NASCAR Insider Claims Practice Is “Probably Making It Worse” for Drivers at Phoenix With the New Package

The old saying goes, “Practice makes perfect,” but it seems like some folks in the NASCAR world beg to differ, especially when it comes to the practice sessions happening in Phoenix. Back in January 2024, word got out that NASCAR decided to cut down most of their race weekend practice times to just 20 minutes in 2024. The move was supposed to level the playing field, giving the smaller Cup teams a fighting chance against the bigger teams with three or four cars in the fray. Recently, this topic got some airtime on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, where a NASCAR insider chimed in, suggesting that these shorter practice sessions might actually be doing more harm than good for a bunch of drivers and teams.

Do bigger NASCAR teams benefit more from the practice sessions?

Ricky Stenhouse Jr, fresh off his win at the 2023 Daytona 500, shed some light on how extended practice sessions might play right into the hands of the bigger teams. He pointed out, that if NASCAR gives big teams more time, they’ll start gathering heaps of data over the weekend. They can send each of their four cars down a different path to fine-tune their approach. But with just 20 minutes? That’s not enough time for them to experiment with various setups and then tweak them for qualifying and the race. Michael McDowell echoed this sentiment as well.

Read More: Is Eliminating Practice at Superspeedways a Terrible Idea for NASCAR?

Jumping back into the conversation, Freddie Kraft weighed in on the shorter practice sessions at Phoenix during a chat with Casey Boat. When asked whether having practice that weekend would make a difference, Kraft didn’t beat around the bush. His answer? A firm “No.”

“I get it you know you want more practice. But you can’t fu*king change anything. So, it’s like you know what I mean like it takes if you know you can’t it’s not like you’re going to throw a whole new pack you know if you go out unload. And it’s not good the time it’s going to take you to throw a new package into there you’re pretty much using up the rest of your practice time so like I get it and it might improve the racing a little bit but I I just don’t see it making a huge difference.”

Echoing Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s earlier sentiments, Freddie Kraft added his two cents, saying, “It’s probably making it worse. The good guys the cars and teams with more resources are going to know how to make their stuff that much more better prti and it’s not going to get better now I do agree with the more practice for the younger guys. Like in Xfinity or maybe a truck or something like that maybe some of them guys could use a little bit more practice.”

What this boils down to is that with the practice sessions trimmed down, all the teams are basically starting from the same line. No one’s getting a chance to stockpile data, which means everyone’s going into the qualifiers and the race without a clear advantage. And that’s likely the reason NASCAR decided to cut practice down to just 20 minutes.

NASCAR has decided to limit the practice sessions to 20 minutes for 25 races

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NASCAR’s 2024 schedule for the Cup Series has dialed down practice time to just 20 minutes for 25 of the races. But, for the newcomers, there’s something new—Iowa, the Chicago Street Course, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval race—are getting a bit more track time with 50-minute practice sessions. It’s a smart move, especially since Iowa’s hosting its first-ever Cup Series race, and Chicago’s street course is only at its second go-around.

This tighter practice schedule is a boon for the smaller teams and rookies entering the fray in 2024. With a bunch of fresh faces like Zane Smith, Josh Berry, and John Hunter Nemechek hitting the scene, this equalized practice time is their shot at a fair start. It’s their chance to really show what they’re made of and maybe even clinch top spots on race day.