NASCAR originally featured only two road courses on its Cup Series schedule—Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen. In recent years, the series has significantly grown, now including races at the Indianapolis Road Course, Daytona Road Course, Road America, Charlotte Roval, plus street races in places like Mexico City and Chicago. Although some of these events have been dropped over time, there are currently six road and street courses on the calendar. NASCAR officials are also working on adding a new street race in San Diego, although those plans are still pending.
Not all drivers are thrilled with the increase in road and street races, with some suggesting NASCAR might reduce the number of these events in future schedules. 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin have recently expressed their views supporting fewer road courses. Their concerns, however, are not tied to Shane Van Gisbergen’s recent dominance in these races.
Keselowski commented on social media that while NASCAR has increased its road course races to around six or seven next year, the series was originally built around oval racing. He pointed out that IMSA was designed as the main North American road racing series and generally does road racing better than NASCAR. On his weekly podcast “Harmful Behaviour,” Hamlin admitted he’s not a fan of road courses and argued that NASCAR should focus more on short track and full-contact oval races. However, Hamlin supports keeping the Chicago Street Course, considering it valuable enough to maintain on the calendar, while he remains indifferent about other road events.
NASCAR legend Richard Petty also commented on road races, specifically on how they affect the championship, citing the case of a driver in 30th place making the playoffs due to a road course win. Petty questioned if this aligns with the true spirit of NASCAR, which rewards consistent performance across different tracks rather than a single road race victory.
Fan Take: This discussion highlights a crucial crossroads for NASCAR as it balances tradition with innovation. For fans, how NASCAR manages its blend of road courses and ovals will shape the future excitement and identity of the sport, impacting both driver strategy and fan engagement.
