The NASCAR racers, fans, and administration have been asking for changes to the 36-race schedule for a long time now. The "old" schedule of February to November races has been desperately needing an upgrade, including features like weekday races during the summer months and changing the location of the Cup Series finale.
Needless to say with any change, there will always be mixed receptions from drivers and fans alike. And the huge schedule shake-up for its 2020 season is no different
Let's check out this new (and improved?) schedule and see what the deal is and peoples opinions.
Pro-Change
NASCAR announced changes to the 2020 schedule, garnering a mixed reaction from die-hard fans who are used to their traditional viewing times. Many fans were excited about the Martinsville Speedway changing to a night race, while the Darlington Raceway, a racetrack in South Carolina, and the Bristol Motor Speedway, a racetrack in Bristol, Tennessee, now being added to the NASCAR Cup Series.
Even the legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. was pro-schedule change. He was all for shuffling around the schedule, but wishes that there are more short tracks for future changes to the NASCAR season.
In addition, another professional racer who enjoyed the changes was Kurt Busch, applauding the schedule revisions allowing a new energy and refreshing take on the sport.
Anti-Change
One of the biggest changes when altering the schedule for the 2020 season is that the last race will now be at the ISM Raceway, a new creation in Phoenix, instead of the using this location as the last chance qualifier for the Championship 4 event, which involves four drivers from four different teams competing.
Some fans might think that moving the championship race from Florida is a mistake, as the state of Florida is somehow synonymous with "NASCAR."
Other changes include changing the summer Daytona International Speedway race from the beginning of July to the end of August, thereby making it the final regular-season race for drivers to hopefully qualify for the playoffs, a competition including 16 drivers. This could be either good news or bad news for drivers, depending on their season schedule, their location, and their love (or hate) of the Daytona Speedway.
Bob Pockrass, a self-proclaimed and widely-accredited encyclopedia of racing knowledge, said that although he did love some of the changes, he was not too keen on the changing of the Indianapolis 500 date to July 4, and including Daytona as a regular-season finale instead of a race within the season.