In NASCAR, one term that seems to pop up ever so often is SMT. For the uninitiated, SMT stands for Sports MEDIA Technology, and its purpose is to provide data to NASCAR teams and broadcasters. However, this has been a bit of a divisive topic among race fans in the NASCAR community. This is because, since 2018, all Cup teams have access to data from their competitors. In other words, just about anyone can access live timing, scoring and telemetry.

So why is it so divisive? This is largely because of the Next Gen car and the fact that it makes life easier for teams. Martin Truex Jr once said, “You could kind of watch a guy and think you know what he was doing, but you may not have known exactly what it was, and now you can see all of that stuff. So, I think that just brings the field closer. It’s hard to have secrets, it’s hard to not see somebody’s driving style or a guy that’s faster than you.”

The live data feed captures the braking points, throttle time, and other mechanical functions of the rival camp in real time. Let us say that if Kyle Larson is able to find extra speed by running close to the wall in Homestead, this information is relayed to the entire grid. So, no one is racing with an advantage, and this in turn has led to race not being race, but turning into execution battles. Some of the most skilled drivers in the sport who once dominated races are now struggling to stay competitive with SMT data and the new car.

Back in 2018, Kyle Busch bemoaned, “I’ve spent 13 years in this sport to figure out how to drive a race car to make it go fast and do the things that I do to make it go fast and win championships, and now you are going to hand all of that to a young driver on a piece of paper and they are going to figure it out as long as they know how to read it. That’s our signature. Us driving a race car is our way of figuring out how to make a race car go around the track fast. It’s not how we are driving our car at particular moments, it’s how we set up our cars.”

The problem is when the data is provided in realtime. If everyone has access to the data then they can all adopt the perfect strategy and everyone is basically imitating each other. The human element is gone, and a driver no longer needs to figure things out on his own, through trial and error. This, in turn, has promoted parity racing, which NASCAR aimed for through the rollout of the Next Gen car, but it’s proven to be controversial.

Tracks that once used to deliver barn burners and thrilling races have turned into a virtual chess playground. The crew chiefs are desperately trying to stay ahead of the curve, while the driver is playing to the tunes of the system. Fuel-saving strategy on the superspeedway and single-file racing on short ovals are the product of SMT data sharing in the modern era. And fans have some strong feelings and opinions about it on Reddit, which all started with this one question: “Is SIM/SMT Data Contributing to Poor Racing?”

Fans feel NASCAR would be better off without SMT data

Of course, people were not shy about expressing their dislike for SMT data. One fan on Reddit wrote, “Exactly this is where I wish they would take a page out of F1’s book, every team got their own data under lock and key.” Given that NASCAR adopts new approaches that have been taken by F1, perhaps they could’ve done the same with the data sharing mechanism. It’s fine to share the live feed with the broadcasters and in-house teams. But the data available to everyone isn’t the best practice for a premier auto racing series.

Back in the day, the big teams had to scrape up data from the Raceview and that in turn allowed them to formulate winning strategies. But that doesn’t come anywhere near what SMT data sharing does. We know that not all race cars on a day are going to run exactly the same, but what is the point of working on the cars at the shop when their strengths are going to be presented in a live feed? “I would rather have the big teams scraping data from raceview to get an advantage than have a live stream of all your competitor’s data mid race. That’s my opinion though.”

On the flip side, a few fans had an interesting take that, for all the hype surrounding the SMT, still, the top dogs of the sport are the most successful teams. Team Penske, leading the charge for Fords, has won three straight championships. JGR essentially provides the resources for 23XI Racing to do well through their alliance. And Hendrick Motorsports dictates the trends within the Chevy group. “If SMT and Sim data was everything some are hyping it up, we would have nearly equal cars top to bottom. But we don’t because HMS, JGR, and Penske all know more than others.”

Still, this wasn’t enough. Ardent supporters who have watched the sport over the years have been accustomed to competitive racing. Not lead changes that have been marked by data points and pit strategies. There’s a reason why three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin is struggling on superspeedway tracks. Every team basically running on the same strategy isn’t going to lead to a different outcome. “Parity in racing doesn’t create better racing. Every team has the same car, now every driver can see how the better ones drive a track and now that’s equaled out too.”

What are your thoughts on SMT data, and should the teams get free and real-time access? Share your thoughts in the comments.