled distance and throw it straight into the dumpster. We saw the haves and have nots in the first 300 laps at Nashville Superspeedway on June 30, but the finishing order instead looked like the output of a random name generator.
During the end, I even called for a limit on the number of overtime attempts after the Cup field was unable to run one clean lap for either the third or fourth time in a row.
But having sat on the race and finish for a couple days, overtime isn’t necessarily the crux of the problem. It’s the restarts.
For starters, reducing the number of overtime attempts will greatly increase the probability of races ending under caution. And while some scheduled-distance purists exist out there, reducing the number of overtimes or eliminating them entirely would be deeply unpopular; the system has been in place for over two decades for a reason.
Instead, it would be beneficial to allow unlimited attempts for overtime, but have the overtime restarts be single-file rather than double.
Single-file restarts would spread out the cars and reduce the side-by-side racing, yes, but the spread-out nature of the restarts would reduce the number of accidents while still allowing for an exciting green-flag finish.
If it sounds like a ridiculous idea on the surface, keep in mind that NASCAR called a mid-race audible for single-file restarts in the inaugural Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race in 2021 because double-file restarts presented far too many issues. NASCAR called the same audible at the Chicago street course last year due to the rainy conditions, and it has also amended the restart zones at road courses like Circuit of the Americas and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course because the drivers would go guns blazing into turn 1 and repeatedly crash at the end of the race.
If single-file restarts and new restart zones could be implemented then, there’s no reason why they couldn’t be implemented for overtime finishes now.
Because beyond the questions of driver etiquette in the closing laps, finishes like Nashville are nothing but a detriment to the teams. Eight cars crashed out past the scheduled distance last weekend, and countless others were damaged for an expense bill that had to have been close to $1 million, if not more.
And in an era when NASCAR is doing everything it can for teams to cut costs and save money, it feels somewhat hollow when there are rules in place that allow overtime finishes like Nashville to junk a half-dozen cars and cause thousands in damage — especially at superspeedways like Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, where a clean run to the checkered flag feels more rare than witnessing a total solar eclipse these days.
Single-file restarts in overtime would reduce the number of demolition derbies like Nashville while guaranteeing a close-quarters, green-flag run to the checkered flag. And while it’s not a 100% perfect solution to the problem, it allows the best compromise for fans, drivers and team owners.
2. Is this the end for Hailie Deegan & AM Racing?
It’s been a rough year for Hailie Deegan at AM Racing in her NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie season, but it was still quite a shock to hear news of her being replaced by Joey Logano for this Saturday’s (July 6) race at Chicago.
While one could get the impression that Logano could be in the car for a one-race opportunity to gauge the team’s equipment and performance, it appears that taking Deegan out of the car might be more of a permanent call than a temporary one.
In this week’s Dale Jr. Download, Logano explained how he got the call to drive the No. 15:
“[AM] called me last week, and said, ‘hey, we got the seat here for the No. 15, it seems like it’s gonna open up, and do you wanna drive it?'” he said. “And I thought, ‘well, I think so. Let me clear with my boss Roger [Penske] and make sure that’s okay and there’s no sponsor conflicts or anything like that’. And once I had all of that cleared, it just seemed to make sense.”
The fact that Logano said AM told him that the seat “seems like it’s going to open up” is an interesting choice of words, and it implies that far more is brewing under the surface at than we initially thought. It also reveals that the team offered Logano an opportunity at the seat before it was officially available.
To add to the bizarre situation, all mentions of AM have been removed from Deegan’s X bio.
No driver has been announced for the following week at Pocono Raceway, and from everything that’s been said on the surface, it seems reasonable to expect that Deegan won’t be back in the car following Chicago. But stranger things have happened in NASCAR, and the driver of the No. 15 going forward will now be a matter of waiting for the next team announcement or glancing at next week’s entry lists.
3. How much of the debut Chicago weekend can be applied to year two?
It was a tedious and rocky start to NASCAR’s first-ever street race last July, but the weather cleared just in time for Chicago to be a smashing success.
