While Shorter Races Could Benefit NASCAR, Coca-Cola 600 Should Stay Unchanged

As the attention span of most Americans grows smaller and smaller, it’s not a surprise that NASCAR is contemplating shorter races in the future.

NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said just that in a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors group a month ago.

“I think generally speaking, we want to see shorter events … (but) not in every circumstance,” France said. “It’s no secret that attention spans, especially with the millennial fans, are changing, and we all know that.

“But what we like about it from our standpoint is it makes the actual racing event better because there’s no lull in between the beginning and the end, or there’s a lot smaller lull, so teams have to compete.”

It would continue a trend that has seen venues such as Dover International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway and Pocono Raceway cut previous 500-mile races to 400 miles in length.

“A 400‑mile race will give us, most of the time, a better racing competition,” France said. “And that’s in addition to the time spans and attention spans of millennial fans; those two go together for us to shorten it up somehow.”

There are currently eight 500-mile races on the 2015 Sprint Cup schedule: Daytona 500, Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (Atlanta), Duck Commander 500 (Texas), Geico 500 (Talladega), Bojangles Southern 500 (Darlington), Bank of America 500 (Charlotte), Alabama 500 (Talladega) and AAA Texas 500 (Texas).

But of those on that list, in my opinion there are a few races that should never see their length changed, mostly for tradition and history's sake.

First and foremost, the Daytona 500. The Great American Race is an institution in the sport. It’s NASCAR’s Super Bowl and the biggest and most important event of the year.

It would be blasphemous to shorten it. Plus, quite frankly, the “Daytona 400” just doesn’t have the same kind of ring to it.

Second, there’s the Southern 500, back this year in its traditional Labor Day weekend spot on the schedule at the legendary Darlington Raceway.

And there’s one more race that should never, ever be changed on NASCAR’s dance card: the Coca-Cola 600, which will once again be held this Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 600 is without question the longest and most grueling race in NASCAR. It’s even 100 miles longer than the race that precedes it earlier the same day, the Indianapolis 500.

Now, I can understand some people might say I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth: I’d like to see more races shortened, while keeping the 600 at its current length.

Other than the Baja 1000, there is no other race that tests man and machine more, or a race where drivers cover that much ground in between 3.5 and 5 hours (depending on wrecks, cautions, clean-up, etc.).

Sure, watching the 600 either in person or on TV can be a tenuous exercise at times. I’ve been there when races began shortly after 6 p.m. and didn’t finish until midnight or later.

And I’ve even heard people compare the 600 to the NBA Finals: You can miss most of the action, but as long as you’re around for the final 10 minutes or so, you really won’t miss all that much.

The Coca-Cola 600 is a unique race not just in length. It’s also part of a 10-day period where teams get to stay home, sleep in their own beds and enjoy much-needed family time instead of hopping airplanes and traveling from one corner of the country to the other.

The 600 is also unique in the sense that there is so much pomp and circumstances surrounding the race.

First, and this has been a theme for more than 20 years, is the honoring of and paying tribute to the U.S. military. The Speedway typically invites several thousand members of the Armed Forces and their families to enjoy and attend the race for free.

Second, there’s typically world-class entertainment. For example, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers ZZ Top will perform a concert on the track’s frontstretch prior to Sunday’s race.

Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Third, this is really the only time of the year when race fans can come from hundreds, if not thousands of miles and enjoy not only the race, but also visits to the 30-plus Sprint Cup team shops scattered across the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.

Think of it as Orlando for NASCAR, where you can visit stock car racing’s Disney World (CMS), and then go to places like Sea World (team shops), Universal Studios (NASCAR Hall of Fame) and so forth.

Ever since the race began in 1959, as the then-World 600, it’s been a showcase event for NASCAR. In a sense, it’s the Daytona 500 redux, three months later.

Plus, the 600 marks the official end of the first third of the 36-race Sprint Cup season. It also means that after the checkered flag falls on Sunday evening, there’ll be only 14 more races for teams and drivers to qualify for the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs.

Hopefully, NASCAR will never fall victim to political correctness, nor allow any outside influences to change the 600. And, that 50 or 100 years from now, we’ll still be talking about the ultimate test between man and machine.

That’s what makes the Coca-Cola 600 so special. If it one day became the Coca-Cola 500 or even the Coca-Cola 400, not only would it just not have the same kind of ring, but it also would go from a special and unique status to just another race.

And don’t we have enough of those already?

Follow me on Twitter @JerryBonkowski