NASCAR tracks continue to raise the bar

Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., headlined the event, but the track presidents of ISM Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway also were competing for attention.

That’s understandable because after Daytona Speedweeks end on February 18 and NASCAR rolls north through Atlanta a week later, the West Coast Swing begins with three-straight weekends of racing from Vegas to Phoenix to Fontana before returning to Martinsville Speedway on March 25.

Far from simply providing a backdrop for the racing action, speedways have been making enormous strides to enhance the fan experience through capital improvements and creative ways to engage those who attend the races.

Improving fan experience

Certainly, Daytona Rising set the bar. International Speedway Corporation took the World Center of Racing and turned it into a multi-purpose stadium complete with injectors, gathering areas on the concourses and clubs in the grandstands.

With all of the current changes occurring to the facilities—and the racing surfaces—2018 could become the year of the track.

Love it or hate it, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval will be a game changer—particularly with its position in the Playoffs. But let’s not forget ISM Raceway either. The track formerly known at Phoenix Raceway is getting a complete facelift inside and out.

When the Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck tours return to Phoenix in November, the races at ISM will complete the fields of four drivers vying for the series titles at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The start-finish line for those events will have moved to the dogleg on what is now the backstretch.

“I think it’s been fun to see the tracks kind of take competition into their own hands,” Jones said. “Over the last few years, we saw Kentucky start off with a repave and then really changed the track up on both ends and make it different. Then we saw Texas follow suit, and now we see ISM following suit by moving the start-finish line.

“It’s really interesting to see the tracks really changing competition in a way by trying something different for the fans. NASCAR does a good job working on the cars and making them the best they can, but the tracks are really starting to take that initiative on as well. I think it’s cool. I think it will be something different. You don’t know how it’s going to work out.”

Phoenix changes could make the racing more "interesting"

Stenhouse believes restarts will change dramatically at Phoenix once the start-finish line is moved.

“Some of the restarts are going to be fun,” Stenhouse said. “The top 10 rows will be pretty good. They’ll be in a good position to restart. Once you’re further back or starting in the middle of (Turns) 3 and 4 will be a little bit difficult turning, getting through the corner and restarting at the same time.

“I think those are all challenges that make racing good and fun and definitely interesting. It will be cool to see how it all plays out.”

Beyond the media tours, Las Vegas Motor Speedway has a leg up on the competition when it comes to promoting with cars actually running on the track this week for the first major test of the season. While Texas Motor Speedway hosted several drivers earlier this month, 16 competitors are expected for participate in the Vegas Goodyear tire test on Wednesday and Thursday.

Both Jones and Stenhouse are thrilled for the seat time. Vegas marks the first time Jones will be able to work with his new Joe Gibbs Racing team. While Chris Gayle will continue in his role as crew chief, Jones has yet to work with the No. 20 JGR team.

“Knowing Chris helped out a lot, but the biggest thing for me is getting to know the know the new guys,” Jones said during the NASCAR Goes West Media Tour. “I didn’t take any team members from the 77, it’s all the 20 guys. Just getting to know them better—putting faces with names is a tough thing for me. So just remembering everybody, getting to know everybody and getting closer juts makes things that much easier.

“So, getting to test at Vegas (this) week will be really good. I always think that’s nice—especially with a new team to be able to test before the season gets going. It gives everybody the chance to take some time and figure out their role, find out what everybody’s strong points are and get everything smoothed out.”

Stenhouse Jr., is also scheduled to test in Las Vegas. Although he is coming off of the best year of his Cup career with wins at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Ford knows he needs to pick up the pace at other tracks.

“It definitely gave us a lot of confidence in certain areas,” Stenhouse said. “Then there were times that we still struggled and we know we still have a lot of work to do. But winning at Daytona and Talladega last year gives us a lot of confidence showing up in February and knowing we have a shot at winning the Daytona 500 and getting our season kicked off the right way.

“But once we head out west, I think we’re really looking forward to improving at Las Vegas. That’s one of the mile-and-a-half tracks where we struggled last year. I’m looking forward to going there, testing and picking up some of the pieces and putting them together and hopefully bring some speed back there with us. Phoenix was a good track for us last year in both the spring and the fall. And then you always have fun going to California.”

Stenhouse will stay on the West Coast for all three events. Not only does he avoid jet lag, but remaining in western time zones helps his sleeping schedule. In 2018, Stenhouse wants to be prepared for whatever the season brings.

“For us, it’s just about minimizing the mistakes I made on the race track and then some of the calls and decisions we made on the setups throughout the weekends that kind of put us behind. Really, it’s just about taking what we did and moving it a step forward.”