Two NASCAR Sprint Cup tracks have changed the race distances of their races this year.
Phoenix International Raceway, the one-mile oval, which had been holding a 500km race (or 312 miles since NASCAR first ran there in 1988, has scheduled a 600km (375 miles), which adds 63 laps for its’ Saturday night race on April 10th. The fall race is unaffected.
According to an article in the Arizona Republic the lengthening is due to the across-the-board uniform and earlier start times announced by NASCAR last year. Since the race is scheduled to start at 4:30pm local time, 7:30pm ET, the extra distance will mean that the race will end under the lights due to sunset.
"When NASCAR approached us about the new start time, which we support for the good of the whole sport, we were concerned to make sure the April event maintained its uniqueness of being a race that finished under the lights," Track president Bryan Sperber told the Republic. "NASCAR was supportive of that."
"From a competition standpoint, it challenges the teams. I'm really interested to see how that plays out. The change in track and air temperature is dramatic going from day to night. The (chassis set-up) notes that the teams relied on probably will go out the window."
Further out West, in California the Auto Club Speedway announced today that its’ Chase Race, will take the green flag on Sunday, Oct. 10 at Noon local time (3 p.m. ET) and be reduced to 400 miles.
Drivers, like Jeff Burton, like the reduction. “I have been a proponent of shortening some of the races because I think that if you have a real long race – it doesn’t promote not running as hard. We run hard all the time – but the consequence of not running well is bigger because there’s less miles, so you have to run hard."
“As fans well know, conversations with NASCAR in regard to making Auto Club Speedway the most competitive track possible for NASCAR racing have been on-going,” said Speedway President Gillian Zucker.
“The results of some changes made by NASCAR such as double-file restarts and tire changes were seen at our inaugural CHASE race, arguably one of the best races ever at the Speedway. This additional rules change to 400 miles is further evidence of NASCAR’s commitment to racing excitement and to Southern California race fans.”
Phoenix International Raceway, the one-mile oval, which had been holding a 500km race (or 312 miles since NASCAR first ran there in 1988, has scheduled a 600km (375 miles), which adds 63 laps for its’ Saturday night race on April 10th. The fall race is unaffected.
According to an article in the Arizona Republic the lengthening is due to the across-the-board uniform and earlier start times announced by NASCAR last year. Since the race is scheduled to start at 4:30pm local time, 7:30pm ET, the extra distance will mean that the race will end under the lights due to sunset.
"When NASCAR approached us about the new start time, which we support for the good of the whole sport, we were concerned to make sure the April event maintained its uniqueness of being a race that finished under the lights," Track president Bryan Sperber told the Republic. "NASCAR was supportive of that."
"From a competition standpoint, it challenges the teams. I'm really interested to see how that plays out. The change in track and air temperature is dramatic going from day to night. The (chassis set-up) notes that the teams relied on probably will go out the window."
Further out West, in California the Auto Club Speedway announced today that its’ Chase Race, will take the green flag on Sunday, Oct. 10 at Noon local time (3 p.m. ET) and be reduced to 400 miles.
Drivers, like Jeff Burton, like the reduction. “I have been a proponent of shortening some of the races because I think that if you have a real long race – it doesn’t promote not running as hard. We run hard all the time – but the consequence of not running well is bigger because there’s less miles, so you have to run hard."
“As fans well know, conversations with NASCAR in regard to making Auto Club Speedway the most competitive track possible for NASCAR racing have been on-going,” said Speedway President Gillian Zucker.
“The results of some changes made by NASCAR such as double-file restarts and tire changes were seen at our inaugural CHASE race, arguably one of the best races ever at the Speedway. This additional rules change to 400 miles is further evidence of NASCAR’s commitment to racing excitement and to Southern California race fans.”