NASCAR Fans in Agreement After Hamlin-Truex Jr’s 2012 Daytona 500 Arrangement Resurfaces

In 2012, during the Daytona 500, NASCAR came up with a unique incentive for the drivers. To be precise, the organisation proposed awarding the driver leading at the halfway stage, $200,000. During that particular race, Greg Biffle was leading the race, when Martin Truex Jr came tanking around the outside. The then Michael Waltrip Racing driver received a bit of a helping hand from future teammate, Denny Hamlin.

As a result, Truex Jr won the $200,000 cash prize, though Matt Kenseth won the race. Furthermore, this race also triggered a bit of a debate on whether this is the best way to conduct a race. According to some fans on Twitter, it would be a lot better than having forced cautions after each stage.

In all honesty, this was a really unique idea from NASCAR. Sufficient to say, many fans would love to see this incentive return to the Cup Series arena, sometime in the future. On a basic level, it will definitely motivate drivers to compete for stage wins.

READ MORE: Daytona 500 Attendance 2022: How Many NASCAR Fans Will Be Allowed to Attend?

At the moment, the only thing that stage wins offer, is points, which could affect the championship table. It isn’t to say that the sport should remove the point system, but the monetary bonus can be an added piece of motivation.

What next for NASCAR, ahead of the 2022 Cup Series season?

At the moment, the sport is waiting for the the new season to kick off. 2022 is different because it is ushering in a new era with the Next Gen cars. Over the past couple of years, there have been so many tests and tweaks made to the new cars. So we can be sure that these cars are pretty much more than ready and raring to go out on the race track.

Kyle Larson enters this season as the defending champion. Thus, he has a massive target painted on his back, and will have to fight hard to retain his crown. The Hendrick Motorsports star knows that many of his rivals are top drivers. Especially the likes of Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and many many more.