The Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway on Thursday night was a puzzling race to me. I have been involved in dirt racing heavily for about 15 years, and last nights race had me scratching my head. When the new format for this year, which was the elimination of single vehicle qualifying to set the heat race lineups and the basis of using practice speeds to set the heat lineups was used, was released. It kinda opened my eyes. The previous six events at Eldora were pretty successful with this format previously used, so I wondered why it was changed. The cream of fastest trucks still arose to the top, so the format change really didnt affect that aspect. Then over the television broadcast of the heats, it was made noted that Goodyear brought a different tire compound. Me as a dirt racer automatically thought it was gonna make a dirt race a strategy race. Boy was I wrong……
They stated the tire was a softer tire. Which would mean for a higher rate of falloff when the track started to take rubber after the moisture began to be pulled out of it. The dirt racers of Mike Marlar, Justin Shipley, Mason Massey, whom I have competed against personally, along with Mark Smith, Kyle Strickler, and Jeffery Abbey automatically went to the top the list as favorites for me, due to the aspect of knowing how to adapt to changes of dirt tracks. I was right in the aspect of the dirt racers adapting, but I was wrong AGAIN on strategy and tires.
Eldora did somthing last night I am not accustomed to seeing it do: be a one lane racetrack that’s hard to pass on. I’ve watched modified races, late model races, and sprint car races on the storied high banks. Not one single one to my recent memory that I have watched has been that “lulling”. 80% of the trucks went to the top lane and rode the cushion for most of the race, in the first two stages. Not one truck made a legit pass in the bottom lane in all 3 stages. The last stage was a little bit better, but it was still “lulling” to me. Chase Briscoe had it in the bag, leading the first 90 laps of the race, but Stewart Friesen played the lets gamble card, stayed out and won, NOT MAKING ONE SINGLE PIT STOP THE WHOLE RACE. Yes, I said that right, not one pit stop made.
But here is my biggest gripe with the race.
NASCAR needs to desperately adapt a true dirt racing grassroots format for this race. It would lead to a MUCH more popular feedback chain from fans and racers. The race ran only a total of 82 green flag laps of the advertised 150 lap distance, THAT’S 68 CAUTION LAPS!!!! There were several issues with lineups after cautions. Here’s how this is solved: GO to a true dirt race format. Don’t count caution laps. Give the best shot for full green flag laps. Its obsurd that nearly half the race was ran under caution, due to alignment issues. Plus, another way to fix alignment issues is go back to the last completed green flag lap to set a lineup under caution. That will eliminate ALOT of the headache.
With a movement of grassroots racing hitting NASCAR hard, lets adopt a true dirt racing format for the TRUE grassroots track that’s on the schedule.