NASCAR might continue the trend of not having any practice and qualifying for the Cup Series races in the 2021 season.
NASCAR has run all the Cup series races without practice and qualifying, except Coca-Cola 600, since the racing resumed in May. The idea behind the lack of practice and qualifying was to make up the lost time – two months – when all the racing activities were halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was also to reduce the time spent on the race tracks.
While the 2021 season might not have to deal with these issues, practice and qualifying could still be eliminated from many Cup races for the next season. Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal reported that several teams want practice and qualifying to be scrapped from a number of Cup races due to “the continued uncertainty and financial issues from coronavirus”.
Several teams are advocating for @NASCAR to schedule a significant number of next year's Cup races as one-day shows, given the continued uncertainty and financial issues from coronavirus.
➖ Industry stakeholders (league/track/media partners) would need to agree to the move. pic.twitter.com/OEsCTk6dFB
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) August 19, 2020
[Read More: “It Was Pretty Nuts for Sure” – Chase Elliott on First Cup Series Experience at Daytona]