“Their Hearts in the Right Place” – NASCAR Insider Shows Gritty Optimism on the Sports Current State and Trajectory

The world of NASCAR has always been synonymous with high-octane energy, with stock cars revving up on one-mile ovals at a speed of 180mph. These adrenaline-pumping races have steadily carved a niche in the hearts of every motorsport fan and have become an indispensable part of the nation’s identity. While these suggest the contemporary predicament of NASCAR, the image has not been the same since the inception of the sport or even in the past decade. 

Whether it was the advent of Next Gen cars or the introduction of street races, NASCAR in its current standing has undergone multiple layers of transformation. Whether it was the manufacturing of the cars or the change in the governance of the sport, NASCAR has shed its old garb to match the current trends. However, are these changes for the good of the sport, or are proving to be detrimental? Well, the answer lies in the words of a veteran NASCAR journalist.

NASCAR matching footsteps with changing times leave insiders hopeful

The notion of evolution is assuredly not restricted to the world of humans, but also to the sports world as well, and NASCAR is no exception. In the last ten years, the sport has transformed by leaps and bounds. Whether it was the introduction of lower horsepower in the car, racing on the dirt tracks of Bristol, or increasing the safety measures of the sport, the sport has seen it all. Amidst these burgeoning changes, the question that looms is- does the future of NASCAR look optimistic under the current leadership? Well, the Athletic’s Jeff Gluck has the befitting answer to it.

Appearing on Kenny Wallace’s podcast, the veteran journalist when asked about the future of NASCAR, asserted, “I think NASCAR today is in the best place it’s been in the last decade. When I got in, NASCAR was gonna be tough to ever match that was like in the early 2000s, but it went down for a while. It was not in a good place for a while and I felt like a lot of the moves they were making were bad moves and I was upset about a lot of it because I just felt like man I have seen this sport be great and I know it can be great again.”

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“I don’t know why they would try to do some of those stuff, I don’t get it, but I feel like the current leadership has done a way better job of trying to be smart about things, particularly with the schedule. Making sure that there are enough new elements to have something to talk about but they are also realizing like- “Hey we have got to keep some core things on our schedule”, and sometimes it’s correcting a mistake that goes back. I think the Indy Road Course, for example, I didn’t like that, I didn’t like the Bristol Dirt.”

Jeff Gluck sets the bar high for NASCAR’s future endeavors

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The bold turn of pages to incorporate changes and bidding adieu to the norms of the past have often met with a certain amount of resistance. However, this has not stopped the sport from experimenting with certain avenues in order to make the sport more diverse and dynamic in nature.

Commenting on the recent changes and what could lie ahead in the sport, Gluck continued, “Now they are going back, they have reversed both those right so it’s like okay, they tried something, it didn’t work but you know at least they changed it to keep it different.”

“They gave us Chicago Street Race, I thought that was a smash hit. Hopefully, they can go international, Montreal, or something at some point, so I think their hearts are in the right places. I think I have a lot more confidence in the current group than say five or six years ago.”

From incorporating a second year of the Chicago race to bidding farewell to the Bristol Dirt race, the 2024 NASCAR schedule has promised to be an intriguing season. However, whether it keeps up to the promise will be worth watching.

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