NASCAR to Change the Position of Drivers’ Racing Numbers

Earlier, there were reports of NASCAR potentially changing the driver numbers’ positions on the cars. Now, the sport is set to use the July 15 All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway as its guinea pig to put its plan in action.

Normally, the racing numbers are emblazoned on the car doors. However, this time the numbers will be situated near the rear wheel. In order for the experiment to work, all All-Star Race and All-Star competitors need to have the car number in this location.

NASCAR president Steve Phelps told NASCAR host, Mike Bagley: “I think the All-Star (Race) historically has been an opportunity for us to test things, and I think that’s exactly what we’re doing with this. Teams have asked us to take a look at this, provide some additional visibility for sponsors, so that’s what we’ll test.”

“We’ll evaluate it. Is it the right thing to do? Is it not the right thing to do? I  know some folks that came out and said ‘this is not for me, I don’t like it,’ so we’ll take that all under consideration and as we move past the All-Star (Race) we’ll see what it looks like moving forward.”

Why has NASCAR taken this step?

The main purpose of shifting the number was to free up more space for sponsors. In addition to that the move is supposedly catering to tradition as well as trying to attract new fans.

Phelps continued, “We want to hear from the core fans and what they think, traditional fans. There are certain things we want to try out or we believe is in the best interest in the sport. After collaborating with the industry and saying this is something we should test. This is one of those opportunities.”

This would not be the first time where car numbers have been placed on areas other than the door. Some teams practiced this in the early 1950s, according to NASCAR historian Ken Martin.