Brickyard’s Bad Races: A Double-Headed Solution

TNT Sports run of races is over and the Brickyard 400 was the absolute worst one. Some may even say it was the worst race all season. The Brickyard’s bad races have become a bit of an expectation during the next gen era. First, there is rarely any passing. Second, the passing that does happen, usually happens due to strategy or on restarts. Finally, it has become just problematic for one of the crown jewels of the NASCAR Cup series to produce such horrendous races.

So the question becomes a rather simple one. What do we do about the Brickyard’s bad races? NASCAR has tried having the race on the road course at Indianpolis Motor Speedway. Honestly, with this next gen car, especially after the horsepower increase, that would be the best thing to do. Just go back to the road course. That creates all sorts of problems for some of the sports biggest enthusiasts. I count myself as one of those. As happy as I am to add more road courses to our schedule, I really would hate to see the oval lose a race.

Is it even a crown jewel event if we run the Brickyard on the road course? Honestly, I think not. Still I have come up with a plan to save the Brickyard weekend. This is a plan that will make the Brickyard’s bad races less of spectacle. It could also increase track attendence, while at the same time becoming a much bigger event for NASCAR to sell to its increasingly diverse audience. It is a solution that has something for everyone.

The Brickyard Doubleheader Event

Yes, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series put on the best show at the big track. I agree with purist Kevin Harvick when it comes to this though. Only the Cup cars should race on the big track. The lesser two national series should both be on the short track, Lucas Oil Indianpolis Raceway Park. The trucks put on a fine race there, and so would the OAP cars. Speaking of the OAP cars, we know that NASCAR is not going to get rid of the next gen car. Furthermore, we know they don’t like to make huge changes to the next gen car. Finally, we know that the IMS track owner is not going to allow NASCAR to put PJ1 down on the track.

This leads us to a rather simple and beautiful solution to utilize in the upcoming seasons, while NASCAR slowly works on improving the next gen car for the Brickyard’s bad races. The answer is simple: The Brickyard Doubleheader Event. With the trucks and the OAP cars at IRP, that leaves all of IMS available to the Cup cars for the entire weekend. This means that on one day, probably Saturday, the Cup cars could race on the oval. This would be your standard Brickyard 400. The second race would be on Sunday, on the road course. Of course, the oval could have practice and qualifying on Thursday, Meanwhile, the road course could have practice and qualifying on Friday. It would be like a mini-Speedweeks. The historical purists could keep their oval, but we could guarantee at least one interesting race on the road course. That’s a net gain in positive press.

It would be perfectly suited to the weekend right before the week off. The track could sell tickets as a package. They could cost a little more than one race but a little less than what two races would cost. Imagine all the press given how many points would be up for grabs this weekend heading into an off-week prior to the final run to the Chase!

One Guaranteed Good Race
with the Future Promise of a Second

NASCAR should really consider this. This would take a weekend that is almost guaranteed to be followed with questions of “Should we be racing at Indy?” and replace it with talk of the massive points changes over the doubleheader event. We have seen that the increased horsepower has improved the road course racing this year. In many ways, this is the perfect compromise. It has something for the NASCAR purists who think we should only turn left, while offering newer international fans something equally great.

The North Wilkesboro race showed us that one event can please both old school and newer fans. Instead of it being old school fans versus newer fans, NASCAR could do something for both groups. During this period, NASCAR could keep working on the rules package for the next gen car on the Indianapolis oval. If they were to do this, it would be like the Brickyard 400 was a true crown jewel event. It would be treated as I stated earlier, a mini-Speedweeks. Imagine all the different storylines and points shifts that could take place on an Indianapolis doubleheader weekend!

Finally, imagine what this weekend would be like once NASCAR figured out the proper rules package for the oval! Yes, the Brickyard 400 was a terrible race. It is going to take more than some band-aid gimmick to fix it. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is such a historical track that it deserves something like what I’m proposing here. Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.