NASCAR set to address the lackluster races in Martinsville and Richmond
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Martinsville speedway
The short track races in Richmond and Martinsville in the last two weekends have been plain as it became a ‘follow the leader’ race it became a tire strategy game than proper all-out racing. It was also surprising that the short track only had a few cautions and multiple green flag pitstops, things that are usually alien to half-mile race tracks.
Several drivers and fans were quick to criticize NASCAR for the lack of action throughout the race and now Scott Miller NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio has come forth suggesting that NASCAR is planning to improve the short track situation with new gear changes and test runs.
Find out what NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition Scott Miller has to say
Scott Miller said that he has heard from drivers and tire manufacturer Goodyear on the issues with the Martinsville track. He revealed that NASCAR is planning to do another tire test at Martinsville to try out some new things and added that they will also look to improve the shifting problem with the Next-Gen car. He added that though it is awesome to have events at night, it might have played a role in the lackluster race in Martinsville.
“We’ve certainly been in contact with a fairly large cross-section of the drivers, getting their take. We’ve had a meeting with Goodyear. We have a tire test (at Martinsville) planned for later on in the year to try some new things there. The drivers have sort of cited shifting as a potential problem. We’re taking all the input and looking at what levers we may be able to pull to improve it the next time we go back,” Scott Miller said.
“It’s awesome to have the events at night. There’s a certain sort of flare to that but the cold temperatures and a cold night are more of a challenge than everyone understands. I think that played into some of it “We’ll keep getting all the input and make some decisions on next time going back,” Scott Miller added.
Scott Miller went on to add that NASCAR might plan to eliminate a large amount of shifting drivers found themselves doing on the track with the Next-Gen car’s new 5-speed, sequential transaxle, with a different gear ratio.
“Even if we got that top gear exactly at the RPM that everybody desires, it was certainly a little bit low, there would probably still be the desire if we got some tires where the pace slowed down to kind of shift later in a run but it wouldn’t be every lap,” says Scott Miller.
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Justin P Joy
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