One thing that every individual across the world completely abhors is being mundane. The Sisyphian approach toward life not only takes away the sense of gratification from life but also plummets the creative juices of every individual. And the NASCAR drivers are no exception to it. While racing cars at 200mph surely add an extra kick of adrenaline to the bloodstream, Denny Hamlin would love to alter the current format of racing for several reasons.
Racing for the major part of the year without any break might be interesting to viewers. However, for many drivers, it becomes part of the daily drudgery. And over a period of time, it might take a toll on the performance of the driver. Nevertheless, there are Cup Series drivers who love to stay on track and hone their skills as elite racers. The No. 11 Toyota Camry driver, Denny Hamlin reveals the opposite, discusses his plans, and expresses his intent to the Athletic.
Denny Hamlin discloses his stance on the hectic schedule of NASCAR’s calendar
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In the current Cup Series season, there are a total of 38 races that span ten months, and the Cup Series drivers exhibit their driving skills across the schedule without any major break between the weekends, except for the Father’s Day weekend. It may not irk the NASCAR audience who just spectate the game from the outside, but for many drivers, it’s grueling in nature.
Even Denny Hamlin from Joe Gibbs Racing seems to reinforce this fact in his latest episode with the Athletic. When asked if the schedule for the current season was hectic or not, the No. 11 agreed to it under one breath, and asserted, “It’s a lot. I think that’s why, as teams, our costs are what it is because we race 38 times.”
“There’s no off weeks, basically; we got about a month total time that teams can take off, I guess you could say, grand total. And so it’s a lot, but I don’t ever see it going backwards just simply because of the revenue,” Hamlin added.
Moreover, it seems that Hendrick Motorsports prodigy William Byron is on the same page as Hamlin when it comes to NASCAR’s schedule. Byron expressed, “I like less, man. At some point, I think you get a little oversaturated. It would be nice to have like 31 events a year, but I don’t think that will change anytime soon, so I’m not too worried about it.”
However, on the contrary, Denny Hamlin’s driver from 23XI Racing, Tyler Reddick, seems to be on the other side of the board. He is more than happy to disagree with his team boss. Reddick affirmed, “I’m the crazy one, I’d like to see more races. I get bored during the week; I’d rather race more and prep less. We race more, we wouldn’t be able to prep as much.”
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What happens when NASCAR goes international?
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While adding more races to the current schedule would add more performance pressure on the drivers and also crew members, reducing the races would result in the reduction of revenues earned by the governing body. Nevertheless, one option that is viable for NASCAR to generate more revenues also increase the reach of the sport is to cross the national frontiers.
Even Team Penske’s Joey Logano seems to agree with the idea. He revealed, “I think it would be great to go overseas. I’d be interested in it[…]”
Moreover, it seems Denny Hamlin might have agreed on this occasion but has reservations about the idea. He exclaimed, “I think it’d be tough to do in the middle of the season. NASCAR and the teams will need to have some dialogue about when the best time is, and is it an exhibition or is it a points race. But certainly, I think it’s on the horizon of NASCAR’s thoughts about what’s next.”
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With the plethora of answers that were received from the drivers, it is surely difficult for NASCAR to find the middle ground and fabricate its schedule. Nevertheless, there are certain areas that the governing body can take into consideration, make alterations to suit the tastes of the drivers as well as the fans, and make the sport more enticing in nature.
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