With the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro finally producing a somewhat better show in it’s third attempt at that venue, the buzz started almost immediately: should this place be given a regular season points-paying race? Broadcasters and pit reporters leaned into the idea hard, asking drivers about it during post-race interviews like it was a pre-planned survey. And perhaps it was. It felt like NASCAR was soft launching the idea, seeing how the public might react.
And now, most every NASCAR podcast is talking about which track should be cut from the schedule to make room for North Wilkesboro in years to come. That debate is fine. What is not debateable is that in NASCAR’s quest to grow their audience, they make too many assumptions and mistakes. One of those mistakes is jumping into multi-year track deals before anyone really knows if the racing product will be any good.
To be fair, sometimes it is the venue that pushes for long-term deals before pledging to host a race. But perhaps there is a different or better way to negotiate such contracts rather than committing to something that could potentially bite them in the ass. Maybe it’s time to push back on such parameters because once they are locked into a multi-year agreement, fans are often stuck watching their annual “fix” for a less-than-thrilling race by tweaking everything in their power, including but not limited to changing tire compounds, spoiler heights, diffusers—essentially, trying to force the car to adapt to the track instead of choosing tracks that suit the car. And when it’s not a rules’ change to the cars, it’s a gimmick that gets added to the race—a half time show, a short track layered in dirt, or a promoter’s caution.
The LA Coliseum is a perfect example of a 3-year contract gone wrong. The Clash was moved there as a flashy way to connect with fans in Southern California, especially since Auto Club Speedway was pulled off the schedule and is still in a state of demolition and redevelopment. But instead of a strong on-track product, the event became more about concerts and gimmicks. It felt like a music festival with a race thrown in the middle. Core fans saw right through it and didn’t like it. And teams endured the great expense of hauling their cars and crew to the West Coast, despite that some would not even qualify to be part of the main event.
Year one? It packed the stadium, but most tickets were sold to people more interested in the musical performances than the race. Thus, it did not expand the fanbase. Year two? Interest and ticket sales waned. Year three? Fans were begging for the race to be held anywhere but. So, when NASCAR announced they would run The Clash at the storied venue of Bowman Gray in 2025, fans cheered. Moral of the story: One year would have been enough to tell everyone what they needed to know.
And then there’s the Chicago Street Race. Fans were led to believe it was a one-year test in 2023. But guess what? Another three-year deal, and the shelf life is saying it’s time to move on.
What stings even more is that the Chicago race on Independence Day weekend replaced Road America, a race that worked!! It produced big crowds and an exciting racing product. Sure, people complained that there were too many road courses on the schedule, but there was an obvious choice of what to eliminate in favor of keeping Road America… the Indy road course at that time. That one had always been unpopular so the swap with Road America would’ve made far more sense and caused far less backlash. Fans wanted the traditional oval at Indy, not the road layout.
Now they’re adding Mexico City’s road course—Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez—onto the Cup schedule. It hasn’t even run once yet, and it’s already locked into a two-year deal. What if it flops? If the first race doesn’t deliver, it’ll be the same story all over again. Fan frustration, media backlash, and NASCAR scrambling to tweak rules and throw in some kind of gimmick to salvage year two.
It’s a pattern. And it’s a waste. Many of these decisions only serve to alienate the longtime fans while failing to attract new ones. It makes the sport look like it’s trying too hard and sometimes it’s just embarrassing.
The better solution is simple: find a way to stop locking into long-term deals without proof of concept. Give a new venue one year. Let it prove itself. After all, you never buy shoes without trying them on first! If it puts on a great race, bring it back. If it doesn’t, perhaps a second chance is in order but not more than that. It would give NASCAR the flexibility to make smarter choices, introduce fewer gimmicks, and give fans fewer reasons to walk away. Because when a race doesn’t deliver for three solid years, it gives them plenty of time to find something else to watch.
By Laurie White