Should NASCAR's Cup and Xfinity circuits race on dirt?

[Returning to Dirt]

https://insidedirtracing.com/should-nascars-cup-and-xfinity-circuits-race-on-dirt/

Tony Stewart raised the issue this past week as to whether NASCAR's two top series should race on dirt

[TS FAN]

In my opinion yes and I have an idea of how it could be done. Starting with a mid week nascar race not replacing any of the current venues. I posted my plan on a Nascar site. Now the problem is I have no say in the matter/smile

[rickybrown1952]

Xfinity yes cup probably not

[Stefan2k4]

Yes, but only on figure 8 tracks. :D The carnage would rival Daytona and Talladega and the TV ratings would soar! If Brian France happens to read this comment, he will love the idea.

[Zonks32x]

Yes...they absolutely should.

1) All of these Nascar teams should start with a DLM chassis of their choice. Gotta build a car or two for dirt anyways...might as well do it from the correct foundation.
If not...start with regular nascar chassis with some mods for dirt racing...so cars can run better than 20 second laps.

2) Engine package
Same as any other cup/xfinity race.
3) Body Rules.
A) Run the Nascar approved bodies on a DLM chassis, or the normal Nascar chassis if that's what they want.
B) Modify the splitter, so the rf doesn't dig into the track
C) Allow more clearance in the wheel wells (2-3" decide after a test session or two)
D) Rear Spoiler...give them an extra 1-2"

3) Tires
Let Goodyear provide the same tire/compound/pattern they do now for the trucks, but let them run tires/rims that are same width as DLM setup.
Again, gotta build cars for this anyways...do it right. Let 'em eat.

4) Tracks
This is easy. Stick to 1/2 miles
A) Eldora
B) Bristol

* Sprints and DLM series should coordinate a race during the same week with nascar and Bristol

Run the trucks on Tuesday
Xfinity or cup cars on Wednesday

5) Field
30 cars, 26 qualifiers determined by heats and LCQ
4 provisionals. 3 based on Nascar points & one for fastest-time that didn't transfer

All series drivers that don't qualify for main event get credited points for 31st. For some teams, that will be better than what they normally do.

6) Main Event
200 laps
Green flag laps only
Run stages if Nascar wants, don't care, but only count green flag laps
Cautions:
Teams have 6 caution laps to fix the car from the time the pace car gathers the field. Can't do it, the h@ll with you, back to green.

[Clayton_Wetter]

NO.........

[kidrock]

Yes...they absolutely should.

1) All of these Nascar teams should start with a DLM chassis of their choice. Gotta build a car or two for dirt anyways...might as well do it from the correct foundation.
If not...start with regular nascar chassis with some mods for dirt racing...so cars can run better than 20 second laps.

2) Engine package
Same as any other cup/xfinity race.
3) Body Rules.
A) Run the Nascar approved bodies on a DLM chassis, or the normal Nascar chassis if that's what they want.
B) Modify the splitter, so the rf doesn't dig into the track
C) Allow more clearance in the wheel wells (2-3" decide after a test session or two)
D) Rear Spoiler...give them an extra 1-2"

3) Tires
Let Goodyear provide the same tire/compound/pattern they do now for the trucks, but let them run tires/rims that are same width as DLM setup.
Again, gotta build cars for this anyways...do it right. Let 'em eat.

4) Tracks
This is easy. Stick to 1/2 miles
A) Eldora
B) Bristol

* Sprints and DLM series should coordinate a race during the same week with nascar and Bristol

Run the trucks on Tuesday
Xfinity or cup cars on Wednesday

5) Field
30 cars, 26 qualifiers determined by heats and LCQ
4 provisionals. 3 based on Nascar points & one for fastest-time that didn't transfer

All series drivers that don't qualify for main event get credited points for 31st. For some teams, that will be better than what they normally do.

6) Main Event
200 laps
Green flag laps only
Run stages if Nascar wants, don't care, but only count green flag laps
Cautions:
Teams have 6 caution laps to fix the car from the time the pace car gathers the field. Can't do it, the h@ll with you, back to green.


I agree they should run on dirt.

[TS FAN]

NO.........

They will water the track

[chopter]

As an owner Dale jr wants to go. As a driver he was just to busy

[kazual]

Somehow I think they would screw it up.

[Waldo]

The problem with Nascar on a dirt track is.................They can't water the track and race with windshields in the cars. If they do this someday they are gonna have to take all windows out of these cars. Or just leave track dusty.

[lazyifoto]

Start at north Wilkesboro and go from there .

[Mindwalker]

Sure, if you want to put a fork in dirt racing. Why not? Smh

[Mindwalker]

Nascrap is failing so put them in dirt... Great idea 

[Mindwalker]

NHRA has no problem staying on asphalt. ...

[Stefan2k4]

Okay, let's say you implement this idea, some of you who think this is a good idea, proposed of basically putting a Nascar style body on top of a DLM chassis. Never mind the huge difference in suspension travel and tweaks to the body that would be necessary to account for this, what would you accomplish in the end? It would just be a late model with a Nascar looking body on it. So, it really would not even be a Nascar Cup car. It would just be lipstick on a pig. So, what's the point? You basically just be having a late model race on a dirt track and why do you need Nascar to do that? What would they add? And your going to have to change the format of the race to something more similar to a late model feature, unless you really want to run 500 miles on a half mile dirt track. So, in essence if you implement all these changes, at the end you just got what for all intent and purposes is a late model race, with stock appearing bodies. If this is what some of you want, why not just bring back the Prelude instead?

