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Amidst rebuttals of NASCAR's removal of scoring pylons from multiple tracks by drivers such as Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, insider Jeff Gluck has revealed the cost of installing a brand-new scoring pylon.
During the recent race weekend in Talladega, the scoring pylon that displays the leaderboard during NASCAR races was removed. The structure which displays approximately 10 drivers' car numbers had become a source of concern due to its need for frequent repairs, with some parts becoming obsolete over time.
Since its removal, multiple drivers such as Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch have opposed NASCAR's decision. Wallace had told Frontstretch:
"I mean, we use it as a tool to see what we’re running and how many laps we’ve left. You see qualifying, that number, your favorite driver’s number jumps to the top."
During a recent episode of the Dale Jr Download podcast, eminent NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck revealed to Jordan Bianchi the cost of a new pylon, in case NASCAR were to replace one from a track. He said:
"I asked this today, and I was shocked by it. A new pylon costs $5 million. Can you believe it? (59:15)
This becomes particularly stressful for the sport's sanctioning body, given that the companies that used to produce the parts for a pylon have ceased to exist. Consequently, if a particular part of a pylon were to malfunction, NASCAR would need to replace the entire pylon and fork out a sum of $5 million, a figure that'd do more harm than good to the governing body.
Bubba Wallace reflects on disappointing Talladega DNF
In an all-Toyota clash in the 151st Lap of the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 race at Talladega Superspeedway, a contact between Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemechek set up a flurry of crashes. In the process, Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, and Wallace himself were unable to finish the race, thus ending their nights prematurely with a DNF finish.
Speaking to Fox Sports after the race, Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing, expressed his frustration with the outcome which was his first DNF of the season. He said:
"We were all pushing really hard to keep our line going. We had a plan and just didn’t execute it as well as we should. Look forward to running these places and then you just get trapped in somebody else’s mess, I hate it."
Despite his frustrations, Wallace now attempts to move past the Talladega incident and shift his focus to the upcoming NASCAR Cup race in Dover. He added:
"It doesn’t make us look good at all. But all in all, we’ll just reset and go to Dover. We’ve got a long way to go. We’re fine. Just frustrating."
After 10 races, Bubba Wallace is ranked 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. In what has been his best start to a campaign so far, the 30-year-old driver has 257 points to his name, courtesy of three top-5 finishes so far.
