NASCAR announces stages for all three series

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR today announced the 2017 stage lengths for each race in all three of its national series. A number of factors went into determining the lap count for Stage 1, Stage 2 and the Final Stage of each race, with a singular goal in mind -- the best racing for NASCAR fans.



"Every track is unique for its characteristics in length, surface and overall racing conditions," said Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition. "We worked closely with race teams on expected fuel and tire runs over the entirety of an event when considering stage lengths. And in the end, stage lengths were decided based upon what would provide the best race for fans."



Last week, NASCAR announced the stage lengths for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season-opening DAYTONA 500 (Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). For "The Great American Race," the stages are scheduled to end on Lap 60, Lap 120 and Lap 200.

Follow the link for a list of all of the stage lengths.

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2017/2/16/race-stage-lengths-2017-schedule.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2017/2/16/race-stage-lengths-2017-schedule.html
 
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This is so messed up. You have Atlanta and Texas running 85-85-165 segments while Charlotte is running 90-90-154 for their 500 mile races. Why the difference?
 
Acs said:
This is so messed up. You have Atlanta and Texas running 85-85-165 segments while Charlotte is running 90-90-154 for their 500 mile races. Why the difference?
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Who knows. I wish it was more uniform and 25/25/50 stage split because I don't like these short stages to end the race. No room for fuel mileage to end it.
 
AuzGrams said:
Who knows. I wish it was more uniform and 25/25/50 stage split because I don't like these short stages to end the race. No room for fuel mileage to end it.
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It's even more messed up than that. At for example Loudon and Bristol the first two stage lengths are shorter than a fuel run, so there's effectively 0% chance of green flag stops until the second half. Meanwhile, for the 600, the first two stages are over double the length of a fuel run.

I wish we could have just got one long break at half-way instead of this.
 
How long are fuel runs in Trucks? Especially at intermediates like Atlanta, Charlotte, Homestead-Miami seem like they will be eliminated of any fuel milage.

Acs said:
It's even more messed up than that. At for example Loudon and Bristol the first two stage lengths are shorter than a fuel run, so there's effectively 0% chance of green flag stops until the second half. Meanwhile, for the 600, the first two stages are over double the length of a fuel run.

I wish we could have just got one long break at half-way instead of this.
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I'm OK with a short 25% sprint to start the race. The final stage should be enough to cover at least 150% of a fuel run.
 
It didn't take long for the complaining to start.

In the places where it matters, the laptops are out. Fuel consumption is always part of strategy. Perhaps we should wait to see how things work out at the various venues before making announcements about what is and what is not going to happen.
 
We will see. 3 extra cautions I think is noticeably different of a change in NXS & NCWTS. Cup might be OK.

I just brought up Trucks because there is a few tracks I think that are a little less than a fuel run.
 
aunty dive said:
It didn't take long for the complaining to start.

In the places where it matters, the laptops are out. Fuel consumption is always part of strategy. Perhaps we should wait to see how things work out at the various venues before making announcements about what is and what is not going to happen.
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While I think the whole idea of stages was completely unnecessary (and stages remind me of cancer) I don't have enough info to condemn or laud the way Nascar has gone about dividing them.
 
Thanks for posting those Dp. I copied them to my desktop and will use all year.

Its kinda weird but I have already been doing this for the past several years when I go to a race.
I will print out a grid on xcel and keep track of the top 10 every 30 or 40 laps just to see who has been strongest through the day.
Probably started it back in the ALMS days to keep track of the classes. Nerd thing - can't help it.
 
aunty dive said:
It didn't take long for the complaining to start.

In the places where it matters, the laptops are out. Fuel consumption is always part of strategy. Perhaps we should wait to see how things work out at the various venues before making announcements about what is and what is not going to happen.
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If everyone in the world was a yes man, we wouldn't need voices of reason, would we?
 
Reck said:
If everyone in the world was a yes man, we wouldn't need voices of reason, would we?
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It has nothing to do with being a yes man.

Complaints in the absence of sufficient information and / or knowledge make no sense. You can be sure that fuel strategy will play into every race on the schedule. The fact that the strategy will be different than it's been in the past adds to the interest factor.
 
I like it, I like that it's not uniform for every race. I think for tracks with 2 dates they should change up segment lengths for the 2nd race.
 
aunty dive said:
It has nothing to do with being a yes man.

Complaints in the absence of sufficient information and / or knowledge make no sense. You can be sure that fuel strategy will play into every race on the schedule.
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Not true, many races in Trucks will be too short of having an economy run I presume, though that's no different than the caution clock. I'd have to look at Townley's fuel mileage win in 2015 to back this up because 54 lap runs at Atlanta, Charlotte, Homestead-Miami are fairly short.
 
How about prohibiting the cars runnin' in even positions from gettin' fresh tires during the time-out laps?

That'd be fun and a move towards pure racing without gimmicks.
 
AuzGrams said:
Not true, many races in Trucks will be too short of having an economy run I presume, though that's no different than the caution clock. I'd have to look at Townley's fuel mileage win in 2015 to back this up because 54 lap runs at Atlanta, Charlotte, Homestead-Miami are fairly short.
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Strategy. Running mid-pack in your truck. Pit for fuel during a caution a few laps before the end of the first segment. Stay out under the segment end caution and assume the lead. Finish segment 2 in third spot and grab some bonus points you likely weren't going to get.

I could go on. Here's a decent early read on the changes from the perspective of someone affected:

http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cu...aign=RSS-NASCAR&utm_term=News&utm_content=www
 
I was talking about the finish and the race for the win moreover but maybe the strategy for stage 2 points will be some sort of excitement.
 
AuzGrams said:
I was talking about the finish and the race for the win moreover but maybe the strategy for stage 2 points will be some sort of excitement.
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Same thing could apply ... stay out and try to finish the last segment on fumes. Of course that would precipitate complaining about a fuel mileage win for The Danica. :D
 
aunty dive said:
It didn't take long for the complaining to start.

In the places where it matters, the laptops are out. Fuel consumption is always part of strategy. Perhaps we should wait to see how things work out at the various venues before making announcements about what is and what is not going to happen.
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It's like lighting a fuse posting one of these threads. Fun watching the meltdown.
 
This whole split fuel strategy and flip the field at each segment thing sounds exciting at first until we get to tracks like Dover and 3/4 of the field gets trapped multiple laps down for the bulk of the race.

Example:
Dover segment length is 120-120-160. A fuel run is 80 laps. Crucially, pitting under green here will put you multiple laps down. Now say there's a caution at lap 36, right on the edge of a pit window. Some backmarkers will come down pit road multiple times to top up under caution, the front-runners will be in save mode instead of pushing hard. The race goes green at lap 40 until the remainder of the segment.

Near the end of the segment you'd have a flurry of teams trying to stretch it but most won't make it and will have to come down pit road. The leaders of the race would go two laps down. The ones in the best situation will be the Michael McDowell's of the field who were able to top up under caution and could stretch it. Not only would they take the segment win, they would trap the field multiple laps down at the caution. Sure, the field will stay out under caution and take the wave-around, but that only gets you one lap back, not two or three. I'm sure fans will just love seeing Landon Cassil and his buddies running "up front" for the whole next segment. This is the problem with split strategies when you know the caution is coming out, there isn't enough time for them to play out and resolve themselves.

We could be in for some 2016 all-star race bulls**t multiple times this year. Or NASCAR will just throw a BS caution or two to get everything back in the "proper" order.
 
I'm still waiting until after the Atlanta 1 race to decide whether or not to commit thousands of unrefundable dollars on our race trip this year. If the changes are tolerable we'll still go. If not we'll probably make the west coast run at least up to Washington State.
 
