Jeff Burton holds longer racetracks accountable for less action – NASCAR news
Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton thinks that the cause of reduced action in NASCAR races is longer tracks.
In the last one and a half decade, NASCAR has eliminated a total of five short track races from the Sprint Cup Series schedule. These races include two races at the North Wilkesboro Speedway,
one race at Darlington Speedway and another two races at Rockingham Speedway. In the past, all these venues were known for the action that fans could see during NASCAR races.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that if you put 43 cars on a half-mile racetrack, you're going to have more action than if you put 43 cars on a mile-and-a-half racetrack,"
Burton said while speaking at Charlotte Motor Speedway before starting the NASCAR’s new G6 car test on Friday.
Over the years, fans have started to complain that NASCAR races have become less interesting than they once used to be. According to Burton, stock car racing itself has got nothing to do
with this lack of interest. It is the racetracks that have become the cause of reduced action in NASCAR races, thus resulting in reduced fan following.
To draw more fans to stock car racing, NASCAR will have to increase the number of short track races in its schedule. At the moment, 14 out of 36 races in the Sprint Cup schedule are competed
on 1.5 to 2 mile racetracks. This needs to change according to Burton.
"We've got to find a way to get the cars closer together on the (intermediate tracks). How do we do that? The only way to do that is to make them drive better. Slow them down a little bit,
make them drive better and try to get them closer together so you have more action," Burton said.
Burton claims that the introduction of new G6 cars in the upcoming Sprint Cup Series will be a step forward towards increasing action and thrilling moments in NASCAR races. The new NASCAR
cars feature better grip, allowing drivers to make more daring moves and thus making races more interesting from a spectator’s point of view.
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