‘It’s about money,’ Tony Stewart reveals the real reason for reduced practice sessions in NASCAR

All superspeedway races of the 2023 season do not have a practice session.

‘It’s about money,’ Tony Stewart reveals the real reason for reduced practice sessions in NASCAR

Tony Stewart (Credits: @shr/ Twitter)

Stewart Hass Racing co-owner and Cup series legend Tony Stewart has revealed the real reason why NASCAR has put a stop to long practice sessions. Over the last two years, the teams have been given 15 to 20 minutes of practice sessions, depending on the nature of the tracks. Sometimes the sanctioning body also gives extended practice sessions in tracks where they are implementing new changes.

The NASCAR community missed seeing the different storylines that used to come out during the practice session in the past. The session gave the teams the opportunity to try out unique moves, and changes to the car, along with an opportunity to teams fix the issues with their setup, before qualifying and the main event. Teams overcoming challenges and finding ways to be faster during the session always had fans’ interest.  

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Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares the same feeling about it. “I miss broadcasting practices and trying to learn who was quick and who was looking for speed. Those storylines developing throughout the Friday/Saturday activity were an enjoyable part of my job,” Dale Jr. replied to a tweet from Bob Pockrass.

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Veteran NASCAR broadcaster Mike Joy during the Atlanta Cup race coverage, asked fellow commentator and SHR co-owner Tony Stewart why there is no practice session. He asked,  “So we asked NASCAR about no practice at Daytona, Talladega, and here at Atlanta, the three superspeedways. And they said it was at the request of the team owners. So, team owner, tell us about it,”.

Stewart straight up answered that teams’ plan to cut costs is the reason why there are no practices. He replied, “It’s just literally the costs to operate these race teams are so high. Being able to take that practice day out saves the teams a lot of money.  And it’s more than just the race cars. It’s hotels. It’s rental cars. All those things add up during the season. These guys know what to do. They know when they go to Talladega and Daytona what they’ve got in the car,”.

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The Covid-19 pandemic is among the primary reason for the session shift

Mike Joy, Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer
Mike Joy, Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer (Credits: Fox Sports)

NASCAR reduced or canceled practice sessions during the pandemic to minimize human interaction while conducting races. Teams directly came to the track and raced. The races used a matrix system for qualifying. This allowed teams to reduce their costs, as most were struggling during the pandemic. Owners were able to keep the balance between their expenses and profit.     

The owners saw an opportunity with the change once things returned to normal. With limited practice, they could cut down not just the logistical costs but also the cost they must endure to fix cars if they crash during the session. They came to the conclusion that it was more financially sustainable not to have them and pressured NASCAR to make changes.

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