NASCAR's New Rules are Dumb (Here's Why)

Recently, Nascar has made up new rules so complicated and convoluted, that most fans don’t have the brain cells left to even comprehend, especially after all the Budweisers, and Miller Lites that Nascar’s marketing machine brainwashed them into buying.

Rule Change #1: New Repair Rules

This one annoyed fans and racers alike last Sunday at the Daytona 500. Now, when a car gets into an accident and takes damage or breaks down, they only allow the team 5 minutes on pit road to repair and then the car must leave and make a minimum speed. If the car fails to make the minimum speed, the car is done. If the car goes to the garage, you’re done. If the car needs replacement parts, you’re done. Fans don’t like it, drivers don’t like it, and I for one the struggle to see how Nascar ever thought this was a good idea. I can not name any other auto sport which follows this stupid rule. Rally and F1 don’t have the same rule for sure, and endurance racing is not even as strict. Out of all the rule changes, this one is arguably the worst and definitely the most pointless and annoying. Let’s hope this rule does not make it past this season.

Rule Change #2: 3 Stage System

Sure, other sports have “stages”, mostly quarters and halves, and rally even has stages, but Nascar’s 3 stage system strikes me as unconventional and pointless. After each of the three stages, competitors get points for being in the top ten, with the stage winner being awarded 10 points vs. 40 points for winning the race. It’s clear Nascar want to make their races more interesting, but as evidence at Daytona, it just caused more wrecks. While oval racing can get boring, fans will turn the race off if all their favorite drivers crash out of every important race. This idea has good intentions, but in practice, it does not well with this type of motorsport and disrupts the flow. The real reason for the breaks is probably just to put in more ad space, but in a sport where all the cars have multiple sponsors and so does the series, it’s fair to say that the viewers have had their fill of capitalism for one sporting event.

Rule Change #3: New Concussion Protocal

How can I have a problem with this? I don’t. I’m not going to give you some lecture about how “In the good old day’s we didn’t cry about our heads hurtin’ like lil pü$$íé$!”. Concussions are a serious issue in all sports. Multiple ex-sports players have committed suicide or even murdered someone due to concussions, so it should not be ignored. One example that still stings is the death of ex BMX star and Subaru Rally and Rallycross driver David Mirra committed suicide in part due to multiple concussions he experienced throughout his career. While some people try to say concussion protocols are a symptom of a wussified society, the stories and medical facts don’t lie. While Nascar’s new rule of requiring every driver to be checked after an accident in which their car goes to the garage may be over protective, it’s nice to see them doing something to protect the mental well-being of their drivers.

Conclusion

I believe Nascar is headed in the wrong direction with their new rules. The last rule stands out as the only real positive change, but the decision was almost required to avoid future lawsuits. One idea that Nascar could adopt would be a more Democratic stance to rules change like in the NFL, Fifa, etc. Drivers are not enjoying the new rules and neither are the fans. Hopefully, the first two rules get reversed, and Nascar decides to make changes which would actually increase interest, such as adding more road courses or upgrading cameras to increase the action. That’s all folks, and remember, don’t Kurt your Busch’s before they snatch the trophy. #blogpost

P.S. Today is my Birthday, hoping to get a new Camera soon to do more videos for Youtube!