NASCAR came out of the gates in 2020 with four race weekends in as many weeks. That’s typical. But, as we sit here in mid-June, we should be heading to the 16th race of the season in Sonoma. Instead, we’re nearing the 12th race and going to the Homestead-Miami Speedway. You may think, 12 races run in a span of four months is simple, but nothing today is like it was in the past.

Once the middle of March came, so did a world wide pandemic. COVID-19 hit and affected everything. Nothing about our lives now is like it was then. Same goes for sports.

NASCAR had to take a lengthy hiatus as a result of that. While they were the first major sport to return on May 17, they still missed 70 days between races as the fallout from the coronavirus. So, as the Cup Series takes on their eighth race in 28 days, not many people will feel sorry for them.

In order to get to that many races in that four week span though, NASCAR had to adapt to scheduling weeknight races. We’ve seen a weeknight race for three of the last four weeks. This is all to fit to the original 36 races scheduled and not move the final race of the season back.

 “I think it’s great that you’re essentially having three races in a week, which is great for fans to watch,” said Ryan Blaney. “A lot of work on the teams.  As far as personally physically, I’m all good.”

But, this recent stretch though is starting to take its toll on the drivers. Last Sunday, they raced 500 miles in Atlanta, Georgia. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Atlanta in June, but it’s hot and sticky. Temperatures that day soared into the upper 80’s, with high humidity levels as well.

You could see some of the best shaped drivers struggling after the race. Then, it was to a 500 lap race on a .526-mile short track at Martinsville on Wednesday night. Another hot race inside of the race cars.

“I think a lot of guys, including myself a little bit, thought a night race at Martinsville wasn’t going to be hot,” Tyler Reddick said. “It was one of the hottest races that I’ve done in a very long time.”

Now, we have 400 miles in Miami, Florida on Sunday. Again, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Florida in the summer, let alone one of the most southern parts of the state outside of the Keys, but it’s even worse than Atlanta.

All three races were supposed to be run in cooler conditions this past spring. Now, they’re in some of the hottest conditions of those areas each year instead.

“I mean, I’m hesitant to say it’s tough racing because I drive a car in circles for a living,” Brad Keselowski said. “I don’t think a lot of people want to kind of hear me whine and complain.

“That said, it’s a tough week.  It’s tough.  Probably the toughest I’ve ever been a part of.  Atlanta was a grueling race, very humid.  500 miles.  I don’t know why it had to be 500 miles, but it was, at a track where the cars are a handful.  Normally when we run Atlanta it’s in March or late February-ish.  Obviously running it in early June, late May is much different weather conditions, much harder.  Same thing here in Martinsville.

“I’m a little bit surprised that today (Wednesday night) was a 500-lap race because with it being a Wednesday night race long into the night for some of our fans.  It also is part of the challenge of being a racecar driver, is running 500 laps, 500 miles.  It gives an endurance factor to it.

“I think we see time over time with that endurance factor the storylines and the plot changes.  I hate to shorten the races because I think it’s part of the storyline and plot of the Cup Series that you have to be good for so long.  It wears you down physically, mentally, along with the car.  I really appreciate that.  I don’t know if there’s ever been a more grueling stretch in Cup racing.

“I was talking to my dad about this.  My dad was around in Cup in the ’60s and ’70s as a kid that went to a bunch of races with his dad who had a team.  He and I were talking about it at dinner a week or two ago.  He asked me, Are you going to be all right for this stretch of races?

“I said, I’m just going to have to suck it up.

“What are you going to do?  You have to find a way and persevere through it.  Everyone is telling me stories about the ’60s and ’70s when they ran more races.  They had the longer schedule.  They’d run a 400- or 500-mile race one or two a week.  The drivers would get out halfway.  It wasn’t uncommon to where your big-name drivers would run the first 200 or 300 laps, get out, either somebody else would finish the race or they’d get back in and finish the race at the end.  I thought that was so interesting.

“I think that just goes to show you how much the racing has changed and evolved.  Even though you could maybe compare this specific period of time in NASCAR to the olden days when they raced more during the week, I think that kind of changes it because we don’t have driver changes mid race.

“I think that creates, like I said, history for the most grueling few weeks on a driver that the Cup level has ever seen.

“With respect to that, it’s the same for everybody.  We all got to toughen up.  I think it’s a great test of will, a great test of the drivers.  I think it’s what makes these few weeks so compelling not just as a participant but as a fan myself.

His Penske teammate Ryan Blaney agrees.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s tough,” Blaney said of the situation this week. “You get out and you’re worn out, things like that.  Atlanta was hot.  Worked really hard at Atlanta.  It’s a long race.  500 miles is a long time.

“Here (Martinsville) obviously you’re working hard.  It wasn’t cold here.  Honestly, Miami will probably be the hottest one we go to, most humid.“

Alex Bowman echoed what Keselowski said and called this a difficult stretch.

“I think this week has been probably been the most grueling of my career,” Bowman said Friday in a media teleconference. “The recovery process has definitely changed, the workout process during the week has changed quite a bit.

“But this week, with 500 miles at Atlanta, two days to turn around and go to Martinsville for 500 laps where it’s super-hot – we have right side windows in short track cars now, so there’s no air flow – it was the hottest I’ve ever been in my entire life in a race car on Wednesday night.

“That was really tough, lost a ton of weight on Wednesday night. Trying to put that back on for Sunday is difficult, trying to get rehydrated for Sunday is difficult. The previous couple of weeks, I would have told you no, everything is good and it’s no problem. But this week has been a tough one.”

Reddick, notes that an aspect that makes this tougher is no practice too.

“One thing about the practices – yes, it’s time on track, but it gives your body a little hint and a look into what you’re going to be experiencing for 500 miles or 500 laps, whatever it may be at the track that we go to,” Reddick said. “So, if you’re having any issues with the car, issues with your back, arms hurting after a 40- or 50-lap run or something in particular that’s bothering you from the week before, you have no insight to that going into the race and you’re going to have to fight it all race long.”

Martin Truex Jr. says that he’s up to the challenge and says Homestead should race a lot like Atlanta, a race he swept both stages and finished third in.

“I mean, it’s definitely going to be a hot one, for sure,” said Wednesday nights race winner. “I think you kind of forget about Martinsville and you look back at Atlanta mostly I would say just because those tracks are pretty similar.  I think we’ll use a similar approach to Miami that we did there.

“We had a strong race at Atlanta.  Felt like we had a shot at winning until we got too tight at the end.  I’m excited and optimistic about what we can do in Miami.  We’ve been good there in the fall as well, good there the last couple seasons.

“For me you change gears and think about what you need to do to drive the car fast, what it takes.  I think the biggest thing is for the team.  It’s a lot of preparation, a short turnaround.  All the guys back at the shop are doing an amazing job of just busting their tails in such situations with the way they can’t really work around each other and stuff like that with the social distancing thing.  They’re doing a great job.  Nothing is falling off the cars, which is something to be said about that.  Really proud of them.  Happy to give them their first win of the year.”