Superspeedway racing has certainly become NASCAR’s heart and soul, but the Daytona 500 hinted towards a major issue this year: fuel saving! The racing style seems to have changed in the past few decades. Back in the day, drivers used to go all out; today, it seems that they tend to save fuel and just wait for the race to end. Although it seems safer, it kills the thrill of watching the race, and the fans are fed up.

Noah Gragson believes there’s nothing to be fixed

“What’s wrong with it… Save more fuel than the other guys and do a better job than them… Don’t be a du*ba** and run wide open the whole time,” said Noah Gragson on Jeff Gluck’s 12 Questions.

The thing with superspeedway racing is that drivers push all the time. The fuel consumption is quite high, and ultimately, the one with the best strategy wins. But sometimes, the drivers start saving fuel. The one leading bunches up the rest of the field and then controls the pace. This leads to a lack of overtakes. While it may be beneficial for the leaders, the fans find it rather boring.

This happened during the 2026 Daytona 500. When Bubba Wallace found his Toyota in the lead, he started to bunch up the field, controlling the pace. Most of the drivers could not make any moves until the ‘Big One.’ Although the race did produce some exciting moments, this was certainly not one of those. In fact, Ryan Blaney had also called out the Toyotas for “manipulating” the race pace.

Meanwhile, Noah Gragson has made a clear statement that he has absolutely no issues with the current racing style, no matter how much the fans point it out. And well, let’s just say that he was not on social media’s good side after this.

Fans target Gragson on social media

“I would like to hear an actual RACER give their opinion before I chime in,” a fan wrote as they expressed their dislike for Gragson’s comment. This was easily one of the biggest one-sided debates that recently became a major topic of debate in the NASCAR world. Moreover, some tried to explain to him what the issue with this racing style was, as he claimed that there was none.

“‘Whats wrong with it?’ Well you can’t make moves throughout the pack because you’re at risk of going to the back and not being able to get back to the front… You risk having your biggest race of the year being a mockery of a style of racing I used to love,” ranted another user. The fans wish to see more risk-takers on the track, something similar to what Rick Hendrick’s crew chief recently mentioned.

Others, meanwhile, wanted NASCAR to focus more on the old style of racing, with one user saying, “call me silly or old-fashioned, but I like to watch my racing drivers drive as fast as they can actually.”

Some also mentioned that superspeedway racing is simply not meant for fuel saving. “Fuel saving and superspeedway should never be in the same sentence.” Tracks like the Daytona and Talladega are designed for high speed. Although the restrictor plates affect the cars’ performance, but simply not pushing hard enough is a different aspect altogether.

At the end of the day, racing styles differ, and Gragson only mentioned his. But when one such fuel saving trend is followed on superspeedways, it affects other drivers’ performances, and makes the races less thrilling for the fans.