I don't make it a habit of watching Monster Energy Cup races. Now even NASCAR and the tracks are admitting that more and more racefans are breaking the habit themselves. So they keep looking for innovative ways to create more exciting racing - or sometimes, any racing at all. Like stages, you know?
Had you ever heard of a roval? I guess Charlotte introduced this hybrid between road course and oval to bring all the excitement of road racing to stock cars. But most stock car fans I know consider road racing boring, so I don't know what Charlotte was thinking.
I thought Charlotte already had a road-course loop. Many ovals have some sort of road-course as part of its whole operation. NHMS, a mile, combines pieces of its oval with a road course extending outside of it. Superspeedways like Daytona routinely are built with road-course sections in the infield. The track's 24-hour road race is an important part of its Speedweeks racing extravaganza. Indeed, Thompson in Connecticut is busy every weekend with some sort of road racing event now that it rejuvenated its road-course.
But I've said it before, and I'll (need to) say it again. You want better racing? How about better cars? Fans don't need to believe (falsely) that NASCAR drivers are racing cars like the ones in the parking lot. And how about shorter races? Admit it, NASCAR. You lengthened races to sell more ads. No, a 200-mile race, and 300 on superspeedways, will make the racing better, not worse. Sure, there'll be fewer ads, but maybe more fans will see them.