Insider suggests NASCAR “find an abandoned airport” and build a short track

NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi has shared an interesting take on finding new tracks for the sport. On the latest episode of The Teardown podcast, Bianchi advocated for unconventional tracks like a Navy base, an abandoned airport, or just anything with a 'semblance of an oval'.

NASCAR has made strides in reaching out to new fanbases. The sport took to Mexico city and ran at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez this year. It was the first time since 1958 that the sport has raced outside the US. The streets of Chicago have also been home to a Cup race the last three years.

The 2026 calendar will feature yet another road course at Naval Base Coronado. Back in October, NASCAR revealed the track layout, which includes a 16-turn, 3.4-mile course, making it the longest track for next year.

Bianchi, however, hopes for a move away from road courses.

"Find a runway, find an airport," he said, "an abandoned airport in some of these major cities, and build me a short track there. Yeah, it's going to be flat, and it's not going to have the banking or whatever that you'd like to see, don't care. Gives you some semblance of an oval that is more what NASCAR is than a street or road course." "You go race in downtown Chicago, and you go race on a Navy base in San Diego, awesome, all for that. Sometimes it's okay to have something new and different and if that means I've gotta build a temporary oval somewhere, they showed in the coliseum, man, these are smart people doing these things. They can find a way to do this," he added.

Bianchi's co-host, Jeff Gluck, has also been critical of road courses in the past. He called for one or two stops at such tracks, instead of the current plan with six events.

In other news, NASCAR will return to Chicagoland Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway next year. While the sport runs the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro, it's the first time since 2019 that the stock car racing series makes its way to Chicagoland.

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NASCAR driver puts down new rule allowing 17-year-old drivers at road courses

Former Cup Series driver Parker Kligerman, has shared a critical view of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series allowing 17-year-olds next year. Notably, the veteran driver subbed in for a 19-year-old Connor Zilisch in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona. The young prodigy was 18 years of age when he entered the sport and took his maiden win.

On the latest episode of The Money Lap podcast, Kligerman said,

“They’re going to now allow 17-year-olds at one mile or less in what is now the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and on road courses. So I didn’t love that....I felt like 18 was a good place to be for Xfinity, considering the seriousness and the level of that championship."

Kligerman was also critical of the Truck Series allowing 16-year-olds to compete, noting that it 'cheapens' the racing product.

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Edited by Vignesh Kanna