Now heading into round two this weekend without all the concerns and controversy heading into year one, this year’s Chicago street race will have a different feel because the weather is expected to be — knock on wood — sunny and clear without the threats of rain and flooding.
How much does that change? A lot, but at the same time, not much.
What won’t change is that Shane van Gisbergen will once again be the man to beat. The shock factor of van Gisbergen in the NASCAR world is gone, and everyone in the field now knows that he’s a lean, mean, road-racing machine. He’s dominated the Xfinity circuit with back-to-back wins at Portland International Raceway and Sonoma Raceway — as well as another near-win at COTA — and the expectation is for him to win the Xfinity race going away. He may not be an absolute lock for the Cup race, but he’ll easily be one of the fastest cars, even in the dry conditions.
What gets interesting this go around is the racing itself. Xfinity got what barely qualified as a race last year, with severe rain cutting the day short after just 25 laps of the scheduled 55, with polesitter Cole Custer leading every single one.
The Xfinity race will be an entirely different ballgame will the lack of weather, and the dry conditions for Cup will open up questions surrounding restarts (will we see double-file this year?), passing zones and the frontrunners. Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick, for example, were the best cars in the first half of last year’s Chicago race until a pit strategy shuffle caused by darkness jumbled the running order and effectively took them out of contention. Both have multiple road course wins to their names, so will we see them reprise their roles at the front of the field, or will we see some names and faces that didn’t show up last year?
There are plenty of interesting storylines going into the weekend, along with perfect weather, a holiday weekend and a bunch of fan festivities for the local residents to enjoy. No matter what happens in the races, this Fourth of July weekend will be a great one.
4. Will Carson Hocevar ever learn?
Carson Hocevar is an incredible talent, and that makes antics like wrecking Harrison Burton under caution at Nashville all the more frustrating.
It’s one thing if wrecking Burton was an isolated incident, but Nashville is instead the latest chapter in what has become a frequent, concerning pattern for Hocevar — and it wasn’t even his only incident of the weekend, as he was also swerving, brake checking and running Todd Gilliland toward the wall under the prior caution. Gilliland said, “I hate this kid, honestly,” over the radio after Burton got dumped, and even Gilliland’s wife Marissa expressed her displeasure online.
For his role in the incident, Hocevar was penalized 25 driver points and fined $50,000. The penalty was consistent with William Byron’s penalty for spinning Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway in 2022 (although Byron’s was changed to a $100,000 fine and no points penalty on appeal).
But given that Hocevar has a prior history of spinning himself out to draw a caution, spinning out another car to draw a caution and three attempted right-rear hooks (one under caution, two under green at short tracks, none of which had drawn a monetary fine or points penalty until Nashville), one would hope that this penalty will serve a more powerful message. A message that Hocevar would be wise to heed, as his current reputation among fellow drivers is very low.
The other drivers in the field aren’t supposed to be your friends (just ask Logano), but it’s a grave mistake to turn all of your competitors into enemies.
At 21 years old, Hocevar is the youngest full-time Cup driver, so there is plenty of time for him to learn and grow as he matures and gains more experience. But there’s only so many warnings and chances a driver can have, and Hocevar risks permanently damaging his reputation if he continues to pull the same stunts — if the damage isn’t already done.
About the author
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly columns include “Stat Sheet” and “4 Burning Questions.” He also writes commentary, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Can find on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.
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Single file restarts don’t cause as many wrecks as the double file restarts especially at the restrictor plate tracks. This isn’t the first time it has been suggested. End of discussion!
Some would argue single file restarts might as well be ending the race under caution. They want that demolition effect.
As I have previously stated, I liked it better when the race just ended under caution. It was the fairest way to the competitors. They got the finish the deserved based on the advertised length of the race.
The Indy 500 has finished under caution including A. J. Foyt’s win in 1967. The event is advertised as 500 miles. The customer gets what he paid for. Maybe NA$CAR can charge the fans extra as they exit for each GWC.