As Dale Earnhardt Jr geared up for last weekend’s race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), he previewed the new changes that NASCAR has brought to select events. This was the first road course event of the 2023 season and was set to spotlight one of NASCAR’s newest rules.

The change even saw conflicting opinions among drivers. The Charlotte Observer reported Joey Logano as saying, “Now, the fast cars are going to score the most points.” Denny Hamlin was reported as saying, “It could potentially just get a bit more strung out.” So what made Dale Earnhardt Jr say that for those who love the F1 style, this race will be a treat?

Dale Earnhardt Jr gives his insights on the effects of eliminating stage breaks

NASCAR has eliminated stage breaks from road courses this season, and the buzz around this change has been mounting. Dale Jr was particularly excited about the change, saying, “Fans have been begging for this, no stages, they don’t like the stages, they don’t like the races stopping, they are fine with giving away stage points or having a stage winner but they would prefer that there would be no break in the action.”

However, Junior also admitted that this change may not necessarily make for a more engaging race. “My fear is that the race will be a long green flag run much like Ricky said yesterday and they’ll be very minimum if at all any yellows and it will be a strategy race,” he said. The lack of interruptions could lead to a strategy race that relies heavily on pit stops and fuel management.

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But majorly Dale Jr was optimistic about the change and even went on to entice F1 fans by saying, “If you love the F1 style strategy and the races and what you see in a lot of the road courses in Open Wheel, this is more than likely going to look like that. And which I’m fine with, I’m good with it. I’m glad that we’re getting away from the stage breaks at the road courses.”

Why did NASCAR necessitate this change?

NASCAR’s measure aims to revive the strategic element that was significantly lost after it introduced the stage breaks. Previously, racing teams would seek to secure better track positions for the final two stages by pitting right before the first stage, while those gunning for stage points would complete Stage 1 and subsequently pit during the caution.

Many drivers like Kevin Harvick shared an opinion similar to that of Junior that the new rule has rekindled the element of strategy in the game. He asserted “the strategy will be back…and with the rolling stages, I think it opens up the ‘what do you want to do’ category to be much wider than two options.”

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So it seems that NASCAR’s decision to remove stage breaks for Cup road courses has been well received by fans and drivers resulting in an engaging race that we all saw.