Nashville will be the center of attention this weekend. After a not-so-eventful outing at Sonoma, drivers will be looking to get going as playoff windows keep closing. On Monday, NASCAR announced the preliminary list of entries for Ally 400. The 36-car list is mostly in the usual configuration bar some names. Yet another strange argument has branched out from the announcement.
Some fans have shown their concerns over change in the racing product with time. As the discussion goes on, the decision to include more or less, has been perennially debated.
NASCAR Releases Preliminary Entry List for Nashville
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NASCAR will be looking to shrug off the gloominess of Sonoma and move on to their next venue. Nashville looks promising in the least, with Ross Chastain and Trackhouse Racing ready to give it their best shot. The list does not have many changes either. But the notable entries are #15 Brennan Poole, #51 JJ Yeley, and #78 Josh Bilicki.
Poole in particular will stay wary of Chastain. The wreck between the two at Dover Speedway is something even Chastain admits upset him. Poole was no short on retaliation as he conveyed that Chastain ‘needs to get his b**t whooped.’ JJ Yeley returns to the track with Rick Ware Racing along with Bilicki who will be looking for better form in the Cup Series. Bilicki currently sits 39th in the points standings in Xfinity and will take the #78 Camaro ZL1 for Live Fast Motorsports on Sunday.
Richard Boswell also will not be in Xfinity this weekend as he moves to Stewart-Haas Racing as Chase Briscoe’s crew chief. This has opened up an opportunity for Devin Rostivo, who acts as Aric Almirola’s Cup Series engineer. He will look to move into Boswell’s place for Riley Herbst’s #98 Ford.
In more SHR news: Richard Boswell listed on roster as crew chief for Chase Briscoe on Cup side. … Listed as replacing Boswell as crew chief for Riley Herbst in Xfinity is Almirola's Cup engineer, Devin Restivo. … An official announcement is expected tomorrow on these changes.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 19, 2023
Yet with so many names to look forward to and expect from, fans have chosen the topic of racing product. Questions have been raised on the framework of the grid, but there has been no conclusive solution to it as of now.
Fans Take On the Topic of Racing Product, Suggesting Possible Changes
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“Nascar has to do something to get more cars at the track. Really hurts the racing product with less cars on track,” is what a Redditor had to say on a post that relayed the entry list for Nashville.
In 2013, NASCAR implemented some revisions in the starting grid. They reduced the number of cars from 43 to 40 on the lanes, with 36 charter teams and four non-charter teams. This was done in order to ensure a reduction in start and park entries.
One of the fans went into an in-depth analysis of the conditional statement. in reply to the original comment, they wrote, “It really doesn’t hurt anything. Especially the racing product. Last year there was probably 20-23 (over 50%) competitive cars that could realistically win out of 36 every week. Last year also had some of the best intermediate racing we’ve ever seen.
I’d much rather have that than only 10-12 cars who can win among a field of 43 like in the early 2010s and late 2000s. Having cars for the sake of having cars doesn’t really do much. Right now the current field have lots of competitive cars and depth.” This a reasonable comment considering the increase in quality with a decrease in number.
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Another comment disagreed with to above-mentioned comment as they said, “Not really. More cars don’t mean a more competive racing product. I’d much rather have the current 36 car charter field than the 40+ car field with a bunch of start and park cars/back markers riding around at a slow speed.”
Someone, on the other hand, replied to the top comment, “I agree. Especially when they add stuff like playoffs and stages. Why not go ahead and add more cars and drivers? Who cares if they start and park. You got stages and playoffs for artificial entertainment so why not go ahead and put a full field out there?”
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Well, yet again there comes no conclusion from the evergreen argument. From what the fans have conveyed, yes there may be a faction that wants an influx of drivers but that could possibly reduce the quality of the races.
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