1. What can we expect out of the new Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL configuration?
This weekend’s trip to the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL will look a bit different than the ones in years past.
This year will mark the debut of the track’s new reconfiguration, which features a wider turn 1, a sharper backstretch chicane and a complete remodification of turns 6, 7 and 8 that will feature a sharp, slow, 180-degree hairpin turn 7.
Initial reactions to the new layout? Here’s a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and an owner chiming in.
Denny Hamlin was equally unimpressed with the potential for pandemonium that the new configuration presents in a press conference at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend.
“I think [turns 6 and 7] are set up for chaos, truthfully,” Hamlin said. “I think that they were very strategic in making sure that they created … the normal racing line will be fast, but there’s going to be an option to shortcut it and just wipe out whoever’s in front of you.
“What other reason would we have changed it, other than to create more chaos and things like that?”
Whether that was the intended or unintended decision behind the changes, turns 6 and 7 will be the calamity corner in this weekend’s races, especially if there’s a late-race caution that bunches up the field in an overtime restart.
It’s do-or-die time in an elimination race, and the drivers will be taking any risks they feel necessary to advance.
If the race has a nice orderly conclusion and ends on a long and mid-length green flag run, turns 6 and 7 may only serve as new corners that the field needs to learn and get down. But if the races do come down to the wire in points or on a restart, all bets are off.
2. Does Dave Elenz’s departure really change anything?
Dave Elenz was dismissed as Erik Jones’ crew chief earlier this week by Legacy Motor Club.
The two-time Xfinity championship-winning crew chief had been atop the box for Jones since 2022, and Ben Beshore — the crew chief for John Hunter Nemechek — will move over to the No. 43. In Beshore’s place is newly appointed technical director Brian Campe, who will lead Nemechek and the No. 42 team going forward.
Even a top five for Jones at Talladega wasn’t enough to stop the change, as Jones currently sits 30th in points with only two top 10s on the season. Jones did miss two races due to injury, but his numbers have regressed across the board, with five fewer top 10s and an average finish two spots worse than last season.
It’s been a disappointing season for LMC in more ways than one. Changes have to be made, but is Elenz really the problem here?
In 2022, the first year of their pairing, Jones and Elenz won the Southern 500 and contended for the win in the final race at Auto Club Speedway and at Talladega in April. Jones put up a win, three top fives, 12 top 10s and an average finish of 16.5. Then the ownership changes and the rebrand to LMC occurred at the end of 2022, and the team hasn’t found its footing sense.
LMC, unlike 23XI Racing, doesn’t have an alliance with Toyota powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing, and the team’s first year with Toyota has arguably been worse than its lame duck 2023 season with Chevy. The organization has been rife with constant personnel changes, and the team’s competition director was let go in the middle of July.
All these changes — manufacturer, upper management and crew members — yet none of them have made much progress, if any at all. Something tells me this change won’t be any different.
3. Remote Xfinity broadcasting?
The news that the Xfinity Series would have a new full-time home on The CW for 2025 and beyond was met with fanfare. The entire schedule would be on network television, and it was important for NASCAR to add another network to the landscape of its new media deal.
The CW is broadcasting the final eight races of this season as a tune-up using the NBC Sports crews from its current media deal, and the broadcasts will move to NASCAR production starting in 2025.
One change that might be coming with next year’s production? Remote broadcasting.
From a financial standpoint it makes perfect sense, as it cuts costs and optimizes production in a purpose-made studio.
But if this is indeed the case, it’s not a welcome development for the fans or the viewing experience. There are so many intangibles that make a broadcast when the commentators are at the track and experiencing the action themselves, and that is lost when they are moved to an off-site location.
Look no further than FOX’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series coverage, which frequently uses remote booths and is unpopular with viewers on social media. Remote booths are far from the only reason why FOX’s Truck coverage is criticized, but it certainly doesn’t help.
Hall of Fame driver and current commentator Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been a strong supporter of the expertise gained from having commentators right in the action, and Earnhardt himself prefers to watch the race and commentate from the window instead of watching the TV monitors.
