NASCAR enters the final weekend of the 2022 season at Phoenix Raceway with much to discuss after a very drama-filled first year with the NextGen car. With that in mind, the next major press conference has a date attached to it.
The sport will hold its yearly State of the Sport address on Friday, November 4 at 1:40 PM ET. NASCAR always holds it during the last weekend of the season with Steve Phelps and Steve O’Donnell present this time around.
What could be discussed at the press conference and what was talked about in last year’s edition?
NASCAR to hold its annual State of the Sport address on Friday
With the news of NASCAR holding its yearly State of the Sport address, let’s look at what was notably discussed in 2021 as the sport was approaching the final race of the Gen 6 car.
Starting from the beginning, Phelps talked about how schedule variation is very critical for the success of NASCAR and that was shown when the 2023 schedule was released.
NASCAR announced it would return to North Wilkesboro Speedway for its All-Star Weekend. Also, the sport announced its first street course race would be held in Chicago, Illinois on the Fourth of July weekend.
Next, Phelps discussed the rumors of Dodge potentially joining the sport after leaving and said he could not confirm or deny those statements. However, it appears Dodge will not be joining after all.
Finally, he said the sport was open to a rotation for Championship Weekend. This would likely be a possibility for the next TV deal that will begin in February 2025.
As for what could be discussed this time around, there will be much on the table. The topic of safety for the NextGen car and the vehicle itself seems pretty likely to be talked about.
Another topic could be the recent reports on the TV deal and how teams are trying to receive a more even split compared to now. Plus, maybe even some talk about Ross Chastain’s move at Martinsville Speedway this past weekend.
The good news is that NASCAR’s future is as bright as ever with the NextGen car; however, there are some safety gremlins and other performance concerns the sport needs to fix.
This press conference is one of the biggest of the entire season and can be streamed on NASCAR.com at 10:40 AM ET this Friday.