NASCAR VP affirms to have a “dialogue with young drivers” after Truck Series race ran 50% under caution

The season-opener for both the NASCAR Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series at Daytona International Speedway was marred by a high number of caution periods, resulting in more than half of the laps being run under yellow flag conditions.

The ARCA Series opener saw 49 of the 84 laps run under caution, while the Fresh from Florida 250 Truck race witnessed 52 of the 101 laps run under caution. Additionally, the Truck race set a record for the most caution flags at Daytona, with 12 incidents prompting yellow flags.

Following the wreck fest at Daytona, NASCAR Senior VP of Competition, Elton Sawyer, has expressed his intention to continue dialogue with young drivers regarding their approach to racing on Superspeedway tracks.

In a recent appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Sawyer emphasized that while new drivers are briefed on racing at Superspeedways, there's no substitute for on-track experience. He highlights the importance of split-second decision-making and also suggests that simulators cannot fully replicate the draft.

"You can do all the prep work, simulators, the film studies, the one-on-ones with the veteran drivers. Be ready for this because the draft reacts completely different than things that they have ever experienced in their driving careers. The closing rate, what do I do when I catch this Truck, do I drag the brake, do I pull out and pass left or right... you gotta start making those decisions."

Elton Sawyer expressed his commitment to ongoing dialogue with young Truck Series drivers and suggested that inputs from veteran drivers could improve the situation.

"You can sit and talk to the drivers for days, but until they experience that they just, they are learning, they just don't know until you live that. So we will continue to have those conversations, dialogues with our young drivers and get some of our veterans to help."

The second Truck Series race is scheduled for February 24, at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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NASCAR VP aims to curb fuel-saving strategies on Superspeedways

The Cup Series drivers have adopted a fuel-saving strategy on Superspeedway tracks that has diminished the racing spectacle. The drivers are content with running in their position for the majority of the race, before making a frantic dash to the checkered flag in the final laps.

Elton Sawyer has indicated that NASCAR is exploring different avenues to address the issue of drivers wanting to reduce their pitstop times by saving fuel.

"Ultimately, we want to drop the green flag on the race and they're racing as hard as they can until they drop the checkered flag," Sawyer said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "There's some strategy in between there, and we will definitely take a much deeper dive into this particular situation and the strategy that goes into it."

While increasing the fuel cell size or shortening the stages isn't likely, officials are looking to increase the fuel-flow rate from the cans, for quicker refueling, hence reducing the dependence on saving fuel while racing.