NASCAR finally gave Cup Series teams the extra practice time they wanted. But drivers say the new rule still does not fix the real problem. Starting August 23 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, NASCAR is changing how practice works. Instead of splitting the cars into two short groups, all cars will practice together for 50 straight minutes.
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This rule applies to most races for the rest of the 2026 season. Many people liked the change because teams get a second set of tires and more time on the track. But driver Corey Heim says this change misses the point.
“I don’t think you really get much better. You don’t really learn a lot,” Heim explained on the Rubbin is Racing podcast. “I think to truly add practice and make the drivers happy, you got to either make them on separate days or just have one in the morning and one in the late afternoon to just have a good gap to debrief about the first practice as a driver, think about what could be better, and then go out there and execute that. So, just adding time to one practice, I don’t think makes much of a difference for me.”
Heim is not a 15-year veteran. He is a young prospect running a limited Cup schedule this year. For a rising driver trying to learn the complex Next-Gen car, having time to fully take in the practice data is everything. But a single, long practice session still lacks the one thing teams need most, and that is time to think.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, NASCAR teams usually had practice over two days. A driver would practice on Friday, talk with their crew chief overnight, completely rebuild the car’s setup, and test the changes on Saturday morning.
NASCAR wanted to reduce the cost on the team by limiting the practice sessions. But they got back on track with some relief with the announcement of a 50-minute practice.
Along with the extra time, NASCAR is giving teams an extra set of practice tires. But this creates a funny irony. Teams now have more time and rubber to find out exactly what is wrong with their car. However, because of the impound rules, they are still not allowed to fix those major issues.
Teams cannot make changes to their cars after the qualifying rounds. So even if teams found their balance to be off or suffered a mechanical issue, they would have to forfeit their qualifying spot. Something similar happened with Ryan Blaney.
At the recent North Wilkesboro race, Blaney earned the pole position. But his team had to fix a power steering issue before the race. Because of the strict impound rules, fixing the car meant Blaney had to give up his pole spot and start from the very back.
If a team shows up with a bad setup, 50 straight minutes of practice won’t help unless they are allowed to fix the car before the race start.
Heim even shared the solution to make the practice session really count for the drivers and the teams.
“I think if they were to add like a practice session on Friday, a practice on Saturday, and you qualify on Saturday, it makes more sense to me. Because to make really good changes, you really got to have a night to think about it.”
His reasoning mirrors what many top-level racing series already do. In Formula 1, race weekends typically feature two practice sessions on Friday. It is then followed by a final practice on Saturday before qualifying. That schedule gives engineers hours to look at data, test new plans, and physically change the car’s setup. Each practice session builds on the last one.
NASCAR’s decision to extend practice is undoubtedly a step forward after years of limited track time. But Heim believes the next evolution should focus less on the clock and more on the structure. More minutes on track are valuable.
As Corey Heim sees it, the biggest gains come from giving drivers and crews enough time away from the car to understand what they’ve learned.