NASCAR is considering a double-down effect on their stage racing format and bonus points
On Sunday night, the NASCAR endurance race had 4 stages. That’s one additional stage from the originally scheduled three stage format.
Related: NASCAR add’s 4th stage to Coca-Cola 600
Did it work? NASCAR executives think so.
“I think it’s certainly something that plays into the strategy,” O’Donnell said Tuesday on SiriusXM Radio.
They think it went well. Stating, “We think it worked well all night in terms of having different strategies. You got to make certain choices about when you’re going to come in, when you’re going to stay out come, who’s going to gamble.”
He continued, “I know we talked fuel mileage, but to me, it’s part of the entire race, right, and the strategy. Who has a win and who doesn’t, who can afford to maybe take a chance and that all played out on Sunday night.”
About the way the race unfolded, “You saw Martin and Kyle battle it out for what they thought was for the win. And then Austin was able to hold on there when Jimmie ran out. So a lot of different things played out over that last stage.”
Related: 2017 Coca-Cola 600 Results
He concluded that point, “I was proud of the industry for putting that fourth stage in play for this race. It’s something we’ll look at for 2018, but it really worked well for the Coke 600.”
The Coke 600 is NASCAR’s longest race. It’s 600 miles around Charlotte Motor Speedway.
More Bonus Points?
This is another discussion point in the NASCAR board room. Steve hinted that NASCAR may add additional bonus points for “Major races” or “Crown Jewels”. What races would these be? Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500.
