The race length of NASCAR’s first points race at North Wilkesboro since 1996 came into question after the longest race ever in the track’s history. 

Six-time IndyCar Champion Scott Dixon had called NASCAR races a snooze fest, while Denny Hamlin, who finished second behind Joey Logano, questioned the race length while driving around the track in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. 

NASCAR’s COO Ben Kennedy opened up to questions regarding the race length and why NASCAR decided to go for a 281.25-mile-long race that added up to 450 laps across the repaved 0.625-mile track at North Wilkesboro. Kennedy’s reply came when asked if it was really necessary to conduct a 450-lap race there. 

He replied on the Rubbin is Racing podcast, “If you think about the lengths of the races, in my opinion, they're pretty historical. So it was more about endurance in finishing the race than who the best driver competitor was every single weekend.”

While Kennedy said that there is some historical context to the way race distances are decided, the last points-paying race at North Wilkesboro was all the way back in 1996, and it was a 250-mile, 400-lap-long race.

Kennedy: “You would have cars that would finish laps down; you have cars that would break midway through the race. And there was something incredible about a driver in a vehicle going 500 miles and being the best at it.

"In today's world, every vehicle is gonna finish a race, or they should finish a race. So it's evolved from that now."

Kennedy did say that NASCAR is looking at a way to address these concerns, but they need time to assess feedback across different races. 

Why NASCAR can't just shorten every race

Kennedy addressed the issues with race distance based on the decreasing attention span of consumers who are satiated with miniature forms of content. Reels and shorts are increasingly becoming the standard form of consuming content. 

On the Rubbin is Racin podcast, Kennedy said that some events are too significant to change; he said, “Daytona 500, Coke 600. There's a lot of crown jewels that I don't think you would mess with the race distance. But for some of these other events, we've tested 400 miles, 450 miles, shortening a few of the race distances. We're trying to find a balance as well.”

While he said that NASCAR is constantly engaging with fans for feedback, there is also the issue of fans attending races in person, which is a priority.

Kennedy said, “Many fans will travel hundreds of miles, or they'll camp for the entire weekend. They want to be there for three and a half to four hours. They want to get what they paid for. “

Kennedy provided insights into the factors that NASCAR has to look at before making decisions on race length.

The goal, according to Kennedy, is “Let's try different formats and then see how the feedback is. And I think that's what we're really thinking about: how do we test some of these when there are lower stakes on the line? "

"And then measure it, see what fans think, see what teams think, see what drivers think, and then we can start to make those changes in the future.”

As NASCAR looks for a solution to the races that aren’t fan favorites, it will be interesting to see the races up for experimentation in the years to come. 

What are your thoughts on the length of NASCAR Cup races? Let us know.

Read more at Daytona Racing Digest.

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason