NASCAR’s future: Everything we know about 2021 schedule, Next Gen, Hamlin ownership

NASCAR president Steve Phelps said Tuesday he was proud of the sport for defying stereotypes this season when it comes to internal conflict.

“(It) has traditionally been somewhat of a knock on NASCAR, that hey, NASCAR seems to want to bicker about different things,” Phelps said. “Well, NASCAR’s not bickering and NASCAR has come together as one entity.”

Phelps, recently named to the NASCAR Board of Directors, has led the sport through a pandemic, a flag ban and countless weather delays this season, in addition to the typical challenges of guiding the direction of a professional sport in “normal times.”

While none of those — the pandemic, the Confederate flag ban and, sadly, probably the weather delays — are over, the sanctioning body achieved a milestone marker recently in getting back on track with its pre-COVID schedule.

In advance of the 2020 NASCAR playoffs, Phelps spent an hour on Zoom Tuesday reflecting on the season so far and fielding reporters’ questions about next year’s schedule, playoff race protocols, the Next Gen car and more.

Here’s what he said.

The 2021 NASCAR Schedule

Phelps was clear: Nothing to announce yet. NASCAR is continuing to finalize a plan for racing next year, and did not set forth a date for when that announcement is coming. NASCAR released its full 2020 schedule in March of 2019. The pandemic hit in March of this year and inevitably caused delays in planning for 2021.

The sport is considering implementing some of the format changes and new venues it tried this year. For example, the Daytona road course is in consideration to be added as a non-points race next year, although Phelps said he said he “doesn’t see” the road course replacing a second Daytona race.

“So the question is really do you add the Daytona road course as a third Daytona event, or a fourth if you’re going to include the Clash?” Phelps said.

He also mentioned that the addition of midweek races in the future was “viable” but on the “lower end of probability” based on television ratings. Midweek races at Charlotte, Martinsville and Kansas, for example, ranked as the three lowest-rated races across any network in two decades, according to Sports Media Watch.

“Whether it was the casual fan that wasn’t tuning in,” Phelps said. “The numbers weren’t as high as what they would see on a Saturday night or a Sunday.”

He reiterated that the schedule is not final and NASCAR still needs to discuss any changes with industry stakeholders, including the tracks, its broadcast partners and the teams.

“It’s a balance,” Phelps said. “We need to make sure that we’re driving ratings because that drives visibility for the sport. That drives sponsorship value.”

There is, however, one event on the schedule for 2021 already. Tickets went on sale for the season-opening Daytona 500 race two weeks ago and Phelps said he doesn’t foresee the race’s February 14th date being impacted by the pandemic.

“But, I guess, never say never,” Phelps conceded. “Again, our intention is to run the Daytona 500 when it’s scheduled to run.”

He added that he is “cautiously optimistic” that many of the objectives that NASCAR set forth in a pre-COVID world, “we will have during our 2021 season.”

COVID-19 Playoff Rules

There will be no changes to the rules around protocols or points for a driver who tests positive for COVID-19. That means an individual who tests positive must provide two negative tests at least 24 hours apart or, in accordance with the latest CDC guidelines, pass a 10-day isolation period without experiencing a fever for at least 24 hours in order to return to competition.

So far, two Cup Series drivers, Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson, have tested positive for COVID-19 and missed a race. They did not receive any points for the missed races, a practice that will continue into playoffs, Phelps said.

The protocols around access for non-essential racing personnel will also remain in place through the playoffs. A limited number of reporters are allowed on-site in the press box, but are not able to access the infield or pit road. Phelps said that he does not foresee access for media members, sponsors, owners, or any other non-competition personnel, including himself, changing before there is a COVID-19 vaccine.

“We can’t take a chance of having people who are literally not putting on the race to be in that footprint,” Phelps said. “Although the protocols are working, it’s just an added element of folks that are frankly not putting on the race, so I don’t see that changing in the near term.”

He said that NASCAR would consider effective alternatives, such as an FDA-approved saliva test, but he said access would likely remain tight through the year.

“I know it’s not popular and I don’t like it,” Phelps said, citing sponsorship troubles with missed B2B opportunities.

“We can’t take the chance, frankly,” Phelps added. “Because we’re going to run these races.”

