NASCAR has seen plenty of change recently. There’s not much of how they conduct a race now that is also the same that it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the no qualifying and determining starting lineups based off a blind draw or an invert, to no practice, to single day shows without fans, etc, this is a brand new NASCAR — one that’s seeing several of these new things potentially remaining in place for the future as well.

Well, how about another change added? A choose cone.

For those that aren’t aware what this is, just before the restarts, a cone is placed on the track and you can choose which lane you want to restart in. That way, if one lane is the superior one like we saw the outside lane was at last month Darlington, or two Sunday’s ahi at Bristol even, you can all choose to restart there.You shouldn’t be at a disadvantage based off the lane you’re in for a restart. But, that’s been happening and guys are starting to take advantage of this on pit road, where they’re literally stopping at pit exit to allow other guys to get by and them manipulate getting to restart in the correct lane.

It’s dangerous.

“I think so,” Denny Hamlin said of adopting a choose cone for Cup races. ‘Guys stopping at the end of pit road is just kind of ridiculous. We’re trying to merge into traffic and guys are literally just stopping. Something or at least give us some options there. It’s not that hard, they do it at every local short track.”

Joey Logano agrees. He said a couple of weeks ago that games being played on pit road during pit stops is incredibly stupid and sometimes even all for not when a car in front of you ends up getting penalized for speeding or an infraction to where they end up going to the back and you end up moving up to the spot that you didn’t want.

“You don’t have luck being involved whether you see guys hitting their brakes at the end of pit road which No. 1 isn’t very safe and No. 2 you try and line yourself up sixth and the guy in front has a speeding penalty and you now line up sixth and in the wrong lane and think ‘man I really blew it,” Logano said. “That happens out there. So many times everyone is trying to play a game. Just put a cone out there and say go left or right. It’s simple. It’s an easy thing to do. I think it’s the right time to do it because there’s already plenty of change going around. I’d love to try it. I’d love to have it in our sport.”

In turn, this leads to strategy. You know not everyone will choose the same lane. Maybe the top five will, but how deep will guys go before they choose to restart in the non preferred lane, but be up front?

This was brought up prior to the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and following a races last Sunday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and a week earlier at Bristol, the noise is growing louder.

“Do it everywhere, every track,” Logano said on Sunday in Atlanta. “It doesn’t matter.  It’s necessary in today’s world or racing.  That’s my opinion, and I think we can all do it because I know (Ryan) Blaney and I did it when we were like nine years old racing Bandolaros and Legends cars and we can handle it.  I’ve been saying it for years.  I’ve had the conversation multiple times, please, please.  I think it’s necessary.”

His Penske teammate of Ryan Blaney doesn’t necessarily agree with the “everywhere” part but he does think that it needs done at certain tracks.

“I’d love the choose cone,” Blaney said of the idea. “At certain tracks I think it would be really neat.  Maybe you don’t do it everywhere, but some of the places where it’s maybe dominant on one lane for the restart at least, you could kind of maybe have some people take a chance.  I’d like to see it.  I thought it’s a neat idea, for sure.  We may not have it everywhere, but I wouldn’t mind it being in place.”

In Darlington, Martin Truex Jr. noted that he had a top three car but was always restarting in the bad lane and falling back. With it being so hard to pass, he never could make up enough ground. Same for Kevin Harvick. He noted that he’d lose 3-4 spots on each restart because he was in the wrong lane and it cost him a win as well.

The drivers all say that this new horsepower package is a big reason as to why one lane is better than the other.

“I just think with the 550 package when you come to race tracks like here (Atlanta) and Charlotte and those types of places there is definite lines that are better than others, and you’re gonna go to Martinsville and there’s usually a lane there better than any other one,” Logano continued. “No matter what track you go to they’re gonna have a dominant lane.  What’s that worth?  Put a choose cone there and that’s kind of a fun game at that point?  Are you willing to give up two rows to start in the preferred lane?  I don’t know.  That’s a fun thing.  It’s something for us to work on, that’s for sure.  You’d have to study it.  Do you take the risk and move up three rows and you take the shot of maybe finding a hole.”

Blaney, also said that this horsepower package is a big reason for this and that he thinks a perfect spot to test a choose cone out in is a race next month.

“Especially on the 550s you’re gonna have, it’s a lot of the pushes and things like that and what you get,” Blaney said of this horsepower package and the restarts. “There are tougher places than others.  Here (Atlanta) it’s hard for the top lane to get rolling.  It’s just kind of how the pavement is and it’s just slick compared to the bottom so you have jumble ups.  The 550s have always been wild, but the choose cone, I think, is a great option that we can think on. I think it would be really neat.”

Their teammate Brad Keselowski, a two-time race winner this season, agrees something should be done, but is an advocate to just going back to single file restarts.

“This is why it’s so hard for NASCAR because I just wish they went back to single-file restarts,” Keselowski said. “That would be the best way to fix it.  I thought that was a fair way or racing.  That’s what our sport was brought up on and there weren’t any of those types of games, but what do I know?”

Fair? Yes. But I fear single file restarts would further bore the show. It’s tough enough to pass already, if you start single file, how will any more passes be done?

Either way, a change sounds like it is needed and all the drivers are starting to come aboard the choose cone train.