Busch believes midweek races could act as showcases for tracks outside the current Cup calendarGETTY IMAGES
NASCAR driver Kurt Busch said that he is "not excited" about the '19 Monster Energy Cup Series schedule because he "feels it needs to be 'shaken up,'" according to Tom Errington of AUTOSPORT.com. Busch said, "I just saw them (NASCAR) release the schedule and it's a carbon copy in 2019 as it was in '18. Now, we need to shake up our schedule. There are plenty of racetracks that need to learn how to cooperate with the ISCs of the world, the SMIs of the world." Busch: "We've got to do more things for our fans, more things for the media, to keep things more interesting and exciting when we're moving and shaking. But seeing this schedule for next year, I'm not excited." He also said that he backed fellow driver Kevin Harvick's "call for the finale" at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford EcoBoost 400 "to be rotated." Busch: "We don't need to be at Homestead every year, but Ford's got a nice contract with Homestead and they push hard to sell vehicles in southern Florida." Meanwhile, Busch "reckons midweek races could act as showcases for tracks outside the current Cup calendar." Busch: "(Midweek races) would work at a track like [Iowa Speedway] that is starving poor for a NASCAR race" (AUTOSPORT.com, 5/4).
MOVING THE NEEDLE: In Delaware, Martin Frank writes yesterday's AAA 400 Drive For Autism at Dover Int'l Speedway was the "same old" Cup Series race. Frank: "And that, in a way, has become NASCAR's problem." Harvick beat runner-up Clint Bowyer by "more than seven seconds." There were "only 13 cars on the lead lap" and it was Harvick's fourth win of the season. The "so-called next wave of 'young guns' struggled to keep up" with the 42-year-old Harvick. The younger drivers have "yet to grab the fans' attention," and it is "easy to notice the rapidly decreasing crowds at Dover and the other racetracks." While attendance figures are not released, it "doesn't take a mathematician to see that there were gaps of empty seats along the main straightaway, something that was unheard of in the past" (Wilmington NEWS JOURNAL, 5/7). In Virginia, Walt Moody notes NASCAR has "tried a number of new initiatives over the years, including changing the points format, awarding points for stage winners during races and bringing the tech world into all facets of the production." NASCAR HOFer Richard Petty said, "Our sport is like any sport, it's about being able to generate new fans. That's the reason they're going to all electronics and you can pick up (the drivers) on your telephone and hear them talk. They're getting more cameras in the cars. They're trying something different. Society is changing and they're trying to get ahead of it" (WINCHESTER STAR, 5/7).
