Look I’m not here to bash NASCAR. I think they’re doing so much right and I don’t want this piece to be something that it’s not. This isn’t about NASCAR as a whole. This is about the racing package in NASCAR right now.

Elton Sawyer said on SiriusXM’s NASCAR Radio The Morning Drive that they’ll bring back stage cautions for next month’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. That blew me away to be honest.

Who are we doing this for?

Is it for the “fans” that think that they need more action? Is it for TV that wants a long race? What are we doing here?

If it’s for the fans, that’s opening Pandora’s box. A lot of times what fans want vs. reality is so far separated that it’s not feasible to do. If you start basing decisions based off what the fan base wants, that’s a losing battle.

Is it for TV?

The Verizon 200 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway lasted 2-hours and 9-minutes. A week later, the race at Watkins Glen was 1-hour, 58-minutes. Is that too short?

I quite honestly think it was a home run. It was pure racing. Not some manufactured BS participation award trophies to let the field catch up to keep it close.

It’s also not like there wasn’t action. For Indy, there was plenty. They can’t help the TV focuses on the lead drivers. There was plenty of passing behind them and even at times drivers going off track.

It’s all in the presentation and the broadcast. Sure the action up front wasn’t a barnburner. But, I’d rather see a race to where the best win rather than them being at a disadvantage for being the best.

This year, without stage breaks, one could say the best driver and the best car that day won.

For COTA, Tyler Reddick is one of the best road racers in NASCAR today. He won.

For Sonoma, Martin Truex Jr. is one of the best drivers on that track. He won.

For the Chicago street race, Shane van Gisbergen showed why his background was an advantage. He won.

For the Indy road course, Michael McDowell, a driver with a road racing background, dominated and won.

For Watkins Glen, William Byron won the race. He had Hendrick power, the same team that’s won four straight years with two different drivers. Why not a fifth with a third driver? Byron and Rudy Fugle worked so hard to get better on road courses and this season proved it was working.

They had quick cars in qualifying, quick cars in the race and didn’t get anything taken away from them via fluke strategy.

That’s the way it should be. The best should win not some random caution to bunch the field up to give everyone else a chance. That’s going down the scripted territory.

This year, 4 of the 5 road races were won by drivers leading the most laps. In 5 of the 6 road courses run last year, the only laps led by the eventual winner all occurred in the final stage.

I liked it without stage cautions because strategy plays were back in the hands of the teams again and that these races won’t carry on forever. You didn’t know when cautions were coming and could open up when to pit and when not to do so.

So for those needing a win, you had to be aggressive and hope for a caution to save the day.

What if that caution doesn’t come? Which sets up strategy plays for sure then.

Do teams short pit or long pit? Do you do the overcut or undercut? Can you pit with clean air in front of you entering and in front of you exiting. In and out laps are key too.

Strategy was open again and I loved it. Now, it’s gone.

When allowing drivers to do what they’re best at and that’s to race, they put on a show. It just may not be the show for this new age era where everything is about, “me me me” and short attention spans. But that’s not racing. Racing is getting from the green flag to the checkered flag in the most quickest efficient of ways.

It’s man vs. machine vs. track. It’s staving off competition and attrition. These drivers aren’t just cruising around on a Sunday drive. It’s fierce. It’s physical. Imagine walking out of your door with long sleeves and long pants, putting on a helmet, hopping into your daily driver, rolling your windows up and not having the luxury of air conditioning. Try doing that for an hour. Let alone two.

Now, imagine doing that at speeds over 170 mph and every time you turn the wheel you have g forces like you feel on a carnival ride or even your favorite roller coaster. Oh yeah, your car to go fast, needs to feel like you’re driving on ice. Looser is quicker. These race cars aren’t planted to the ground like your daily car is on the normal streets. Do that for two hours with 35 of your closest friends in cars like yours surrounding you. A mistake, a lack of concentration or the slightest bit of a bobble could send you into the wall and maybe even the hospital.

Tell me how you feel after.

That’s what these gladiators do every week.

So when you think they’re just riding single file, they’re not just hanging out doing nothing.

Then, with a field as talented as these drivers are and the crew men and women working on them as good as they are and the engineers and crew chiefs as talented as they are, when you hit it right, it feels good.

But, when you throw cautions just for the sake of throwing cautions to bunch the field back up, it’s insulting.

And that’s what this is all about.

“Probably the most important part of this decision-making was that if you look back at our five previous road course races, although they were competitive, there were some that felt like there were some things we could do differently. Obviously going back to the caution stage breaks, that would make our races better,” Sawyer said.

“Better?”

What’s wrong with the way it was? Isn’t it “better” when the “best” car wins? Show me on your race ticket stub to where it has a disclosure on it that guarantees you to see a crazy race with a lot of passing and a last lap overtime pass for the win. I’ll wait…

I don’t recall ever seeing one on my football or basketball games that I go to. If my team isn’t winning, the referees will call a break in the action, let my team catch up to the other just to make me happy then ensure my team sinks a game winning shot or kicks a game winning field goal or knocks a home run out of the part in walk off fashion so I walk out of the game happy.

Shame on the other team for showing up ready to play and having a great game plan and executing. That’s not good enough for ME so I want the league to stop the action and let the other team catch up.

Isn’t that what we’re doing here?

Now, you’re laying a blueprint of what to do. Drivers and teams know when cautions are coming. They’ll pit according around them.

Is that fair?

Plus, this isn’t even guaranteed to work anyhow. The stage cautions bunch the field up twice, but there’s still a final stage to be run. In this very ROVAL race last season, the first 104 laps had just two caution – stage breaks. The race was pretty straightforward.

Then a debris caution and all hell breaks loose.

Then it becomes amateur hour. That too is a problem and an under the radar move was also announced on Tuesday and that’s the cars will restart in the final corners of the infield grass section instead of using the oval Turn 4.

That’s basically saying we don’t trust you drivers to do what’s right. Same thing as they did at Indy by restarting in a similar nature instead of on the straightaway to create separation.

See, at the end of these races, if you have drivers bunched up, they all try to become heroes and drive over their heads. Everyone 5th or so on back feels like they deserve to be leading so they try to become a hero and make a move that has a low percentage of working. Stuff it in there, right?

They owe it to their team, their sponsors. After all, this is what NASCAR created with this playoff system. Win and you’re in. Win and advance. Take no prisoners. “My car was good enough,” you hear at the end of races.

But, the last time I checked, aren’t you restarting in the position that it says you are? Sure you got punted. Sure you had a slow stop. Sure you took 4 tires instead of 2. Sure, sure sure. But like in stick and ball sports, you are what your record says you are. If you’re restarting 10th, 11th, 5th, 8th, whatever, that’s where you are. You’re not winning. So why do you think you can make a move to get to the lead?

Which creates kind of conflicting narratives here. Bunch the field up because we think the action got boring but, on the restarts, we have to take action on the restart zone because we don’t trust you.

That’s why I take issue with these moves made today.