*Jeff Gordon has been fantastic and gives fans very detailed driver insight. We need more of this.

*There are times when an in-car camera and insight from Jeff would be perfect. I would have loved for this to happen in the context of Harvick’s dominance. Would have a perfect opportunity for Jeff to watch the in-car with us and weigh in on where he was finding the speed.

The worst part of it is that Jeff is gone for the second half of the season and we don’t get the same quality of driver commentary. NBC needs to work something out with Nascar and Fox so we get more Gordon.

I liked the races at Daytona and Talladega the most until they stopped allowing tandem racing. I was EXTREMELY disappointed. NASCAR said they changed it because the fans didn’t like it, but I for one loved it and found those races very exciting and looked forward to them. I’m glad there have been safety advancements because no one wants to see drivers get hurt, but unfortunately no wrecks makes the races less exciting to watch, in my opinion. The no-tandem racing was the first change that made me enjoy watching races a little less.
I also didn’t like it when the Chase format changed to the win-and-advance 12-8-4 system. Your driver can be rocking the entire season, but then if your driver doesn’t win a race in one of the 3-segments and doesn’t advance to the Chase, it makes it less exciting to watch the remaining Chase races. I still watch them, but it’s must less compelling when you know your driver isn’t going to advance to the next level.

I’ll wait to see if I like this new stage format, but I don’t like it during duels so I’m inclined to think that I won’t like it now either. For that matter, when they started the 20-minute clock for yellow flags in the Camping World Truck series, I didn’t like that either. How are those younger drivers going to get experience running longer races if they get a break every 20 minutes or so? How will they fare when they move up to Xfinity and don’t have those breaks anymore? Will they be able to handle it?

I also don’t like the newer format for green-white-checker overtimes. I liked it better when there were 3 restarts allowed. I remember seeing a race in this new format where the first and second drivers raced each other like hell toward the finish line but a caution came out due to a wreck at the back of the track. Although the top 2 drivers were able to cross the finish line, the driver who crossed it first didn’t win the race because he wasn’t in the lead when the caution came out! It was so disappointing!!!

About attending races in person: it’s hot and sunny in June and August in Michigan when the races are held there. Because there is no shade at all in the grandstands, I’ve actually had to leave the race because I was going to pass out from the heat! Baseball and football fans don’t have to sit in the blazing sun all day, but race fans do. I realize it is probably not economically feasible for race tracks to build covers over the grandstands because there are only 1 or 2 races at a given track in a year, but it’s still hard to sit through an entire race in the blazing sun, especially if you’re drinking alcohol. It makes it much more attractive to sit in air-conditioned comfort and watch the races from home.

Finally – I wish NASCAR would air reruns of older races in their entirety. Sometimes during rain delays they will air an older race, but they edit out a lot of the action (i.e., wrecks), which again makes them less exciting to watch.

I’ll get off my soap box now but I wanted to voice my opinions. Maybe other race fans agree with me.

I’m all on board with the changes. Something had to be done to make all portions of the race more watchable, and this will certainly address the (taking a nap until the end) issue. Along with Monster Energy’s branding, I’m excited about what 2017 has in store.

I will say however, that while I like the format changes, this wasn’t the number 1 problem with the sport right now. The biggest problem has already been stated 1000 times over……the schedule. While I don’t believe it’s necessarily “too long,” it’s simply too much of the same. The excess of 1.5 milers with very little character is not only bogging down the show, but the overall season. Charlotte, Atlanta, Kansas, Chicago, Michigan, Kentucky, Texas…etc, multiple visits to most of those tracks….sure, the corners may be banked a little differently, but for the most part the racing plays out the same way on the same exact kind of track for nearly half the season.

Road courses on the other hand are an entirely different story. Both Waktins Glen and Sonoma are road courses, yet they both couldn’t be more different when it comes to characteristics, thus making them more distinguishable. The twist, turns and elevation changes along with the fact that they are challenging with more room for error makes for an exciting show. You and Ambrose at the Glen…..that was NASCAR gold.

If we broke the season down into “3” stages, the first 12, 2nd 12 and 3rd 12 should all have at least 2 road races in my opinion. Wouldn’t hurt to try out a dirt race once or twice a year either. It’s been as blast to watch the trucks do it…it’s a major missed opportunity for NASCAR to have not expanded upon that momentum with it’s upper series.