If there will be remote broadcasting next year, the question is how much. Will be a handful of races? Half? All?
If it’s a race here and there done virtually, there shouldn’t be too much of an issue. But if it’s the majority of the schedule, it’s a move that won’t be popular with fans.
4. Should the Grand Prix of Arlington sound the alarm for Texas Motor Speedway?
The inability to coordinate a date between Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and the NTT IndyCar Series left Texas Motor Speedway off the IndyCar schedule for 2024 despite an exceptional race from start to finish in 2023.
IndyCar will return to the Lone Star State three years later, but not at TMS. Instead, the series will compete on a new street circuit surrounding the entertainment district of Arlington, Texas (a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth) and the stadiums of the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.
The news was met with mixed reviews from the open wheel community, especially since TMS is only 20 miles away and the series is lacking in ovals. But this new event, set for a March 2026 debut, has a ton of potential.
Just look at the logo. The Cowboys and the Rangers are both involved in this race, which is about as much stability as you can ask for when searching for a new street circuit. And as someone local to the area, Jerry Jones may not be good at putting together a football team, but if there’s one thing he can do, it’s generating money and promoting the hell out of his brand. That level of backing is invaluable in terms of both stability and advertising.
It’s located right in the heart of DFW, right next to the international airport and halfway between the downtowns of Fort Worth and Dallas. People will be driving by and seeing the construction and promotion for more than a year. TMS is located in the northwest corner of the metroplex, and it’s not an area people would visit or pass by unless they were there for a TMS race or Buc-ee’s.
The track itself is unique, with a back straightaway nearly 1 mile in length, and the majority of the track makes use of the local roads and not the excessive parking lots. The Texas Live! complex is also in the heart of the circuit, and it will perfectly serve as a built-in fan zone.
The debut race is more than a year out, but there is so much potential to make this date a regular stop on the IndyCar calendar. And from logistics, marketing and notoriety standpoints, the Grand Prix of Arlington blows TMS out of the water.
Is there a possibility that NASCAR would ever leave TMS for this new layout? Not without SMI’s say, and not without IndyCar’s either. NASCAR and IndyCar are competitors first and foremost, and NASCAR wouldn’t have a foot in the door as long as IndyCar is holding it.
At the same time, TMS in its current state isn’t moving the needle for NASCAR. It’s been almost three decades since the track was built, and it’s in need of a makeover sooner rather than later. That’s not to mention the 2017 reconfiguration that turned the track into the butt of jokes among NASCAR fans.
NASCAR will always be in DFW and North Texas, as it’s too big of a market for the series to not capitalize on. But TMS has been the only show in town for almost three decades, and now there’s a hot new commodity debuting in just over a year’s time.
Of course, none of us know how the debut grand prix will turn out until March 2026. But if it’s a smashing success and continues to be one, it will raise questions about what the landscape of auto racing will look like for DFW heading into the next decade.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Can find on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.
Considering the great career Jimmy Johnson had, it’s just a shame to see how he keeps embarrassing himself since. He stayed too long in Cup, looked foolish trying to race IndyCars and is failing miserably as a team owner. The former Petty team has continued to go backwards since he got there, and his only answer seems to be hiring new executives. Campe, Reid Atherton, Jacob Canter, Cal Well III, Matt Kenseth, and who knows how many other managers they have. It sounds like Legacy has to many top managers and not enough qualified workers. Additionally, Johnson thinking he could do better on his own than forming an alliance with Gibbs shows both arrogance and stupidity, at least based on the results so far.
1.) It was real funny watching the network shills of NBC on their playoff show this week trip all over themselves telling us how great the changes will be this weekend. I have heard the complete opposite from everyone else.
3.) Even the booth crew at the track are comically late at finding where wrecks and obvious yellow flags are coming from, so does it really make much difference whether they are in a remote studio or at the track?
4.) Interesting how both Nascar and Indy Car have too many road course races and they are looking for even more. I’m not a big fan of TMS, but I’m not sure a street course in another area of Texas would be the answer for either series.