Ranking the 2024 Schedule Changes From Worst to Best

 

Photo: Mike Daffner

Ranking the 2024 NASCAR Schedule Changes From Worst to Best

-Justin Seger

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is here!  And with that comes a few new changes from its predecessor. Some of these changes are better than others.  In this article, I am going to attempt to rank all of the upcoming schedule changes from worst to best.  These are strictly based on my personal opinions and may not reflect the NASCAR fanbase as a whole.  So without further ado, let's get into it.

#10 - Richmond to Easter Weekend

In many ways, I am a fan of the modern moves of NASCAR.  I support the playoff system, stage racing, and even the Bristol Dirt race (a little foreshadowing there).  However, there are a few areas where I do appreciate the more traditionalist values.  One of these is the sentiment that NASCAR should not race on Easter Sunday or Mother's Day.  Certain days hold a certain amount of merit on the calendar and both of these dates certainly seem to fit that criteria.  However, racing on Easter Sunday is no longer new to the schedule.  But racing at Richmond on Easter Sunday is.  Richmond is one of NASCAR's most historic short track venues, and most certainly deserves a spot on the Cup schedule.  However, many fans would put it on their short list of tracks that do not deserve two dates on the Cup schedule.  The recent races at Richmond have proven to be less than desirable for most fans.  If there is a silver lining to this move, it is the fact that we will finally see a return of a Richmond night race, as the race will be held on Easter night.  However, the quality of racing that has been evident at Richmond may not be worth the fact that it is being held at night.  It certainly may not be the draw to fans that Bristol Dirt had become.

#9 - Back to Back Superspeedways

Superspeedway style racing has been a staple of NASCAR for nearly its entirety.  So much so, that Atlanta Motor Speedway was reconfigured beginning with the 2022 season to become a somewhat 1.5 mile version of Superspeedway venue.  This has proven to give some interesting new races to watch on the schedule and even a new couple of races to consider "wild cards".  But in 2024, the first of these Atlanta races will be placed as the second points race on the schedule behind the Daytona 500.  The race will replace the 2-mile Fontana race as the track gets reconfigured.  I enjoy having a couple of other races that are drafting style.  It is a unique style or racing that even now, we only get to see six times a year.  However, having two of these races back to back to kick off the season just doesn't show off much variety in the schedule.  It also has the potential to put some heavy hitting championship contenders in a big hole early in the season; a fact that might be fun for some of the chaos seekers of the world.

#8 - Spring (Concrete) Bristol

This is where I will lose my credibility for most readers, and that's okay.  Concrete Bristol is something many have been advocating for for years now.  However, as I previously stated, I am still a fan of the Bristol Dirt race.  I think there is still a place on the schedule for a dirt race in the Cup series.  Furthermore, I think NASCAR has proven that Bristol dirt can be done effectively.  The first installment of the Bristol Dirt Race left a little to be desired.  However, I feel like NASCAR continued to improve the product we saw at Bristol on the dirt to the point where this year's race was actually pretty good.  On the contrary, the concrete races at Bristol have been losing popularity.  While the Bristol Night Race continues to be a marquee event for NASCAR fans, the spring concrete race was on a steady decline throughout the late 2010s.  There have also been complaints about the short track racing that we have seen throughout the next gen era.  With those factors in mind, I am not convinced that going back to concrete Bristol was the right move for NASCAR in 2024.

#7 - Olympic Off Weeks

This ranking refers less to what we will see and more to what we won't see.  And that is... racing!!!  Off weeks are good for multiple reasons.  It gives drivers and teams a little bit of a break from the action.  It also gives fans a break from an action packed first part of the season.  From a network standpoint, it allows them to focus on a sports spectacle that viewers around the world only see once every four years: the Summer Olympics.  This also is not the first time we have had a two-week break in the schedule for the Olympics.  There are actually a lot of benefits to having an Olympic break during the NASCAR season.  The only reason it is this low on the list is that it unfortunately means two weeks of no racing action.

#6 - Texas Out of Playoffs

I have started this article off with a lot of negative thoughts regarding the changes coming to the 2024 NASCAR schedule.  But there are a lot of good changes too.  One of which is removing Texas Motor Speedway from the playoffs.  Texas Motor Speedway holds a near and dear place to many native Texan NASCAR fans (including our own Zach Bell).  But Texas has struggled to impress in the eyes of many NASCAR fans for some years now.  The 2023 Round of 12 opener actually wasn't the worst Texas race we have seen in recently.  However, it still didn't produce the kind of racing that NASCAR fans tend to expect from a playoff race.  Some fans have advocated for Texas to be removed from the schedule entirely.  However, I believe Texas does have a spot on the schedule as it serves a market that would be untapped without it.  This seems to be a nice middle ground for fans by taking it out of the playoffs and moving it to the Spring.

