On the Right Track
by Jeff Gluck
Stewart proposes Easter weekend race
March 30, 2008
More blog postings from Jeff Gluck
It's hard to agree with Tony Stewart all the time, and I certainly don't.
But on Friday, when he lobbied for an Easter Weekend Sprint Cup race, it made a lot of sense.
Some might consider it blasphemy, but a Cup race on the day before Easter would still allow fans, drivers, crew members and media to spend the holiday with their families.
It would also save a valuable off-weekend for later in the season instead of burning one so early.
"We can race on Saturday and the Nationwide Series can run on Friday," he said. "We need to spread these breaks out where it makes more sense. It would be nice to have a weekend off before the 10-week Chase starts. That seems to be real logical to me."
NASCAR added a Mother's Day Weekend race a few years ago that has proven to be quite successful. Of course, Easter Weekend has a deeply religious element that Mother's Day lacks.
Still, Stewart noted that other sports hold games around religious holidays.
"It is a professional series," he said. "There are basketball teams that play on Christmas Day.
"I understand that it is a family sport, but at the same time these [racing] families would like to have their significant others not wore out because they worked 16 straight weeks in a row, too."
Stewart is right. As long as the Cup race isn't actually scheduled for Easter Sunday, what would be the problem?
But on Friday, when he lobbied for an Easter Weekend Sprint Cup race, it made a lot of sense.
Some might consider it blasphemy, but a Cup race on the day before Easter would still allow fans, drivers, crew members and media to spend the holiday with their families.
It would also save a valuable off-weekend for later in the season instead of burning one so early.
"We can race on Saturday and the Nationwide Series can run on Friday," he said. "We need to spread these breaks out where it makes more sense. It would be nice to have a weekend off before the 10-week Chase starts. That seems to be real logical to me."
NASCAR added a Mother's Day Weekend race a few years ago that has proven to be quite successful. Of course, Easter Weekend has a deeply religious element that Mother's Day lacks.
Still, Stewart noted that other sports hold games around religious holidays.
"It is a professional series," he said. "There are basketball teams that play on Christmas Day.
"I understand that it is a family sport, but at the same time these [racing] families would like to have their significant others not wore out because they worked 16 straight weeks in a row, too."
Stewart is right. As long as the Cup race isn't actually scheduled for Easter Sunday, what would be the problem?
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