Fan Favorite Veteran Marks NASCAR’s Crossroads as They Pull a Massive U-Turn on Their Modern Ways

“Connecting to our hardcore fans that were with us forever? That’s not wrong.” NASCAR Veteran Jeff Burton laid down his verdict after the thumping success that Rockingham Speedway offered last weekend. Located in a rural part of North Carolina with less than 10,000 residents, the facility was off the NASCAR schedule for over a decade. However, the charged-up reactions to Parker Retzlaff’s race revival or Sammy Smith’s surprise win displayed that ‘The Rock’ still belongs to core NASCAR. Another veteran, Kenny Wallace, agrees with this sentiment.

Kenny Wallace lauded the sanctioning body’s recent inclination toward old nostalgia. Reviving North Wilkesboro, Bowman Gray, and now Rockingham – these are good signs for the evolution of the sport. So the veteran touts good prospects for the health of NASCAR.

Kenny Wallace traces the good steps taken so far

For over two decades now, NASCAR has utilized a ‘modernizing tradition’ tactic. Ranging from changing the playoff format to digging up new racetracks, the sanctioning body has been in a perpetual hunt for a new fan base. Those efforts resulted in opening new, cookie-cutter facilities in lucrative markets. For instance, Chicagoland Speedway debuted in 2001, and the 1.52-mile facility saw stellar winners like Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick. Then, Kentucky Speedway opened for the Cup Series in 2011, and late Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner Bruton Smith said it might be bigger than the Daytona 500. Recently, the Los Angeles Coliseum hosted the Clash races for three years. Yet one by one, these venues fell out of the NASCAR schedule and made way for older greats. Kenny Wallace thinks that was simply meant to be.

Chicagoland departed when COVID-19 struck, Kentucky held its last race in 2020, and the LA Coliseum was last active in 2024. Now, NASCAR is resurrecting older tracks from the dead. And Kenny Wallace loves it – he said so in a recent YouTube video. “NASCAR has left California, Kentucky, Joliet and Chicagoland…Now they are right back to Bowman Gray, North Wilkesboro, and of course, the one that was so successful this week, Rockingham…So we are at a turning point.” Ben Kennedy, the Executive Vice President of NASCAR, recently touted the Cup Series’ return to Rockingham in 2027. Wallace is excited for that too: “I believe that there’s at least three races a year, and there’s room to make things right…We know Rockingham…So it was a grand slam. So NASCAR’s going to watch Rockingham next year and see if it’s going to be another grand slam.”

What is more heart-warming for Kenny Wallace is the evolving Next-Gen car, which Denny Hamlin is supporting at present. With Cup Series drivers adapting to the car more, exciting race finishes are again back on the agenda. We saw that in thrilling races like Darlington or Homestead, where several leaders fought for the lead. So Wallace continued, pinning his hopes to Goodyear: “Turning point – this Next-Gen car performs well at all these great races…Denny’s saying the car can be fixed…I’d listen. There’s close to a billion dollars spent on that car. It’s silly to go, ‘Get rid of the car!’ Guys, it ain’t that easy. You gotta have a little bit of a common sense approach to this…My belief is Goodyear can fix it all. Hey, what’s the four things that touch the ground? The tires.”

Overall, the 9-time Xfinity Series race winner is glad about the turn of events. However, even as Kenny Wallace lauded NASCAR’s return to older tracks, another veteran showed caution.

Striking a balance is important

Granted, old is gold for NASCAR. Nothing beats a good flavor of nostalgia for die-hard racing fans. All the resurrected tracks present exactly that. Before the 2025 Cook Out Clash, Bowman Gray was last on the Cup Series schedule in 1971. Then, Rockingham returned to the Xfinity schedule for the first time since 2004. So drivers and fans were able to relive their historical NASCAR heroes’ moments. However, even while pursuing this older path, NASCAR needs to remember its new goals. After all, the world has evolved. The Chicago Street Race, for example, raised eyebrows in 2023. In 2024, the same event generated $128 million, which marked a 17% increase from the inaugural race. Then, NASCAR’s venture into Mexico City this season would bring more international eyes to the sport than ever before.

Jeff Burton won the October 1999 race at Rockingham Speedway. Yet even the veteran understands why NASCAR replaced smaller venues in the Southeast with new and lucrative venues. He told FOX Sports recently, “I don’t think trying to grow the sport was wrong. If you look at quotes from me 30 years ago, I’d say I think we need to be at as many places as possible but not run as many races as possible. … I don’t think the way forward is to go back in the past and try to do it all like it used to be. But going back and connecting to our hardcore fans that were with us forever? That’s not wrong. You’ve got to find a way to do both.”

Evidently, there are things to consider in NASCAR’s ‘old is gold’ drive. While Kenny Wallace sides with the diehard fanbase, the newer fans also need to be paid attention to.

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