NASCAR Class Race: A+ or F-?

This past weekend, the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway took place. In case you didn’t know, the Rolex 24 is a multi-class endurance sports car race. The multi-class means multiple types of cars are on track at once. Basically, it’s multiple races happening at the same time (it’s a lot more complex, but this was my first time watching). This got many NASCAR fans, myself included, thinking: “What if NASCAR had a multi-class race with trucks, xFinity, and Cup?” Well, your questions might get closer to answered as I explain how I think it would go. Before we start, I want to give a disclaimer that this whole thing is hypothetical and not meant to be taken too seriously and secondly, this would be an exhibition event.

    First question: where would a crazy race like this even be held? We first need to think about a track where all three series race on the same weekend. Well, there are a few. Obviously week one at Daytona, Atlanta and Las Vegas are also in this club, and many others. But some of these tracks are too small for upwards of 100 cars to be on them at the same time. More on the 100 cars later. So we need a track that could have that many cars IF necessary. So we can eliminate Bristol and Martinsville. If i was a betting man, I’d say Pocono. It’s a 2.5 mile triangle, so it’s large enough lengthwise. It’s also quite wide, especially on the front stretch. So Pocono can accommodate a larger field. But why Pocono? Why not the Daytona Road Course? I want to keep the Daytona Road Course special to the Rolex 24, so I considered other large venues.

Second question: how big will the field be and how will we determine who competes? Well, like I said with the previous answer, upwards of 100 vehicles compete each race weekend. However, some of these cars are driven by multiple people, and some drivers drive multiple cars per weekend. But 90+ cars is still large. The Rolex 24 had just under 50, and there were still cars all around the Daytona Road Course. So we need to trim the field. First off, all champions are eligible. You are the best in your series, so you deserve to compete here. Second, winners from the previous season are granted the opportunity to race here. As for the “Buschwhackers”? They will race in the series they ran for points in (example: Kyle Busch will run a Cup car instead of a truck.). Lastly, playoff drivers get a chance in this race. So we’re looking at possibly a normal-sized 40 car field. Here’s a few drivers that would make it in if this race happened this year; Matt Crafton, Sheldon Creed, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, and Jimmie Johnson, among others.

    Third question: what’s the format going to be? Well the Rolex 24 is a timed race. When the drivers take the green flag, they start a clock, not a countdown of a set number of laps. Looking at the fact that we are including the truck series, we need to account for the possibility of having a teenaged driver in the field, so we can’t make this an absurdly long race. If it was timed, I’d make it 4 hours. If we were counting laps, I’d go with a healthy 140 lap race. Again, this would be at Pocono, so it’s only 350 miles. There won’t be stages, but there will be a break at the midway point. To determine the starting lineup, we’ll go in reverse seniority and let the truck guys pick first. How will they pick? This applies for all selections (there’s more, just wait). We’ll go based on standings. Defending series champ gets first pick, then runner up, and so on.

    Fourth question: how will we determine who gets what numbers/pit crews? Well, we’ll go high school style and go by seniority. Cup drivers get their numbers and normal pit crew. Then xFinity, and then the trucks. Since not everyone in NASCAR is participating, plenty of crews will be available. However, not all drivers will have their normal crew chiefs and spotters. So since this is an exhibition race, why not have a little fun and have drivers draw for the crew chiefs and spotters? That way, the xFinity and truck guys aren’t entirely screwed.

    Fifth question: how would this race play out? Well, it’s a class race, just like the Rolex 24. Truck guys will be racing truck guys and Cup guys will be racing Cup guys, but they’ll all be on the same track at the same time. But just because they aren’t racing each other, doesn’t mean they won’t be in each other’s way. I think that at least one person will have their race messed up or ended entirely by someone in a different class. We may see a close side by side battle derailed by another car in a different class.

That’s just my general idea on how a NASCAR class-style race would play out. An exhibition race at Pocono featuring some of the sport’s brightest stars in every series. Let me know on Twitter how you think this would play out, what you would change and what you did or didn’t like.