Throughout the past few weeks, NASCAR has come under major pressure from both drivers and fans to mend a wide range of grievances. From the short-track racing package to a night race at Talladega Superspeedway, the demands from the community just keep increasing. Fortunately, NASCAR officials are aiming to stay one step ahead of the consensus, as the Senior Vice President of competition revealed an optimistic future for the drivers and fans to look forward to.

Elton Sawyer made an appearance on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s DJD Reloaded podcast and answered several questions concerning the fans’ and drivers’ wishes. As the animosity between drivers and officials continues to rise, the Executive aimed to put the community at ease by shedding light on the lackluster on-track content lately, and how our voices have been heard.

“Without fans, we don’t have a sport” – NASCAR asserts its commitment to the community despite rising tensions

Perhaps one of the biggest dilemmas that NASCAR officials have found themselves in is their stance on reduced practice at superspeedways. As the Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, drivers are once again highlighting how the lack of proper practice could hamper the race for many. However, Sawyer was quick to point out that the lack of practice hadn’t been a major factor, and racing this season has been extremely eventful regardless.

The VP revealed that the split practice sessions with limited time meant that drivers could have more time on-air in between the groups. This in turn would generate additional content for NASCAR fans in between practice and qualifying sessions, something we’ve always been wanting. While this wouldn’t affect superspeedway racing owing to their earlier decisions, the DJD Reloaded hosts were curious to know how NASCAR was aiming to bring more content to elevate the viewership experience.

In terms of the sheer action we’ve gotten this season, perhaps no season in the past five years compares. Still, the officials are willing to lend a keen ear to the community’s wants. The VP revealed just how influential fans were with respect to key decision-making. “I think it’s fair to say that what we have on the racetrack today, is really really good. That’s not to say that we can’t make it better, but the fans, they weigh in heavily on those decisions, or their input is heavily on the table as we go through those conversations.”

In terms of on-track content and more involvement of the drivers with the broadcasts, it’s safe to say NASCAR seems to be on the same page as the community. However, Elton Sawyer’s stance on practice sessions may not go down well with the drivers.

Are practice sessions done with and over for good?

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Ever since NASCAR opted to reduce practice sessions to provide more screen time for other content, several rookies and newcomers have had to adjust to the series without adequate time behind the wheel. Take Shane van Gisbergen for example. Though he might dominate road courses, the Australian Supercars sensation is yet to get up to speed with the more traditional NASCAR circuits.

Unfortunately for those who miss the beloved practice sessions, NASCAR is still unsure whether there is any true merit to hosting them in the first place. Apart from the usual reasons for cost-effectiveness and better time management, there is a strong case against the utility of practice, only further extended by this year’s action-packed racing. Still, the Vice President wanted to give the practice sessions some benefit of the doubt.

He shared with the DJD Reloaded hosts, “We’ve had some of the greatest racing that I think we’ve had in a long time in our sport. Superspeedway, mile and a half as we hit on earlier has been great. Yeah, some work is to be done on short tracks and road courses, but I’m not sure that’s all a byproduct of not practicing. I don’t.” 

Though Sawyer highlighted just how the benefits of practice concerning team coordination, he was yet to see any major merit in reintroducing longer sessions. Sawyer concluded, “Sometimes I think it’s fair to say that when we have more practice, the teams get their cars dialed in, that’s great. But they just run nose to tail. So there’s a debate about whether practice is more beneficial or not.

If practice truly isn’t beneficial for the Cup Series, why not go all out with the content that we’re getting instead? At least that seems to be the direction Sawyer is pointing toward. With that said, only time will tell if reducing practice time was a good decision for the long term.