Landon Quesinberry: A solid B. There have been some great races like Circuit of the Americas, Phoenix Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There have been a few duds in there, too, along with some races that had some stinker endings due to officiating at the end. Yes, I am talking about the Daytona 500 and Atlanta Motor Speedway. Overall, this has been a good start, despite it not being a red-hot start like other seasons. This season feels like more of a slow burner.
Steve Leffew: This season has earned a D grade so far. While there have been good moments, like at COTA, we are coming off three consecutive races that were pretty downright bad. Darlington Raceway is my favorite track, but the quality of racing with this car has become so bad that even the greatest track on the circuit couldn’t save it. Martinsville Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway were nothing short of horrible. But there is reason to be optimistic, because Talladega Superspeedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway are next on the schedule, and they should all provide better racing than what we’ve seen lately.
Mike Neff: A solid C. That’s right, this season has been the most average, boring racing to watch. The Next Gen car is so aero dependent that unless your car is significantly better, you cannot pass the car in front of you. The car needs to get off of the ground so that handling becomes much more important.
Luken Glover: C+. Listen, it’s easy to get spoiled when one season puts on several barnburners, and motorsports is guilty of that in some areas more than other sports. And why not, given that it’s one race a week? We’d love to have thrilling competition each time the sport hits the track. With some of the glaring issues and controversies in the sport, 2024 still doesn’t feel like it got the credit it deserves. This year has been mild, factoring in some head-scratching officiating calls, dominance from other drivers and the frustration of the Next Gen car’s limitations. However, dull races are to be expected, and one or two of them shouldn’t sound the alarms. Bristol was in a whole different category, but there are still plenty of races that will likely put on good shows over the coming months. Additionally, FOX’s broadcasts have, to be blunt, been absolutely dismal. That doesn’t help the quality of the product nor the appeal to the sport, and despite ratings increases in all but one race thus far, it is time for its feet to be held to the fire.
Mark Kristl: D+. The Daytona 500 featured some great racing. But NASCAR made up a rule to benefit a driver who never competed in a NASCAR-sanctioned series whereas two Cup champions could’ve failed to qualify for the race. Ryan Preece violently flipped, Christopher Bell crashed hard and series officiating has been controversial. While a driver can dominate a race, it’s horrible that the reason is largely because these spec racecars are hard to pass. When you give everyone the same rcar, the top teams will eventually beat everyone, and passing becomes harder because there is less room for adjustments. Add in the single lug nut, which remains a failure because of tire issues. When NASCAR is counting on Goodyear to manufacture a tire to make Bristol Motor Speedway exciting, there is a problem. While drivers continue to voice solutions, NASCAR keeps running its current course.
Christopher Hansen: The Cup schedule is by far one of the most grueling schedules in all of motorsports. The ideal number of off-weekends would be two, one on Easter weekend as it’s been in past seasons. The other could potentially be later in the summer, maybe around the end of June or July before the run-up to the playoffs.
Glover: With 36 points-paying races on the schedule, it’s hard to give more than two because of where that would push the end of the season. The Easter break was a welcome sight when NASCAR released the 2025 schedule, and that is one that should not be touched again. There should be a second one placed right at the end of the regular season. That gives playoff teams a chance to regroup and take a breath before going into the mentally exhausting challenge that the playoffs present, and it allows those who did not make it an opportunity to focus on how they want to finish the season while planning for the future.
Kristl: This is tough because the TV contract necessitates 38 events. Give Easter weekend off altogether and run a doubleheader somewhere — at least it’ll be a storyline. That makes two off-weekends. When should that other week take place? Probably about halfway through the season, NASCAR should coordinate that with its TV partners.
Quesinberry: One to three off-weeks seems like an acceptable amount. The Cup teams probably do deserve more rest than one week, but the almost-month-long Olympic break is a bit much. I don’t really care where the off-weeks fall, as long as they don’t kill the momentum of the season, so no breaks in the last 10 weeks of the season.
Neff: Kasey Kahne will probably be somewhere around fifth. He has done well in Cup and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Rockingham Speedway, with a second and a first. Xfinity has not been a strong suit for him there, but in a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, he should have a strong weekend.
Leffew: Kahne will finish 15th. He’s been out of the car for a long time, and we can’t be sure how much he really had left in the tank when he stepped away several years ago. His RCR Chevrolet should be competitive but likely a step behind JR Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, as usual. Take a rusty driver and a team that is a bit behind the front runners, and you get a slightly better than mid-pack finish. I just hope he gets to run all the laps, because I do think he’ll hit his stride in the final stage.
Glover: There are so many unknowns despite Kahne’s history in the sport. He has been out of the car for nearly seven years, and it’s so hard to jump right back in and be competitive. That being said, there are a lot of tools at his disposal that could stir that itch to compete even more. For starters, Kahne is one of just three drivers in the field who have raced at Rockingham, and he has far more experience there than anyone else. Secondly, Keith Rodden, vp of competition at RCR, said ot was bringing Kahne a new car and “the best of the best.” Kahne had good pace and lap times at the test session in January. Despite the changes that have been made to the track since the sport was last there, Kahne said he felt some of the same qualities that made Rockingham one of his favorite tracks. This is about as equal of a playing field as the 18-time Cup winner could have gotten, and the Xfinity Series allows returning drivers to be more competitive. A top 10 should definitely be a good benchmark this weekend.
Hansen: Kahne has a great opportunity ahead of him at Rockingham, getting the chance to drive a RCR entry in the Xfinity Series. For being out of a NASCAR car for several years, it will take some adjustment from him, but he’ll run all the laps and compete for a top-10 finish when all is said and done.
Stat Sheet: The Biggest Losers from Rockingham’s 2004 Cup Exit
Kristl: Quit racing at Sonoma Raceway and join the ARCA Menards Series West at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. Hopefully Xfinity drivers would partake in the West race. It would be a terrific experience and reward fans in that area who lost Auto Club Speedway. Make it 300 laps, with each stage lasting 100 circuits, hopefully alleviating the need for live green-flag pit stops to maybe save some teams money. California has wealthy people and organizations; find some folks willing to sponsor this race and make it happen.
Neff: There is no excuse for NXS to still be running the big track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park was a loyal supporter of the series from the first year with great attendance, and it should be back running there. Also, with the rumors swirling about a return to Hickory Motor Speedway, that is an ideal track for the series. Other great local tracks are South Boston Speedway, Orange County Speedway, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Stafford Motor Speedway, Newport Speedway, Salem Speedway and Winchester Speedway.
Hansen: The one track that NASCAR should strongly consider returning to in the near future is Chicagoland Speedway. With the status of the Chicago street course up in the air, this would be the perfect venue for the Xfinity cars to compete at. Also, a return to IRP, replacing Indianapolis, would make sense, as Xfinity races at the Brickyard have been hit or miss with different rules packages for those cars in particular.
Quesinberry: The Truck Series shouldn’t be the only ones to go to IRP. Xfinity ran there in the past, and the series needs more standalone dates. It doesn’t really have them anymore aside from this week and Portland International Raceay. Heck, NASCAR has been experimenting with Xfinity at the Brickyard with mixed results, so I don’t see the harm in just running at IRP instead. Also, it would make the Brickyard 400 more special with Cup being the standalone series at the track. I think that’s a win in my book.
Leffew: Road America needs to get back on the schedule. Chicagoland is the next best choice if the Chicago street course isn’t on the table in the future.
Steve Leffew
Mike Neff
Luken Glover
Mark Kristl
