“You’re making a championship situation by winning a road course, which is not really NASCAR to begin with,” Richard Petty said after Shane van Gisbergen’s win in Mexico City. This was NASCAR’s first point-paying international race since 1958, but this expansion adventure led to debates and discussions on whether NASCAR is losing its core identity. From single isolated events back in the 70s and 80s, to now five to six events in the modern era, the shift is visible. And more such experiments are likely to continue with NASCAR eyeing to enter new markets.

A report by Jordan Bianchi from Athletic stated that NASCAR is in talks with the City of San Diego for a street race. This could fill the gap in the Southern California market, after NASCAR bailed out of Fontana and the Clash at the Coliseum. As far as international racing is concerned, NASCAR is likely to continue with that adventure, and this means the addition of more road/street racing. Although traditionalists like Richard Petty don’t subscribe to the idea of expansion at the cost of oval races, Kyle Busch shares a rather different opinion.

Kyle Busch doesn’t mind NASCAR tapping into new markets

From the era of the surge in intermediate tracks in the 2000s to the modern era of road racing, Kyle Busch has seen it all. Although he’s honed his craft on the ovals, he doesn’t mind NASCAR trying to attract new viewers with changes to the schedule. Be it the addition of an international race or trying out street racing in a different metropolitan region.

“I think the schedule variation is really cool. I think that’s great. I think it gives you a little bit more diversity within your fan base in the areas of the country that you can go race in, as long as you can kind of spread it around a little bit, like if you go run Charlotte, Rockingham, Darlington and North Wilkesboro are all within two months. You’re recruiting the same people right now, but going to Mexico is obviously new people, you know, being able to go back to Chicago land. Maybe if that’s on the table, that would be cool. San Diego would be cool. I know we’ve picked up some new fans and some different areas of the different race tracks that we’ve gone to, so let’s keep it going,” Busch said after competing in the Legends Summer Shootout.

Interestingly, he mentioned Chicagoland, the 1.5-mile track in Joliet, once hosted Cup Series races. But the track was dropped from the schedule in 2020, amidst COVID-19 concerns, and since then hasn’t been able to get a date. Yet, NASCAR didn’t abandon the market; rather, they rolled into the streets of Chicago and signed a three-year deal with the Windy City to showcase NASCAR’s best racing product. Yeah, the racing hasn’t been great, partly due to weather, but they made a splash, showcasing that the Cup Series cars can race in different conditions, not just ovals.

Remember, NASCAR isn’t the giant it once used to be in dominating the motorsport market in the US. They are directly competing with Formula 1 and Roger Penske’s IndyCar Series. There’s a reason why NASCAR still races at COTA and is trying to rebuild its presence in the Southern California market. However, this massive expansion project shouldn’t come at the cost of the traditional oval race. We saw how Richmond Raceway lost one of its dates to accommodate the Mexico race. So, there needs to be a balance or like-for-like swap when NASCAR is looking to add more road course races to the schedule. Petty’s argument is valid. NASCAR, at its core, is oval racing, and they should strike a fine balance between exploring new markets.

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Dale Jr. reacts to Richard Petty’s backlash over road course racing

Like Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has seen the sport evolve from the traditional ovals to now expanding its reach to new styles and configurations. More importantly, he’s also donned the hat of the broadcaster after retiring from his driving career, which further allows him to make observations about where the industry is headed with new trends. Jr. agreed with Petty’s claim about the road course not being NASCAR, yet he perfectly summed up why there’s a sudden surge in experimentation with different tracks and regions.

“Road course racing isn’t NASCAR. …There’s been road course racing in NASCAR since the ’50s. You ran stock cars, you ran late model stock, you ran the Busch Series or the Sportsman cars back in the ’80s. You raced full-bodied cars around ovals. That was yesterday’s NASCAR, and that’s what Richard Petty is talking about. But we’re in a different time. Today’s NASCAR is all-encompassing. It is road courses, short tracks, superspeedway,” Dale Jr. explained on his podcast.

Road racing isn’t going to overshadow oval racing. Tracks like Daytona, Bristol and Charlotte are going to be relevant and form the core identity for the sport. But, just like Riverside, new road courses are going to feature within the schedule, which seems to be an avenue for NASCAR to attract new fans. The tricky part about this ordeal is that the governing body will have to tread carefully in striking that right balance. Another Richmond-type oval track cannot be replaced by an untested road or street course venue.