Insiders Back Brad Keselowski as They Rip Apart NASCAR’s Less Practice Defense With Harsh Reality Check

NASCAR has been cutting down most of its practice sessions to just 20 minutes during race weekends in 2024, keeping up with a trend that started after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But Brad Keselowski, the RFK team owner and driver himself, isn’t buying the usual reasons given for these shorter practices. He’s heard how smaller Cup teams think this evens the playing field with the bigger crews that have three or four cars while saving the overall costs.

Yet, Brad Keselowski hasn’t noticed the cost savings that were supposed to come from slashing practice times in the Cup Series these past few years. And it looks like the DBC bumper crew is nodding along with Keselowski on this one.

Dale Earnhardt Jr’s crew is lining up behind Brad Keselowski

Over at RFK Racing, co-owner Brad Keselowski dropped some truth bombs, when he said, “I haven’t seen how we’ve saved any money getting rid of practice, not from a team perspective,” during a chat at NASCAR’s new spot in Concord, North Carolina. He’s scratching his head, thinking maybe there are savings he’s just not seeing, but as far as significant cost-cutting goes, it’s a no-show. According to him, it’s all about shuffling resources to meet other needs, making the whole ‘less practice equals more savings’ equation a bit murky.

Echoing Keselowski, Freddie Kraft dug into the same issue on the Door Bumper Clear podcast [owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr], saying, “You’re never going to save things money because all they’re going to do they’re going to spend every dollar they can to go faster. So, if they’re saving X over here by not practicing, that’s just going to get relocated to, you know, reallocated to, okay, we’re going to put this much more into, we’re going to hire two more engineers.”

He continued, “Whatever it is, You’re never going to save them money unless you put some crazy cap on them, which I think is you know a good idea, but you’re never like, ‘They’re just gonna take the money and spend it somewhere else; whatever they save here is gonna moved over here.'”

T.J. Majors weighed in, noting that while folks might worry about not handing big teams like Hendrick Motorsports extra perks, “From practice to race the Hendrick cars are probably not gaining much speed-wise. They might gain probably not anything.” But say #7 [Corey LaJoie] rolls out and they’re a tad off, having practice sessions helps them fine-tune, and boost their performance by 5 or 10%, making them way more of a threat come race day. Instead of falling further behind, they’re actually closing the gap because the Hendrick squad isn’t making leaps and bounds in improvement.

Yet, it sounds like Denny Hamlin, the face of JGR and 23XI Racing, isn’t exactly on the same page as Keselowski and the Door Bumper Clear crew.

Bold Denny Hamlin is not holding back in responding to the RFK owner

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While a seasoned pro like Kevin Harvick didn’t pick sides and suggested a compromise with a two-day schedule, Denny Hamlin stood his ground on the topic of increasing practice sessions. He expressed his frustration, saying, “I heard Brad, and it bugs me a little bit, ‘all we need is more practice, it’s not gonna cost anyone’. That’s not true.” He even pointed Brad Keselowski out for his inexperience with making a cash call before.

Additionally, Denny Hamlin pointed out the overlooked costs, “You have to buy quite a bit more. You have to come to the race track earlier, and that’s an extra night of hotel rooms.” He mentioned that 23XI would be all for more practice and qualifying if only their costs were covered. He explained that the team would get an hour of practice, but then the engine guys would only make engines good for those 20-minute runs at a couple of races. And if the drivers push them harder, it might even require a complete engine overhaul. That means teams would definitely see their expenses spike.

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That’s why Denny Hamlin believes, “It’s not factual to say that adding practice and qualifying in a full weekend like we used to have would not incur costs.” But what about the race car simulation costs, which are where the real cost-saving measures are getting eaten up, as Brad Keselowski mentioned?