The 2023 Cup Series has surely been a year of experimentation. The authority, in a series of ambitious steps, introduced a gamut of amendments pertaining to the style of racing on various tracks. One of those was the initiation of street-course racing for the first time in 75 years. Its inclusion is one more step toward the perceptible shift in NASCAR related to the rise of road courses over traditional ovals. 

Since the inception of NASCAR, one element that has always remained idiosyncratic and has differentiated stock car racing from most other formats of motorsports is the presence of oval tracks.  Though the introduction of road courses has surely made the sport cater to a wider viewership, it seems that the NASCAR grid is divided on the issue of driving more on road courses rather than the traditional oval courses. This debate was particularly alive during the double-header Indy weekend. The difference in opinion was perceptible in the post-qualifying interviews of Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick. 

Tyler Reddick gives reasons for his preference for the IMS road course over the oval

The Cup Series paddock returned to the tracks of Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday for the 30th time. This was the third year that the Cup race was hosted on Brickyard’s road course instead of the oval. This change of layout seems to have divided the drivers.

Racing on road courses is more conducive for drivers with experience in Formula 1, Supercars, or rallies. However, with the rolling out of Next Gen cars, the oval courses, especially the short tracks, seem to have lost their luster. While veteran drivers still advocate for the returning of the traditional iconic tracks, it seems that the newly crowned “Jesus of road courses” Tyler Reddick comes from a different school of thought. It was apparent in the post-qualifying interview in Indianapolis.

He was asked, “What would be your thoughts on going back and forth with the road courses and oval?”

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The defending champion of IMS retorted, “I think it’s just seeing how the test goes. I think a lot of folks in NASCAR, and even me, I enjoy being on the oval, but we need it to be a good race. We need to be able to race each other, and we kind of departed – the style of racing we had in here was really difficult to do anything, right? If we really can’t race each other well and pass, I don’t know if we should really run the oval.”

“We will see shortly. If it works out that we can run both, I think a lot of the diehard NASCAR fans would be excited to see the oval. You will never hear me complain about road course racing,” Reddick asserted.

Unsurprisingly, Kyle Busch had a different take on his choice of course at IMS. And he didn’t mince his words while giving the reason for his preferences vastly deferring from that of Reddick’s.

Kyle Busch has selfish motives behind his preference for oval courses

There is no denying the fact that the 23XI Racing driver has been able to find success on the road courses after usurping Chase Elliott’s dominance. In the ongoing season, the only victory that Reddick was able to clinch came from the race at the Circuit of The Americas. 

However, not all drivers and fans see road courses in a hallowed light, preferring the oval tracks over anything. They would love to see the races return to IMS’s oval track again. One such driver is the 2x Cup Series champion Kyle Busch. His preference for the short tracks over the road courses was evident in his interview ahead of the race on Sunday.

When asked about his opinions on the double-header weekend in NASCAR’s schedule, Busch expressed, “Yeah, I would say so. I think it’s pretty cool – kind of unique.”

“But you know, if I’m being selfish, I think many of us drivers, crews, and everything else, we’d rather be coming here and racing around the oval with the prestige and the history of what the oval is. Even though we’re at Indy, it just doesn’t really feel like it’s the same thing going the wrong way.”

Busch’s explanation doesn’t come as a surprise, considering his performance on road tracks. A day after the interview, Busch finished the race at IMS on the 36th spot, while the top four spots were snatched by road course specialists, Michael McDowell, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, and Tyler Reddick.

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