Ask any fan what the toughest time of the year is for them and you’d receive a unanimous response—the off-season. Fans don’t get to see any NASCAR action for months on end during the winters. Thankfully, this is about to change with the season in the offing. But fans are still not too relieved.

2023 is going to be an important season for NASCAR, given that it is the 75th season of the organization. This automatically makes the stakes very high. Scheduled to begin on the 19th of February, the first race will, as usual, be at the historic Daytona 500. However, the Cup Series has always been preceded by another event—the Clash.

NASCAR’s “If it ain’t broke, why fix it” mistake

The Clash is a zero-point event. The iconic event has always been held prior to the start of the Cup Series season. Fans, therefore, have great adulation for the 44-year-old event. But with the adulation also comes great expectations, and fans have largely been disappointed by some of the recent decisions taken by the organizers.

Prior to 2022, the event was special in a number of ways. The two biggest aspects were: firstly, it was an invitation-only event, open only to pole winners of the previous season; and secondly, it was held at the prestigious tracks of Daytona.

NASCAR came with a major shake-up in 2022, opening the event up to everyone, and shifting it to the LA Memorial Coliseum. A whole year since that change, fans have still not come to terms with it and it continues to be criticized by fans and drivers alike.

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With the Clash at the Coliseum only a month away, no announcements have been made that would suggest a rollback of those changes. Fans might have to begin the arduous journey of living with it, unfortunately.

NASCAR’s attempt at being cheeky backfires

The sport’s top body tried its hand at being creative, as it made an advert for the Clash on Twitter. Referencing the famous cartoon show, SpongeBob SquarePants, a meme was posted by FOX, the primary broadcaster of the sport.

Fans, however, were not amused. They let NASCAR know that these attempts at being “cute” would not succeed.

It is nearly impossible to replace 40-odd years of history in one fell swoop. Fans might possibly come around to the decision, but that’ll take time. Can NASCAR brave the storm and wait for that day?

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