Short Track Races Too Long?

Shortly after a triumphant return to North Wilkesboro fans were made aware of Denny Hamlin’s complaint about said race. Apparently, Denny felt that the race was “too long.” Many fans had the same response as I did to that statement. Cranky old Denny is getting old.  I am all for shortening some of the Cup series races. Personally, I agree with Kevin Harvick that other than the crown jewel races, races shouldn’t be 400 to 600 miles long. I don’t recall exactly when he said it, but he says it often on his podcast. On the other hand, I do not agree with Denny Hamlin that North Wilkesboro was too long. Nor are any of the other short track races too long!

Personally, if any of the races are too long, then I feel it is the intermediate “cookie-cutter” style race tracks. Heck, in all honesty, the best racing on a 1.5 mile track is EchoPark Speedway aka “New Atlanta.” Furthermore, if anything was wrong about the Window World 450, it was the race was too short! I would have been happy with 50 more laps!

Some people were upset that there were only 6 cars on the lead lap at the end of the race. Again, for me personally, I thought that was great. North Wilkesboro was a super old school race. Ty Gibbs got penalty on pit road after winning Stage 1 and made his way back up to finish in the top 5. Shane van Gisbergen was out there driving the bottom lane like he was Kevin Harvick. Simply put, better storylines develop over a race like the one we saw at North Wilkesboro.

Old School Endurance

Anyone who watched the postrace interviews on TNT could tell that many of the drivers were exhausted. Many of the same drivers indicated that they had a fun time racing at North Wilkesboro. Short track races that feel long to the drivers are what makes stock car racing a sport and race car drivers, athletes. Hamlin even mentioned in the clip above that the race wasn’t long in terms of time. Given that North Wilkesboro is 0.625 miles long, there’s no way he could have meant it was too long by mileage either. At 450 laps, the Window World 450 was a 281.25 mile race.

Ultimately, it’s pretty clear what Denny Hamlin meant when he lamented that this race was too long. He meant it wore him out. Many other drivers were visibly worn out by this race. That’s a good thing! It adds another level to the race. Usually, a race comes down to a fast car and a skilled driver. This race added another layer to it: endurance. EchoPark Speedway’s increased rate of speed added something extra as well: reaction time. Atlanta tested mental endurance. North Wilkesboro tested physical endurance, which for drivers such as Hamlin, also tested their mental endurance.

Are short track races too long? The short answer is absolutely not! They are already the shortest races by mileage. Even running 500 laps at a half mile track only makes the race 250 miles. If anything, short track races are too short! That is at least the case with North Wilkesboro. Interestingly, while Shane van Gisbergen said it was a long race, he also said it was a lot of fun.

Conclusions: Keep Short Track Races Too Long

It wasn’t just Shave van Gisbergen who had a lot of fun during this race. Multiple drivers enjoyed this race. While many in the media will try and argue that a race that is fun for drivers is not necessarily fun for fans, I disagree. Yes, the reverse is often true. Often the races that many fans enjoy, aren’t very fun for the drivers. I’m thinking of the longer drafting tracks that appear to be a 200 mph parking lot that eventually turns into a chaotic mess of twisted and deformed cars tumbling through the air, crashing into each other.

While the reverse is often true, I don’t think its fair to assume that the logic works the other way. If the drivers are having fun, then that means they’re putting on a good show. North Wilkesboro was great because not only was it super old school, but it also showed newer fans just how fun super old school short track racing can be! The horsepower increases and some of the other rules changes have really helped short track and road course racing.

Keep short track races too long. That is my conclusion. Keep the crown jewel races at their current lengths. Furthermore, keep the road courses their lengths. Finally, if you want to shorten races, shorten the non-crown jewel races that aren’t EchoPark, short tracks, or road courses. Limit a track like Kansas to 300 miles. Limit the second Charlotte/Daytona/Darlington race to 300 miles. Leave North Wilkesboro right where its at, because that was just a fun old school race with new fan appeal. Anyhow, those are my thoughts. What are yours? Let us know in the comment section below.