Before the 2023 NASCAR season, the sport decided to make a few rule changes that drastically changed what could happen during each race. One of those was the expansion of the restart zone at every NASCAR race track.
Will we continue to see the expanded zones moving forward or could this be the final weekend with the rule?
NASCAR could end the expanded restart zones after Atlanta Motor Speedway
NASCAR ruled before the season that restart zones would be expanded by 50% overall with 25% going in each direction. Then, it would be evaluated after the fifth official points race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Well, we have reached that point of the year.
The sport will travel to Hampton, GA for the second year of its superspeedway racing at Atlanta. With a decision on the horizon, the drivers have been giving mixed feedback after a wreck that occurred at Auto Club Speedway.
Kyle Busch talked about the impact of the restart zones in the NASCAR Cup Series this season and gave a pretty blunt answer on whether it has been positive or not.
“All it’s done is cause that wreck at (Auto Club Speedway), so in my opinion it’s done nothing different, nothing on the positive end. It’s only added a negative end to it because at California, (Joey Logano) was just maintaining his speed and everyone was gaining, gaining, gaining, gaining and closing up their gaps because they were all trying to lay back and then time the run. So, he just waited for everybody to run into everybody and then went at the end of the zone.”
Kyle Busch on the impact of NASCAR’s expanded restart zone
Meanwhile, other drivers believe the restart zone had nothing to do with the wreck at Auto Club Speedway. They believe NASCAR should now create a rule that potentially penalizes a driver from laying back on the restart.
Many drivers in the field perform this trick by creating a gap in front of them during the restarts. Then, they will try to predict the start and gain momentum going into Turn 1 at each race track. This new rule would help take away the games.
However, should NASCAR keep the restart zones? Continue reading to find out if the restart zones should become permanent in NASCAR moving forward.
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Evaluating if NASCAR should keep or remove the expanded restart zones
NASCAR has the decision to make on the restart zones and it honestly should not be a hard one. In all reality, the biggest problem from the Auto Club Speedway was not the restart zone itself, as many drivers said.
If there was a rule implemented that barred laying back on restarts, it would fix the situation. The longer restart zones are a good thing because it does allow the leader to control the start more than in the past.
The only issue is the constant laying back and it needs to end. The drivers wanted an expanded restart zone but this has created a situation where this now takes place. Granted, it should have been expected.
Both of these rules could impact who wins a race moving forward. If the final restart of the race has no laying back, it would undoubtedly change the finishing over. Meanwhile, a penalty for laying back could end the driver’s chances of winning.
Overall, there is nothing wrong with the current rule outside of what has been stated above. We will see what NASCAR decides as a decision will likely be coming sooner rather than later.