New Hampshire was always my least favorite track even when Texas was bad.

The stage’s arguably created more strategy

I like worn out Pocono from the 2000s

Road courses this current car does okay but Short tracks the cars need help as the field ends up in a single no pass grove like a Talladega but worse as there is no way to run well on other lines. In Road courses it depends on the track, as some like Sonoma have only ever been okay with the Gen 6 and bad with 7 cars with no real passing allowed unless willing to ride off pavement in some cases like Kyle Bush or Kasey Kane has done but then others like Raceway of the Americas or COTA for short has great racing as did Road America with passing on multiple levels and Road America one special spot drivers kept trying to pass.

1. Going down to one date definitely helped. Builds anticipation when you have to wait a year for the next race.

2. Shorter race helped. 500 miles at Pocono was a slog, even when the product was decent. Few races need to be 500 miles long.

3. Cannot be overstated how much the at track fan experience matters. This was not just a race weekend, this was a damn festival, it was just so fun being there, and the fair food was straight FIRE. I’ve never had that much fun at a racetrack.