NASCAR executives have discussed tweaking the stage lengths or even adding another for superspeedway races in an effort to minimize the amount of fuel conservation happening throughout the field.
As the latest episode of “Hauler Talk” revealed, competition strategist Scott Miller has the goal of removing fuel conservation when designing stage lengths for specific races and tracks. Miller aims to have the drivers complete one green flag stop in each of the final two stages while having a little bit of a lap buffer for the end of the run.
As Gen 7 superspeedway races have shown, the teams have heavily focused on fuel saving while competing at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. They do so less frequently at EchoPark Speedway, a mini-drafting track known for its action.
“Yes, we have talked about stage lengths for Daytona and Talladega,” Mike Forde, Managing Director of Racing Communications, explained. “…Even going as far as — it hasn’t been seriously discussed — but adding another stage, period, so that there would be no concerns of…you’d have the stages short enough where their fuel conservation would be a waste of time.
“Obviously, we haven’t done that,” Forde continued. “There’s only one race with four stages, and that’s the Coca-Cola 600. But stage lengths is something that was kicked around for specifically superspeedways and, specifically, Daytona and Talladega.”
Fuel conservation has been a topic of conversation during trips to Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Every time drivers head to these two tracks, in particular, they face numerous questions about how they will approach each stage.
Will they race hard and try to get points, or will they ride around at partial throttle so their next pit stop is faster? The drivers in the Gen 7 era have repeatedly indicated that fuel-saving is here to stay at superspeedways.
“The only thing that matters is how much fuel you have in your car,” Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said at Talladega Superspeedway in April. “So I guess, no matter what, if you shorten the stages and you can make it all the way on fuel, you are still trying to save so that your stop between the stages is shorter.
“Because you can put four tires on it faster than you can fill it full of fuel. So, no matter what, people are still going to save fuel and try and make it through your pit stops as fast as possible.”
Michael McDowell echoed this sentiment while saying that “there is no way around” fuel saving. Track position is extremely important in these superspeedway races, so drivers will do what it takes to gain as much as possible.
Denny Hamlin went a step further while saying that he now has his “shoelaces tied together” and that he can’t run anymore. He can no longer use the superspeedway skills that he built up throughout his racing career.
NASCAR releases the stage lengths ahead of the season, so it’s highly unlikely that the Round of 8 race at Talladega Superspeedway will see any changes. However, it is possible that the Daytona 500 and other superspeedway races on the 2026 schedule could have some altered stage lengths.