Now that NASCAR has taken an Olympics break, many fans are impatiently waiting for the season to resume. From drivers now getting some downtime to fans catching up with the Paris Olympics, the excitement for the upcoming weekend is diminished as there will be no races for 2 weeks. On Sunday, August 11, the drivers will make their way to Richmond Raceway, VA, for the Federated Auto Parts 400, and the action will resume, but this leaves many fans with the question: What to do on the weekends until then?

Although the situation might not seem dire, as 2 weeks is not a long time, for many, this throws them off their schedule, where watching the race is customary. Many fans have started to talk about not wanting the break, while drivers, on the other hand, are happy to spend time with their families. The debate on whether NASCAR’s Paris Olympics break is a good thing for the sport has started to pop up as Kenny Wallace breaks down the mentality behind it.

The effects of the Paris Olympics break

In Kenny Wallace’s Kenny and Charlie Top 2, and discuss some hot topics as NASCAR is on a break. Along with talks about the possible new super team in NASCAR, they started the show by talking about the break that has disrupted people’s schedules. After introducing the guest, Wallace jumped straight into the topic at hand.

The question that started a 6-minute conversation came from Kenny Wallace, asking, “Alright, will the two weeks that NASCAR is taking off for the Olympics make people like NASCAR more? There is just a thought, Charlie, that if you give the people what they want all the time, then they have a chance to complain. If you give them two weeks off, they might miss it. Will they like NASCAR more?”

That was a question that Charlie Marlow definitely had an answer to, as he explained, “Yes, and I think people already miss it. This is weird. This [Paris] Olympics break is weird. I’m trying to think of a football schedule—if you follow a team and you have a by-week, okay, you have a by-week. But to have two straight weeks off—and really, if you think about it, because if you race every week, it’s kind of like three off weeks, right? It’s three straight weeks.”

Although Marlow touches on having nothing to do, Kenny Wallace reveals that there is more to it. The former NASCAR driver added to Marlow’s point, saying, “I go to the psychology part. The fans love NASCAR, but then you also have the group that is 25%. So we have 100%; we’ve already done all the polls; about 77% of people love NASCAR; and the other small portion love it but want to complain about it. That is their sport.”

It’s clear that Kenny Wallace already knows his demographics, as his fans helped with an audience vote. He continued to explain the thoughts of the remaining 23% of the fans, saying, “I think they’re going to miss complaining about it, and that’s going to make them love it more. So I really feel like this is a brilliant move by NASCAR.”

It’s like the Passenger song that goes, “You only know you love her when you let her go,” that fans will start to miss the sport when it’s not around, despite having enough to complain about it when it is.

The lesson that Kenny Wallace believes NASCAR wants to teach fans

Wallace made a point in his podcast when he said that every channel that you might flip on TV will mostly be the Paris Olympics. He joked that if NASCAR was still on, fans would have to resort to streaming the race as the Paris Olympics have taken over most of the networks like NBC that are known to stream NASCAR races. Overall, the organizers have planned the season well to give fans the space to enjoy both sporting events without clashes.

But again, there was an underlying thought in Wallace’s mind as he explained, “I really feel like this is a psychology lesson for everybody. I feel like this is going to be a big lesson. I think this is a big turning point in NASCAR. Two weeks off is going to make people—it’s going to remind them why they love NASCAR.” While there is no race on the weekends, Wallace stated that this gives fans enough time to soak in the experience and discuss the events of the race without impatiently waiting for the next one.

Not having NASCAR will remind fans how much it means to them, and that will help many understand the importance of the motorsport event. This is a great move from NASCAR, not only because they would not want to lose their viewers to the Paris Olympics but also because it gives fans a chance to realize what NASCAR means to them on an individual level. That being said, how is the Paris Olympics break treating your weekends? Do you have any favorites there?