1. Will Trackhouse see a performance uptick with its new investments?
After taking the NASCAR world by storm with six NASCAR Cup Series wins between 2022 and 2023, the 2024 season has been one to forget for Trackhouse Racing.
Daniel Suarez prevailed in a thrilling, three-wide photo finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway to punch his ticket to the playoffs, but he has done little else, with just three top-10 finishes in 21 starts.
Meanwhile, Trackhouse star Ross Chastain has been struggling to find the speed he had in his first two seasons with the team, and he now sits just 27 points above the playoff cut line with five races to go after a miserable 36th-place finish at Pocono Raceway on Sunday (July 14).
But could better days be on the horizon for the team?
Perhaps there are, as it was announced on July 17 that former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry — who has a net worth of $1.9 billion according to Forbes — has invested into the team.
Any gains won’t be shown for weeks, if not months, but having a new influx of cash and investments certainly can’t hurt — especially if said investments will go toward improving the technology and equipment of the team. Just ask Denny Hamlin, whose partnership with billionaire NBA legend Michael Jordan has allowed 23XI Racing to blossom into the powerhouse it is today.
Trackhouse needs any momentum it can get after a dreadful summer, as the team hasn’t been able to recapture the speed that it had showed the last two years; having new partners and investors on board will expedite that rebuilding process.
2. Why is the regular season championship battle being put on the backburner?
With five races to go before the playoffs begin at Atlanta in September, there is currently a dogfight for the regular season championship and its coveted 15 playoff points, as Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson (-3), Tyler Reddick (-15) and Hamlin (-20) are all within a half race of the lead.
With such a riveting battle that will likely come down the wire, it would be nice if NBC remembered that, you know, it actually exists.
The fans are well aware of the playoff standings, as it is constantly shown to viewers during pre-race, post-race and the actual race itself. On the other hand, the viewers are lucky if they even get a glimpse of the regular season standings after the race is over, and it is seldom mentioned during the action, if it is at all.
Sure, the standings are easily available on NASCAR.com and other record-keeping websites, but the average viewer will have no idea about the race if it isn’t prominently shown on the broadcast itself.
Such a lack of focus on a prize that rewards a number of playoff points equivalent to three race wins is puzzling to me, as it is a critical part of determining the playoff grid and also has the potential to be used as a plot point to generate excitement for all the drivers in contention as the regular season comes to a close.
And for the long-time fans that are weary of the playoff system and long for the full-season championships of yesteryear, the regular season championship serves as a happy medium, allowing fans to follow a (near) full-season points battle until the elimination format dominates the final 10 events.
It may not be the ultimate reward of the season, but a failure to cover the regular points battle at the bare minimum is a disservice to the fans and the viewers that follow the full season.
3. Does the Xfinity Series belong at The Brickyard?
The inaugural Brickyard 400 was held 30 years ago in 1994, but the Xfinity Series didn’t start making the trip to the legendary 2.5-mile oval until 2012. Prior to that, the Xfinity Series joined the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, a 0.686-mile short track in nearby Brownsburg, Ind.
LOIRP was removed from the NASCAR schedule entirely following the 2011 season, but it made a triumphant return to the Truck schedule in 2022.
And while both Cup and Xfinity are returning to the famed oval layout this weekend, I would argue that there’s no better home for Xfinity than the local short track just down the road.
First, LOIRP would provide a far better race. I’m excited for the return of the Brickyard 400, don’t get me wrong, but no one should have rose-colored glasses and think that the quality of racing will be a substantial improvement over the last time stock cars hit the oval. The Truck races at LOIRP have been barnburners on the other hand, and the Xfinity car more than excels on these types of short tracks (the Next Gen car, meanwhile, does not).
Second, the Pennzoil 250 — or whatever the title sponsor is year after year — doesn’t come anywhere close to the prestige that the Brickyard 400 possesses. In a way, having the Brickyard 400 as the lone stock car race on the oval would do more to increase its importance.
Instead, the Friday and Saturday of an Indianapolis weekend should serve as a tune-up. Put on a show at LOIRP with some good ol’ fashioned short track racing in Trucks and Xfinity, and hype everyone up for the main event just down the road on Sunday.
4. Will the upcoming two-week Olympic break be the last of its kind?
After 22 weeks of racing and no breaks since Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 11, the Cup Series will finally have a two-week break as NBC shifts its coverage to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris following the conclusion of the Brickyard 400 this Sunday (July 21).
In a time where the Cup schedule has become far more grueling and demanding on the teams and drivers than in years past, the two weeks off will be the perfect time for the drivers to relax, spend time with family or — in the case of Larson — have a mix of vacation and extracurricular dirt racing.
The Olympic break marks the first two-week vacation for NASCAR in three years, when the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were held during the 2020 2021 season. But as the NASCAR industry enjoys its time off, could Paris mark the last two-week break of its kind?
This is the last Summer Olympics in the current TV deal, and NBC will only have the final 14 races (instead of the final 20) of the Cup season between 2025 and 2031. With 14 races remaining in the 2024 season after the Brickyard 400, the transition from Amazon/TNT to NBC in the new media deal would occur in the middle of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, rather than several months before. And if the NFL has its way in scheduling a Super Bowl for President’s Day weekend, that will likely move the Daytona 500 and every other race back an additonal week.
If all the above events happen, NASCAR would have greater flexibility in scheduling during the Olympic break, and it would likely need just one (or even zero) off weeks instead of two.
With the schedule continuing to truncate due to the expanding influence of the NFL and other professional sports leagues, NASCAR is in a box with the off-weeks dilemma and a contract that requires 36 races plus the non-points Clash and All-Star races. It feels likely that Easter Sunday will return as an off week after mixed reviews from fans in a three-year experiment, and that could very well be the only off week for 2025 and beyond.
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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I quit watching after the regular season champ is crowned. To me that is the true 2024 champ and what occurs after is manipulated crap.
What has been amazing to watch is Kyle Larson still competing for the championship. This reminds me of some nascar point outcomes way before I was born. You just don’t see this in the modern era. Kyle lost the points lead last week due to speeding on pit road and Chase Elliott better navigating through traffic than him. But the kicker is, Kyle is doing this with one less start on the year. If he manages to win the championship this year at Darlington Raceway. That has to be up there as one of the biggest accomplishments of the modern era, right? I can’t recall anyone else in the modern era missing a start and still managing to compete for the championship.
The 5 is still leading the owner POINTS because Mr H gets the POINTS for the event Kyle missed.
Correct. Owners points matter to a team more than driver points I do beleive.
I think something that gets overlooked is the power of stage points. Without stage points, Larson is not at all in the battle for 1st. It allows players to stockpile points for a rainy day in Indy.
This is true but those are a compliment of running well throughout the event.
Any idea what the points make up would look like under the traditional system?
Larson had a big lead in the season points battle and he and Chase were right on Hamlins bumper until Nascar stepped in and said they both were speeding in pit road. Instantly Larson’s lead going into the race over Hamlin was cut in half. Nascar CAN determine who wins the regular season title.
That’s why Johnson, Brian’s pet, has seven titles but not eight.
I can see Ben in the control room 5 races from now. I think Elliott was speeding there, call it.