#5 - Darlington Regular Season Finale

For the first time since 2019, the regular season finale for the NASCAR Cup Series will not be held at Daytona.  And at first, this would appear to be a negative change to the schedule as it takes away the "Winner Take All/Last Chance" race at Daytona.  However, this change comes strictly as a nod to tradition.  The Southern 500 is a crown jewel event in NASCAR and for many years has always been held on Labor Day Weekend.  However, because of the Olympic off weekends, it knocks the Regular season finale back a week.  NASCAR felt it more important to keep the tradition of the Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend.  The Daytona race will be one week prior and will more than likely be considered a last chance effort for many playoff hopeful teams anyway.  This is a nice nod to tradition by NASCAR.  As I said on this week's episode of Runnin' On Scuffs, crown jewels should be untouchable.

#4 - Kansas Opens the Round of 12

With the removal of Texas from the playoffs, a track had to take its place.  That nod goes to none other than Kansas Speedway.  Kansas has proven to be the most mobile of all the playoff races in recent years.  Just since 2019, Kansas has held a spot in every round of the playoffs (Not including the Championship Finale).  The Round of 12, however, seems like a good spot for it.  The track has had some great racing in the next gen era of NASCAR.  And in a round known as a round of wild cards, Kansas can prove to have just as much chaos and Talladega and the Charlotte Roval which join it in the Round of 12 for 2024.  Kansas is a great 1.5 mile to complement the Round of 12 in the NASCAR playoffs.

#3 - Indy Oval Returns

I ended my #5 on this list by saying "crown jewels should be untouchable".  However, the last few years have been down a crown jewel race.  But in 2024 the Brickyard 400 will return to the NASCAR Cup Schedule.  For a few years now, NASCAR has continued to run at Indianapolis, keeping the venue on the schedule.  However, NASCAR has opted to run the Indy Road Course as opposed to the Oval.  There was reason for this as the Oval races in the previous gen car did not produce the best races.  Indy Oval had become sour in a lot of fans minds.  However, I am glad to see it back on the schedule.  This is because, in my opinion, the Brickyard 400 is nothing less than a crown jewel event.  The racing may not be the best, but the venue is what makes it a jewel.  Indianapolis Motor Speedway is arguably the most prestigious raceway in the United States.  And while NASCAR continued to attend the venue itself, many enjoyed seeing NASCAR race on the same configuration as the prestigious Indy 500.  Now that the Brickyard 400 is back, fans can see that once again.  This is not to say that the Indy Road Course does not have a place on the schedule, because personally I believe it does.  Just not at the expense of a crown jewel race.  I also believe the Next Gen car will be the right puzzle piece to bring better racing to Indy.

#2 - Atlanta, Glen in the Playoffs

Two tracks will be exiting the NASCAR Playoffs in 2024.  Because of that, two more must come in and take their place.  NASCAR has decide to add another drafting style race and another road course to the playoffs, giving the playoffs two a piece.  Atlanta and Watkins Glen will now be a part of the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs.  Both will be set in the Round of 16 with the Bristol Night Race.  This gives the Round of 16 the feel of having perhaps a refined version of chaos.  Maybe not quite as chaotic as the Round of 12 will be, but a good chance for action nonetheless.  Atlanta and Watkins Glen are both good race tracks to add to the playoffs, and should provide fans some great playoff action.

#1 - Iowa Added to the Schedule

Anytime NASCAR goes to a new venue, it is a special moment.  Iowa speedway has given NASCAR fans in the Midwest some great racing for years among the lower series of the sport.  However, the NASCAR Cup Series has yet to see racing in Iowa.  That is going to change in 2024 as the Cup Series will join the Xfinity Series in their trip to Iowa.  This could be just another short track race that may not have the best racing considering the track is comparable to Richmond.  However, it allows the NASCAR Cup Series to reach to an untapped audience out in the Midwest and bring the show to them.  Any chance NASCAR gets a chance to do that, it will find itself within my good graces.

The 2024 NASCAR Schedule proves to be an interesting one among the recent memory.  Regardless of what you think of the changes coming to the NASCAR schedule, the company is proving to keep things fresh.  We will have to wait and see what the 2024 Cup season brings.  But I, for one, am excited to get to Daytona in February and see what unfolds.