NASCAR announced this evening a new format for its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races in 2017. Each race will feature three stages, with the first two stages awarding points for positions 1-10 and the final stage awarding points to the entire field.
Below are comments from Stewart-Haas Racing drivers Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch regarding the new format.
KEVIN HARVICK: Driver of the No. 4 Ford Fusion, 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion
What do you think of the new format for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races?
“The most exciting thing to me about the whole format change is just how everybody in our sport came together and had this situation progress into what it has become. When you make the whole race relevant, you shouldn’t hear drivers say that they were just pacing themselves. There are real goals where you can gain points, and those points will contribute to your championship Chase all the way through the end of the year until the last round at Homestead. Every moment matters. I think everybody has done a great job with that.”
Knowing that stage wins can better prepare you for the Chase, and maybe get you into the Chase, how important are they?
“I think they’re really important because, as we’ve seen and experienced, especially last year for us in the Chase, there are going to be problems along the way. You’re going to have things pop up. You’re going to have accidents, part failures, mistakes and the better that you do through the season, the more cushion that you can give yourself if you’re able to win those segments and gain some bonus points. Anything you can do to pad those bonus points is going to be a benefit as you get to the end of the year.”
In the past you might have bided your time to better position yourself for the end of the race. Are those days over with this new format?
“I think there is still balance there. You still have to go after all the bonus points and the segments that you can in order to pile up as many points as you can if your car is capable of it. You still have to balance the position of trying to win a race, finish a race and gain the big prize at the end of the day. You still want to get everything you can and all the points that you can, but you still have to be smart about it as you go through the day.”
Previously you might have tried to get comfortable and settle into a groove. Does the introduction of stages introduce a constant sense of urgency throughout the entire race that may not have always existed before?
“I think that’s going to change for some people and it’s not going to change for others. For us, it has always been something that lap one is really where the battle starts. You wanted to go out and lead laps and do everything you could to stay up front because you just never knew what the race was going to bring you. You never knew when the cautions were going to fall. You never knew when things were going to happen. Now you know when the caution is going to fall and when the segments are going to end. You’re almost racing to those moments now where you’re trying to strategize those moments to be in front. I think as this moves along you’ll see strategies that start to develop as we go through the year and things will progress, people will catch on and we’ll go from there.”
DANICA PATRICK: Driver of the No. 10 Ford Fusion
What do you think of the new format for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races?
“This will give us a lot more winners, which I think is a cool thing.”
Knowing that stage wins can better prepare you for the Chase, and maybe get you into the Chase, how important are they?
“It puts a lot more emphasis on winning, and there are going to be a lot more winners. I think for a fan, that’s one of the things that’s easy to recognize – wins. They just get that. They don’t get that a top-five was a good day. They get wins.”
In the past you might have bided your time to better position yourself for the end of the race. Are those days over with this new format?
“I think there will end up being a pattern or flow to what works best to still win at the end of the race, but I think that there will be more moments where some teams and drivers are on the fence about what they think is really possible for their day. They might kind of switch strategies a little bit and try and shoot for stage wins every now and then more than worrying so much about coming out of the pits first after a final pit stop or some scenario like that. It’s incentive to do something different.”
Previously you might have tried to get comfortable and settle into a groove. Does the introduction of stages introduce a constant sense of urgency throughout the entire race that may not have always existed before?
“I think back to a superspeedway race awhile back and it looked like rain. We thought we were racing to halfway. Then we got halfway and then we thought there was more rain, and it did actually rain, and so we were under yellow for a bit. And then we got back going again and then it was the actual end of the race. What I said afterward was that the race was so exhausting because it was like we were racing to like a quarter and a half and three-quarters and then all the way. It was almost like we were racing for stage wins and there was no rest at all. You had to be up in the mix and you never knew when it was going to come to an end and when you were either going to get rain or some other circumstance stopping you. That race reminds me of what it’s like to race for stage wins.”
CLINT BOWYER: Driver of the No. 14 Ford Fusion
What do you think of the new format for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races?
“I think this is a good change. There has been talk and questions whether we needed this in our sport and I think we do. It’s going to be a good thing for our fans and a good thing for the racers. Since these stages are going to award points, you have to get into the top-10 and accumulate as many points as you can for the Chase at the end of the year. That’s what’s going to win you the championship. I think (racing hard to win stages) is going to start early.”
Knowing that stage wins can better prepare you for the Chase, and maybe get you into the Chase, how important are they?
“These stages are going to be ultra-important starting right off at Daytona. You have to accumulate points so you can establish yourself in the Chase and battle for a championship.”
In the past you might have bided your time to better position yourself for the end of the race. Are those days over with this new format?
“No. I think it is always going to be most important to win the race. These stage wins, and collecting as many points as you can within that race, are going to be important. It might not necessarily be important that day right there, but when you are going to notice it is when you see it all tallied up at the end of the year and you start talking about the Chase. The guy who does a good job of accumulating stages and running well the whole race is going to be in the catbird’s seat for the championship.”
Previously you might have tried to get comfortable and settle into a groove. Does the introduction of stages introduce a constant sense of urgency throughout the entire race that may not have always existed before?
“It can. That’s certainly the intent. This makes every part of the race important.”
KURT BUSCH: Driver of the No. 41 Ford Fusion, 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion
What do you think of the new format for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races?
“I agree with it. I think it’s exciting to add a new element that is a genuine way to earn points, which is to run up front and then make decisions based on how you’re running – to either put tires on before that segment ends or during that segment break. It adds more energy to the races. I think it’s a win-win, especially for the TV broadcast.”
Knowing that stage wins can better prepare you for the Chase, and maybe get you into the Chase, how important are they?
“The way that Tony Gibson (crew chief) and I have talked about this is that if we just go out and do our job, go out there and race, race smart, not try to overthink it, we’ll find those bonus points. We’ll have that consistency. Most importantly, we want to find that checkered flag at the end of the day. Segment wins are nice, but the checkered flag at the end of the day is what we’re all about.”
In the past you might have bided your time to better position yourself for the end of the race. Are those days over with this new format?
“It’s all about victory lane and going in there for your sponsors – for Ford, for Monster Energy, for Haas Automation. Those are the people that celebrate with us at the end of the day. Segment wins are like a cherry on top, but you’ve got to get your cake, and your cake is victory lane.”
Previously you might have tried to get comfortable and settle into a groove. Does the introduction of stages introduce a constant sense of urgency throughout the entire race that may not have always existed before?
“That’s what this is meant to do. It’s meant to turn the knob up and to bring in a new element. And then we’re going to have less tires this year at a lot of the racetracks, and so you have to bring in tire management – when you’re going to use them, when you’re not going to use them. And then there’s going to be the luck of the draw. Sometimes if you have so many yellows (caution periods) right after you put on a set of fresh tires, you’ve got all these heat cycles on your tires and you think, ‘That was the wrong time to pit.’ So it throws more elements in there that you don’t know are going to happen.”
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