Next Gen, Charters and NASCAR Business Model

There’s been recent speculation that Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin is looking to invest in a NASCAR team. Hamlin, a current Cup driver, has not confirmed this, but he gave a non-committal response when asked about future team ownership last Friday.

“I don’t have anything to announce or to speak about when it comes to it,” Hamlin said in response to a question about whether he was considering investing in Richard Petty Motorsports.

“I think that I’m always looking towards what I’m going to do after my driving career is over,” Hamlin said. “I’ve got some great partners that support me and my decisions in what I will do for years to come.”

Phelps said Tuesday that it was possible for a current driver of a four-car team to own another team but that NASCAR would have to ensure fair competition (i.e., RPM could not become a shell team for JGR, hypothetically). Phelps said Hamlin has not made an official request to NASCAR for team ownership.

In addition to ownership, Phelps also fielded questions about the NASCAR business model and charter system. He said that NASCAR has been working with teams over the last four or five years to improve the business model.

“On the expense side, I think that what we’ve done, working with our teams and our OEMs to pull costs out of the system. From that perspective, I think it’s improving,” Phelps said.

He also suggested that the number of new owners trying to get into this sport “has never been higher” and that he’s seen “a ton of enthusiasm” for future team ownership under the current business model.

Still, Phelps mentioned the “revenue challenges” some teams, such as Leavine Family Racing, which sold its team ownership last month, suffered due to COVID-19. He said that the industry was counting on the Next Gen car to reduce team costs next season, but the rollout was delayed a year due to the pandemic.

“That car is meant to do three things,” Phelps said. “It’s meant to lower costs, to have better racing and then from a styling standpoint, it’s meant to look more like a showroom car.”

Cup Series rookie Cole Custer ran a test of Next Gen at Dover International Speedway last Tuesday, which was deemed a success by the industry. Custer’s test was the first run of the new car model since the pandemic canceled a testing session in Atlanta with Clint Bowyer in March. Drivers Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, Erik Jones and William Byron previously ran tests in earlier prototypes of the car last fall and winter.

Phelps said Custer’s test “accomplished what (NASCAR) wanted to accomplish with that car.”

“They ran over 500 laps.” Phelps said. “They wanted to see the load. The tires. Durability. Every driver that’s been in the car, has really enjoyed driving that car.”

Phelps called the new, cost-reducing car “a big win for the teams” and a win for the sport.

“The goal is to have healthy race teams,” Phelps said.

Social Justice

NASCAR made headlines earlier this year with its ban of the Confederate flag and a scene at Talladega in which the grid rallied around Black driver Bubba Wallace.

Before the events at Talladega, in which a rope tied like a noose was found in Wallace’s garage stall and the FBI determined the act was not a hate crime, NASCAR also appointed Brandon Thompson to a newly created vice president of Diversity and Inclusion role to oversee programs and initiatives to enhance diversity across the industry.

Since June, NASCAR has been relatively quiet about its efforts to engage with issues surrounding social justice and racial equality, especially as other professional sports leagues addressed racism and police brutality head-on as athletes went on strike to protest police brutality, forcing game postponements in the NBA, WNBA, MLS, MLB and NHL last week.

There was never widespread consideration to pause Saturday’s race at Daytona. Phelps said on NBCSN before Saturday’s race that his response to the athlete strikes was to pivot back to where NASCAR was in June. He expanded on the sport’s initiatives Tuesday.

“It’s important,” Phelps said. “For us, it’s going to be about action.”

The sport’s president said that he is holding the “entire industry” accountable to completing unconscious bias training and sensitivity training before the 2021 season. Phelps said this would be mandated following the incident at Talladega, in which the rope tied like a noose supposedly went unreported since last October.

Phelps said that in addition to a diversity council and ally council, Thompson is engaged with efforts to build diversity resource groups.

Phelps also said that he wants to encourage new fans from diverse backgrounds to engage with the sport, citing the NFL’s Bernard Pollard and Alvin Kamara as recent and vocal fans, as well as work with sponsors on agendas that promote diversity.

Phelps also said that NASCAR is “entertaining” hosting polling stations at its tracks for the upcoming presidential election.