Why NASCAR’s Chase And Restrictor Plate Racing Is Driving Fans Away

NASCAR just completed its last restrictor plate race of the season today at Talladega. Was it an exciting race? No!!! NASCAR took what used to be an exciting race and between rule changes and the chase format, it was 500 miles of blah.

The big tracks, Daytona & Talladega, are restrictor plate tracks. You don't need a whole lot of power, you just need to be lucky to avoid the big one which never happened today and that's good!

NASCAR, please find a way to loosen the cars up on these big tracks. Daytona & Talladega have become nothing more than a boring day at a slow go-cart track where all you do is keep it floored all the way around the track. What made these two tracks so exciting back in the day was not having a car stuck so hard to the track. Make it so the drivers have to lift getting through the corners. Give them a little more power and less grip. Get the cars spread out. It's no fun being stuck in traffic on the interstate for three hours. Why would it be any fun on a race track?

Remember the days when Darrell Waltrip & Richard Petty won races because of gas mileage on the superspeedways?

Another problem that came about today was some of the top drivers who already advanced to the next round of this silly chase, just stayed in the back to avoid the big wreck. Dale Earnhardt or Richard Petty never raced in the back on purpose. They raced the whole race to win and raced every lap to win a championship. Fourteen between the two of them. Top drivers like Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards all ran in the back to avoid the big wreck which never happened. All these drivers listed had already clinched a spot in the next round of this chase format so basically, all they did was drive 500 miles.. they really didn't race it.

Racing is not like football, basketball, or baseball. It's racing every lap of every race to determine who the yearly champion is. Why can't we just go back to that format?