NASCAR drivers and people working in this industry hardly get time off. Out of the 12 months in a year, NASCAR is running on all four wheels through 10 of those. MLB, with an 8-month long season, is the only closest rival to the premier stock car racing division. However, the 2024 season allowed the drivers, the teams, and everyone in the sport to have a good two-week break, thanks to the Olympics.
It wasn’t a decision taken by the governing body but rather forced by the broadcasters who were committed to the Olympics coverage. However, this two-week hiatus from the racetrack planted the seed of a new idea for summer breaks in NASCAR. One which Brad Keselowski endorsed, “We need to do an industry shutdown because we have the two-week Olympic break. We need the whole garage area to be in a good mindset and to not be burned out.”
Now, Chase Elliott has joined the RFK Racing star with his ideas and learnings from the NCAA. Such a change would be welcomed by the community as a whole and build more intrigue as the new season comes up.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
NASCAR can learn a thing or two from college football, says Chase Elliott
Polls of the day Poll 1 of 5 Do you agree with Chase Elliott’s call for NASCAR to consider Brad Keselowski’s industry shutdown demands? Absolutely No way Maybe, but needs more discussion Not sure Do you think Justin Marks made the right decision by surrendering to the charter deal? Absolutely No way It’s complicated Only time will tell Whats your Perspective on: Is Chase Elliott right to back Keselowski’s call for a NASCAR shutdown? What’s your take? Have an interesting take? Join The Debate Do you think Kyle Larson’s daughter is the real MVP for sparking Keelan Harvick’s racing interest? Absolutely No way Maybe, but it’s more complicated Who cares? Do you agree with Kevin Harvick’s take on Denny Hamlin’s Atlanta game plan? Absolutely Not at all Somewhat No opinion
The college football season kicks off in August and concludes its regular season by December. The knockouts and the high-voltage games are wrapped up by January. All in all, a 6-month season of entertainment for the fans with an equal amount of waiting for the start of the new season. Now, it is hard to see that NASCAR cut down on the number of races or bring up radical changes to its already debated schedule. But Chase Elliott feels tweaks can be made to the current system that make the sport more exciting for the fans.
The HMS star was asked by Jeff Gluck about the teaching NASCAR can take from college football. To which he replied, “I think they do a lot of things well. I mean, we’ve talked about this, but I think the first thing is the length of the season. They get a lot in, and when I say length of the season, I’m not necessarily talking about number of races. But just the amount of calendar year that you burn in doing it.” Elliott said this on a special on-track segment of the Teardown show.
He further added, “Their season is fairly short right and when it rolls back around, it’s exciting. It’s been waiting all year for this, and I think that’s cool, and our sport could use a little more of man I missed that. I really wish there was a race on this weekend. That sucks that it is not, but when it does come back. I’m going to be really fired up to watch it. I think that’s healthy.”
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
Speaking about building excitement for the fans, the NASCAR folks are probably witnessing the best months of the season.
Team Penske and Ford leading the charge with the start of the playoffs
Trending
Since the roll-out of the Next Gen race car in 2022, Team Penske seems to have found a secret that works wonders during the last 10 races of the season. Joey Logano won the championship in 2022, and his teammate Ryan Blaney followed it up with the same in 2023. While the Chevrolet and Toyota fans were hoping for a change in order this year, it seems like the Penske drivers are back with their usual shenanigans.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
It wasn’t just a Joey Logano win at Atlanta Motor Speedway last week, but a display of sheer domination by the Penske camp. While the usual suspects Logano and Blaney were leading the charge, even Austin Cindric contributed to this effort. They swept the stage wins, a win by Blaney and Cindric, and in the end, Logano rounded off the day with just his second win of 2024. This was again made possible because of the support of his partner Blaney, who kept pushing Logano to edge out in front of Daniel Suarez.
Meanwhile, Chase Elliott secured a P8 finish, and his HMS teammate Alex Bowman finished inside of the top 5. The JGR leading the Toyota banner had a tough outing with big names such as Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex firing blanks. But things can change with the road course challenge of Watkins Glen coming up next.