[Stefan2k4]

And there are other issues with this idea as well. For example, if you're just putting a Nascar style body onto a late model, what happens if some dirt late model regulars like Blomquist, Davenport, Moyer, etc. decide "hey, we'll just change the body on our car and enter this race ourself?" The Nascar regulars aren't going to like that one bit. Sure, dirt track racers, like Bloomquist, have competed in the truck race at Eldora. However, then they were driving other peoples race cars and these were cars, or "trucks" rather, that were very much different from the cars they normally drive. If what we are proposing here is just Nascar style bodies on a DLM chassis, that changes everything, becuase it's going to be more like the race cars DLM drivers are used to driving and the Nascar regulars will be ripe for the picking. The Nascar teams aren't going to like this race anyway, because it's something totally different from what they are used to, it's going to require them to build a whole new different kind of racecar for just one race, and the fact that DLM regular might swoop in and make them look bad, is only going to make it even more unappealing.

All in all, I think it's a terrible idea. Nascar needs to stick to what they are good at and dirt track racing needs to stick to what it's good at.

[Hoosier_Dirt]

Put dirt on Rockingham or North Wilksboro, keep Cup away from our racing.

[Stefan2k4]

Put dirt on Rockingham or North Wilksboro, keep Cup away from our racing.
Actually, an idea that might have merit, would be to turn North Wilkesboro into a dirt late model track, and forget about Nascar. How many 5/8 mile dirt track are there nowadays? Not many, I'd guess as even 1/2 miles are becoming extremely rare. Also North Wilkesboro, having been a Nascar track back in the day, would probably have the capacity to accommodate very large crowds. That would mean you could have some really big races there. Of course, from what I've heard, it's in a state of disrepair such that it will likely never be any kind of motorsports facility again. So, that's probably just a pie in the sky dream.

Anyway, for those who want to see their Nascar "stars" on dirt, just bring back the Prelude to the dream. That would be the most practical answer and make the most sense.

[ptown]

I didn’t think these NASCAR broadcasts could be any worse than what FOX was putting out but these guys in the NBC booth are almost unwatchable.

[Waldo]

I like dirt racing as much as anyone, but after thinking about it, I see no reason to race nascar on dirt. Put the shoe on the other foot. What if Nascar said ok, we will race on dirt..........but the lucas oil and woo dirt series must run one latemodel race on asphalt, with no changes to the cars in either series.

[lazyifoto]

The more I hear smarter people chime in on this the more I believe keep nascar where they are and keep the dirt where it is......If those nascar drivers want to be apart of this let them run away from home like Larson does and like Smoke did and the way some of the others have jumped the nascar fence....

[buster83]

NO totally unacceptable Nascar belongs on pavement.

[zyoung25]

Look at how long the truck race takes to complete. They would need a 6hr time slot to complete a cup race at Eldora, due to the extra distance they race. The amount of carnage would rival your local county fair demo derby.

I agree with putting dirt on the boro or Rockingham and letting them tear it up there.

[Krooser]

They started on dirt...

[Mindwalker]

They started on dirt...

Yeah, with to heat on their tail and a car load of shine. 😆

[CageFaraday]

I like dirt racing as much as anyone, but after thinking about it, I see no reason to race nascar on dirt. Put the shoe on the other foot. What if Nascar said ok, we will race on dirt..........but the lucas oil and woo dirt series must run one latemodel race on asphalt, with no changes to the cars in either series.

Southern All-stars was still doing this 10-12 years ago, without issue. I'm not advocating more of that type stuff, but its doable. The notion that they'd have to build special cars for dirt is BS, ARCA still runs on dirt, the trucks run on dirt and I don't think its a bad show. Yes, they are slower, but so what, terminal velocity doesn't usually equal a good race anyway. Too many suffer from this delusion as it is. Personally I liked seeing 3 and 4 wide racing, scratching and clawing for traction, it was more driving than we typically see these days in DLM, which is mostly about motor and chassis anymore, not driving.

[UMPDream]

NO. By bringing Nascar to Dirt, the cost to compete will only grow beyond the reaches of 90% of all teams. Once the full time engineers are paid to build cars for the select few dirt races that they would run, the entire industry would "need" those cars. That said, the cost of the complete package will be beyond the reaches of many. Sure, the first year or two, everyone will use what's already out there but it only takes a little while before your top team owners make it a mission to Win on dirt, especially when their corporate backers want to Win.... Anyone notice how good the Trucks are handling on dirt compared to just a few years ago?

[Dirtdobber]

They've put dirt on Bristol before. it can be done.

[WisWildManFan]

K&N west is going to race on dirt in vegas... Idk why you would put a cup body on a dlm... With that theory they would put cup bodies on indy car chassis when they go to road courses. There will be a cup dirt race because the sport is dying and they need all the help they can get it. Not sure where it will be held... But it's gonna happen