Now, NASCAR purists and traditionalists hate the organization for this. In 2022, the sanctioning body decided to start its season with a quarter-mile race in Los Angeles, breaking away from the Daytona tradition. As the action is stated to resume in February, NASCAR has yet again dropped a major update about the season opener, “The Clash,” at the L.A. Coliseum.

Taking the speedway action from the fans and instead giving them a 0.25-mile short-track action isn’t something that sits well with every fan in the community. However, NASCAR isn’t shying away from trying out its possibilities to give the fandom a one-time experience that would emulate that of a Hollywood bonanza, bringing them a music concert alongside an exhilarating short-track race. With the sanctioning body opening its season in L.A. for the third straight time, will it translate into better fan engagement, or is it just a case of blatant hate from overzealous Daytona admirers? Let’s look a little bit closer.

Daytona to the Coliseum: Is NASCAR’s tea going cold, or are they getting their stocks up with the massive switch?

Like any other sport in general, fans are the driving force behind NASCAR. Getting on their bad side is not a great idea; however, the stock car racing giant has lately been taking chances, scratching the surface, and trying to get more fans to gain more traction on an international level. However, to go worldwide, the promotion, for the first time in its illustrious 75 years, featured a street race in Chicago despite the backlash from its traditional fans.

While traditionalists couldn’t bear the sight of Cup cars going bonkers in the tight city lanes of the Windy City, the event was a blockbuster, shattering records for NASCAR and becoming the most-watched NASCAR event in the last six years. Likewise, there’s one other shift that has divided the fanbase. Its decision to open the schedule in L.A., straying away from the Busch Light Clash at Daytona, has left the community thinking, essentially causing a rift as old-school fans denounce the move while the young and newbie ones are all in on the idea of an entertaining race with a musical bumping up its value.

But even after three years of its existence, NASCAR has failed to turn the hate tide and use it to its advantage, forcing the organization to take up unorthodox measures not typical of it and bringing in big names to pull the crowd in.

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On that note, while the sanctioning body is weighing in its options featuring larger-than-life pop icons and celebrities for its season opener, in one way or another, the racing might have taken a back seat, and in the pursuit of newer fans, it might as well have lost the older fans that made the sport what it is today.

“Nothing to be excited about”—fans not impressed with NASCAR’s MGK feature at “The Clash”

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To be fair, NASCAR’s approach looks pretty calculated on this one. Replacing the season-opening race with a short track will get the blood pumping, bringing the crowds, and to top it off, the featured concert is certain to bring in a lot more eyes to its product than usual. While it certainly is an exciting package to bring in a pop star that could captivate the crowd, the organization’s 2024 feature seems to have missed the spot big time, or at least that’s what the comment section of Bob Pockrass’ post says.

As part of its grand opening, popular rapper turned metal artist, Machine Gun Kelly has been roped in to awe the gathering crowd in February. Sharing the news on his social media, Bob Pockrass wrote, “Midrace concert (during the break) for the Clash: Machine Gun Kelly.” 

However, reacting to the “X” post, netizens bashed the organization and the artist unapologetically, showing their disapproval. One fan keyed in with the popular sentiment, urging NASCAR to bring back “The Clash” to Daytona, “Bring. The. Clash. Back. To. Daytona.” 

Another user chimed in, noting down, “Wow. Bottom of the barrel. Not great news, certainly nothing to be excited about.” While a fan questioned, “What crowd are they trying to appeal to? Teens?” Another one commented, “The 8 people in attendance will be sad to hear this,” showing the unpopularity of the event and its running. 

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What do you think? Should NASCAR return “The Clash” back to the 2.5-mile speedway in Daytona or should they continue featuring it at L.A.? Tell you your thoughts in the comments below.