Give Me Five: Texas Edition

The Duck Commander 500 from the 1.5 mile Texas Motor Speedway was one of the better spring races seen at the speedway. Here are five takeaways from this weekends festivities in the Lone Star State:
 
·      Kyle Busch: He is definitely in the prime of his career as a racer. After his injury from the season-opening NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway in 2015, fans have started to turn a new leaf with Busch. When he was doing his celebratory burnout at the end of the race, fans were cheering louder than the occasional boo’s heard when he wins. 
 
·      Joe Gibbs Racing: Just a couple years ago, fans and media were asking “What is going on at Joe Gibbs Racing?” Well, that has turned into “Who can stop them?” In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, JGR teams have qualified 1-2-3 in all but one event in the 2016 season. In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, JGR teams are towards the front of the field throughout the race. Joe Gibbs Racing has found something that the other teams have not found yet. Will JGR have all four cars, including the affiliate, Furniture Row Racing, in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in September?
 
·      Texas Motor Speedway: It is time to shorten the spring race at Texas to 400 miles and/or switch this race to the daytime. The race was over 3.5 hours long this weekend. This is not okay for the “millennial generation” that NASCAR is trying so desperately to reach. The fans were not packed this weekend at the track. Are fans not buying tickets to this race so they could go to the Chase race in November? Eddie Gossage does a great job promoting his events, but is there anything else he can do to wrangle in more spectators? 
 
·      Green/Yellow Situations: The Duck Commander 500 started under a Green/Yellow situation to help NASCAR dry the track, after late afternoon showers. Jet Dryers and Air Titans were doing yeoman’s work on drying the track. Personally, NASCAR should go away from these type of situations. Fans pay and want to see the race start on the first lap. If the track was not ready to race, then do not put the cars on the track. Luckily, weepers were not an issue this go-around at Texas Motor Speedway, but NASCAR needs to look at this policy.
 
·      Cup Drivers in the Xfinity Series: LET IT GO! Xfinity Series regulars enjoy having the Sprint Cup drivers racing with them. Having Cup drivers in this series allows for fans to see what these up and coming drivers are made of. “Names are made here” is the slogan for the Xfinity Series. Wouldn’t you love to actually see what these drivers are made of?  Cup drivers in this series allows for people who are unable to see their favorite Cup drivers race on Sunday, due to whatever circumstances, see them race. If Xfinity drivers are okay with this dilemma, then why aren’t the fans?
 
What are your takeaways from Texas Motor Speedway?
Caleb Whisler
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