Acs said:
This whole split fuel strategy and flip the field at each segment thing sounds exciting at first until we get to tracks like Dover and 3/4 of the field gets trapped multiple laps down for the bulk of the race.

Example:
Dover segment length is 120-120-160. A fuel run is 80 laps. Crucially, pitting under green here will put you multiple laps down. Now say there's a caution at lap 36, right on the edge of a pit window. Some backmarkers will come down pit road multiple times to top up under caution, the front-runners will be in save mode instead of pushing hard. The race goes green at lap 40 until the remainder of the segment.

Near the end of the segment you'd have a flurry of teams trying to stretch it but most won't make it and will have to come down pit road. The leaders of the race would go two laps down. The ones in the best situation will be the Michael McDowell's of the field who were able to top up under caution and could stretch it. Not only would they take the segment win, they would trap the field multiple laps down at the caution. Sure, the field will stay out under caution and take the wave-around, but that only gets you one lap back, not two or three. I'm sure fans will just love seeing Landon Cassil and his buddies running "up front" for the whole next segment. This is the problem with split strategies when you know the caution is coming out, there isn't enough time for them to play out and resolve themselves.

We could be in for some 2016 all-star race bulls**t multiple times this year. Or NASCAR will just throw a BS caution or two to get everything back in the "proper" order.
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You have a vivid imagination.

Race teams read the new rules before the season starts. They might whine and cry for 5 minutes and then they get busy. In this case, that means a thorough review by the highly paid squadrons of engineers of each team's previous races at every venue which will obviously include fuel consumption rates and the incidence of caution flags thrown in the past during the laps identified for each of the now identified segments. Trends are spotted and combined with fuel consumption numbers to look for opportunities and ways to best advantage the team / kick NASCAR's ass. That is what racing is all about.

Perhaps NASCAR is looking to yet again assuage the internet whimpering about fuel mileage races and wins by establishing the published segment lengths ... who knows? It won't work. To date, the brilliant minds of the auto racers have overcome the rules-makers at every turn. Don't look for that to stop any time soon.
 
aunty dive said:
Some of us enjoy poking a bit of fun from time to time.

I think they need you in The Podium.
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Unsavory patronizing is something you are obviously quite proud of.

I'd be more concern with your lack of self awareness than where I am needed if I were you.
 
Reck said:
Unsavory patronizing is something you are obviously quite proud of.

I'd be more concern with your lack of self awareness than where I am needed if I were you.
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Concerned ,,, not concern.

Let's not spar, ok? You don't have the tools.
 
I'd like to see places such as Michigan and California have different segment lengths.
 
aunty dive said:
Concerned ,,, not concern.

Let's not spar, ok? You don't have the tools.
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Trust me, you're not worth the nickel.

Just keep your drone-like yes-man behavior, eyes closed, everything is fine outlook in your lane and you won't hear it from me.
 
This change doesn't bother me as much as others. It has a few positives like making running position more important throughout the race.
Maybe I am naive but I am hoping a that a few less debri cautions happen or compensate for this as well.

The final segments are pretty long too, ex Martinsville has 240 laps for the last segment.
 
I think they messed up the Texas laps. Atlanta is a longer track and runs fewer laps, but Texas is the same length as Charlotte and should have the same segment lengths.
 
Johali said:
I'm still waiting until after the Atlanta 1 race to decide whether or not to commit thousands of unrefundable dollars on our race trip this year. If the changes are tolerable we'll still go. If not we'll probably make the west coast run at least up to Washington State.
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I'd probably just figure on a nice and easy West Coast run...... The youngest son lives in Portland Oregon...... they love it there.... Just be prepared to be in the heart of the bastian for liberals......... LOL......
 
Only thing I am wondering is how much more excited I can
get for the season to start! The tremors , foam, and sweats
will hopefully subside this weekend! :):):):):cool::cool::cool:
 
I just can't shake the feeling that 2017 is when NASCAR jumps the shark.
 
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