“That is the core brand”: Veteran Insider argues NASCAR playoffs need more ‘badas*’ oval racing than road courses

Jeff Gluck has said NASCAR's identity rests on pavement oval racing and that playoff weekends should show more of it. The veteran insider mirrored most fans' sentiments and again argued that the playoffs should ditch the road courses and called oval racing "freaking bad as*."

The Charlotte Roval was introduced to the playoffs in 2018 to add variety to the postseason. However, many fans have asked for a return to the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway oval.

In a clip from the latest The Teardown podcast episode posted on X, Gluck spoke about the road course issue and said:

"We all agree that there was a long time in NASCAR history where you would have said, 'Three mile and a half tracks in a row? Ugh.' I personally don't need any road course in the playoffs now. NASCAR is the most elite pavement oval racing on the planet That is the core brand pavement oval racing. It's amazing. Like it's freaking badas*. So the more we can see that, especially, in playoff time, the better."

The NASCAR Cup race, Bank of America Roval 400, saw Shane van Gisbergen continue his road course winning streak and another desperate attempt from Ross Chastain to advance onto the next round.

Gisbergen dominated the 109-lap race on the 2.28-mile infield road course and finished 15.160 seconds ahead of runner-up Kyle Larson. While Chastain's attempt ended miserably, he lost the last Round of 8 spot to Joey Logano.

Gluck had also said earlier that there was no point in having six such races given Shane van Gisbergen's dominance. He advocated for three or four such races per year.

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"We're oval racers at heart" - Chris Buescher prefers to return to NASCAR Cup playoff race at Charlotte oval

Many NASCAR drivers have shared their opinions about the Charlotte Roval's place in the playoffs, with some favoring its removal. RFK Racing's Chris Buescher said he prefers traditional oval racing during a media session ahead of Sunday's playoff race at the Roval. He mentioned:

"That's a hard question for me because I do like road racing. So I am a fan of it from that side of things. But I'm also the guy that's going to sit here and tell you five (road course races in a regular 36-race season) is a good number in a year." "I think that we're oval racers at heart here and for the most part, I'd like to see it go back to the oval here personally," he added.

Last season, NASCAR made last-minute changes to the Roval after drivers shared safety concerns. They added additional paving on the frontstretch and installed smaller, 2.25-inch rumble strips in place of the original four-inch-tall "turtle" curbs to reduce the jarring impact on drivers.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar