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Recently, we put together what we felt were the five worst races in NASCAR history. Daily Downforce readers responded by giving their own thoughts on the worst races in NASCAR history. There were plenty of interesting candidates that they brought up.
By far the most popular pick in the comments section. The 2008 Brickyard 400 was one of the most disappointing races in NASCAR history. Because of tires that could not withstand the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track surface, the race became a struggle to survive.
NASCAR was forced to throw competition cautions every 10 laps to make sure that tires did not blow out after multiple drivers including Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Kurt Busch were all involved in tire-related incidents. Jimmie Johnson took home his second Indianapolis win, but it was overshadowed by the tire debacle. From then onwards, the Brickyard 400 faded from the Crown Jewel it once was.
NGaming88 called this an “embarrassment for the sport”.
RICHARDSON SZN, who is likely a fan of Indianapolis, is not a fan of this race.
Another race highlighted in our original piece, the 2000 Dura Lube 300 was an experiment that did not go according to plan. After two fatal accidents at New Hampshire in 2000, NASCAR tried to slow the cars down by using a restrictor plate.
The result were a race track that was already hard to pass on that was now almost impossible to pass on. Jeff Burton led all 300 laps, and he took home the win.
This used included this race and the 2008 Brickyard 400 amongst many others.
The 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race was a strange one. First of all, it was contested at Texas Motor Speedway, which has been considered one of the worst race tracks in NASCAR ever since its repave in 2017. Add to that a weird format that set forth one of the most confusing finished in NASCAR history.
Ryan Blaney was leading when a caution came out just before he crossed the finish line, and the race format required that the race end under green. Blaney thought he had won, and he had taken his window net down. He had to one-hand his car around the track while holding his window net when he finally won the race officially. Talk about a strange finish.
Kylie had some not so kind words for the 2022 All-Star Race.
@Ashland_ish includes teh 2022 All-Star Race in his list.
This is a race that was mentioned in a couple of other Tweets we highlighted earlier, and it showed the Next-Gen cars biggest flaw, short tracks. The 2022 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at Martinsville was hampered by weather. Freezing rain delayed the race, and it eventually got started after the sun went down in around 40 degree temperatures.
The combination of the cold weather, the track failing to rubber up, and the Next-Gen car meant that passing was almost nonexistent. The cars were out of control and they lined up around the bottom with no passing. William Byron won in a race that featured only four lead changes.
Avery mentioned the 2013 Daytona 500, and so did one more in a Tweet we highlighted earlier.. A race that is viewed by many as maybe the worst or the second worst Daytona 500 in history. It was the first points race with the Gen-6 cars and drivers just could not solve the “Air bubble” that they would find when they came up behind another car.
As a result, much of the race was a single-file, freight train. It was definitely not the best introduction for the Gen-6 race car, but, NASCAR was able to improve on the super speedway package as time went on. By the end of its’ time in the sport, the Gen-6 plate package was one of the most crazy plate packages of all time.
Let’s hope that this list is not added to any time soon. Very few NASCAR races are held up there as some of the worst in history, and that’s a list that no one wants to see a race become a part of.
