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NASCAR's visit to the Charlotte Motor Speedway next month for the last race of the Round of 12 during the 2023 playoffs has a brand new development. At the Concord, North Carolina-based venue, drivers will be seen racing with stage breaks once again on a road course.
The five prior road-course events in the 2023 season ditched caution periods as stages came to an end. Hence, the change for the season's final road race was somewhat confusing. Fans have been split on the decision, swaying in either direction. With pros and cons to both approaches, NASCAR seems to have finally made it official.
Bringing stage cautions back opens up a whole new world of strategy during the Bank of America Roval 400. It was done so that all playoff races are officiated equally. With the rest of the events featuring stage breaks as drivers race on ovals, Charlotte would have been the only outlier during the postseason.
It has been regularly seen that drivers tend to throw caution to the wind as they approach high-stakes restarts, especially during the playoffs. That is precisely what was missing from the previous five road course races this season.
Whether the change has been enforced to make the postseason officiating easy, or for an added element of drama, is up to you to decide.
Senior NASCAR official on the reintroduction of stage breaks at Charlotte Roval
NASCAR's senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer recently spoke about the reasoning behind the reintroduction of stage breaks at Charlotte Roval. The sixth round of the 2023 playoffs next month will see caution periods as stages come to an end.
Sawyer elaborated on why they felt the need to make the change in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, saying:
"The one reason is we want to make sure that throughout the playoffs, we are officiating across the board, the same way. Going back to the caution stage breaks, it would potentially make our races better."
The Bank of America Roval 400 is scheduled to go live on October 8, 2023. The drivers meanwhile prepare for this weekend's final Round of 16 event due to be held at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Bass Pro Shops Night Race goes live on September 16, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
