NASCAR makes major swing to change schedule for 2018

NASCAR announced on Tuesday, May 23, that the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule would have a significant change next year.

It will start with the "Great American Race" being moved back to its old traditional date on Presidents Day weekend on February 18th.  It will be the start of a swing of changes to the schedule revamping for next season.

The three-quarter mile Richmond International Raceway will move from being the last race before the playoffs to being the second race in the playoffs next season.  It's spring event in April will also have another change returning to being a night race on April 21.

Chicagoland Speedway will be moved from being the first race in the playoffs in the past to being July 1st right before the historical July Speedweeks Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.  Making a solid start to NBC Sports run on TV next season with two huge events.

One of the more noticeable moves on the schedule is Indianapolis Motor Speedway taking over the cut off race before the playoffs begin next season. But even bigger is the move that Charlotte Motor Speedway has coming for 2018.  It's October race that is traditionally a 500 miler on the 1.5 mile oval will now be on the track's road course in the infield.  It adds all types of tracks to the playoff scenario for 2018.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway will also host two events next season starting with its traditional date in March and then another race to kick off the Playoffs.  

2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
Feb. 11: Daytona International Speedway (Clash / Daytona 500 Qualifying)
Feb. 15: Daytona International Speedway (Duel)
Feb. 18: Daytona 500
Feb. 25: Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 4: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 11: Phoenix Raceway
March 18: Auto Club Speedway
March 25: Martinsville Speedway
April 8: Texas Motor Speedway
April 15: Bristol Motor Speedway
April 21: Richmond International Raceway
April 29: Talladega Superspeedway
May 6: Dover International Speedway
May 12: Kansas Speedway
May 19: Charlotte Motor Speedway (Monster Energy All-Star Race)
May 27 : Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 3: Pocono Raceway
June 10: Michigan International Speedway
June 24: Sonoma Raceway
July 1: Chicagoland Speedway
July 7: Daytona International Speedway
July 14: Kentucky Speedway
July 22: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 29: Pocono Raceway
Aug. 5: Watkins Glen International
Aug. 12: Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 18: Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept. 2: Darlington Raceway
Sept. 9: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sept. 16: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sept. 22: Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 30: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct. 7: Dover International Speedway
Oct. 14: Talladega Superspeedway
Oct. 21: Kansas Speedway
Oct. 28: Martinsville Speedway
Nov. 4: Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 11: Phoenix Raceway
Nov. 18: Homestead-Miami Speedway

Stenhouse's win at Talladega was "wind in Roush's sails"

It had been 101 races since a Roush Fenway Racing car had visited victory lane in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.  It went back to Sunday, June 22, 2014 at Sonoma when Carl Edwards won the race at the road course out in California.

Jack Roush was all smiles on Sunday

So when Ricky Stenhouse won the Geico 500 on Sunday afternoon it really did throw wind to the sails in the organization at Roush Fenway Racing.  There are a lot of team members that have stuck through the grit and grind since that last win happened at Roush, they've heard all that talk that they were not capable of winning ever again; and the doors were ready to close on the organization.  Yet everyone of these guys that worked to get back to victory lane held through and have been able to see this organization turn around in just the last 9 months. 

It started from the top. 

Robbie Reiser was moved from being competition director after holding the position for almost ten seasons.  Kevin Kidd and Tommy Wheeler came in and have made swift changes into the organization that have seen much better results on the track this season than in the last few years in the MENCS. 

Jack Roush has hope that the win on Sunday is a solid impulse for even more victories this season.

"It gives us fresh wind in our sail," said the 75 year old car owner.  "We've got over 300 victories in NASCAR.  The number that I hold dear is 40 years of racing, drag racing, road racing and NASCAR.  I've won over 450 national events, and it puts another chapter in that record."

It was not long ago that Roush was the flagship organization for Ford Performance in NASCAR.  All around the board, they were a force in NASCAR's top tier division all the way down to the truck series and then something took a major change.  Around 2012, Roush Fenway Racing began to take a slide backwards and veteran drivers Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards parted ways with the organization within three years of one another to go to Joe Gibbs Racing. 

It was then late in the 2016 that a decision was made for Roush's last veteran driver Greg Biffle to part ways with the team.  Both Roush and Biffle mutually agreed that it was time for a change for both parties and it left the team with two cars and systematically in a position to improve. 

At the heals of the decision, it left the team in a position to do much needed work in their management department.  Robbie Reiser as I said was replaced with Kevin Kidd and Tommy Wheeler was put into a management role as well.  New roles were giving to younger members and the team freshened up the way that their cars were built within. 

Many questioned Bayne and Stenhouse when the decision
was made to go to two cars

Then there was one other little thing.  The team was left with two very young drivers that many people considered underachievers in the sport.  The only one to win a race was Trevor Bayne in his second start in the 2011 Daytona 500, so many were questioning how this would work out.  On Sunday when Stenhouse won, Bayne congratulated his long-time teammate on social media, even after being involved in the huge wreck late in the race. 

While it is only one victory for the organization, the team owner still believes that there a lot more to come for his drivers. 

"We'll win a race with Trevor before this year is over unless I miss my guess," Roush said.  "But honestly we can get ourselves ready for the last 10 races to make a championship run."

Roush Fenway rebounding with two car effort

People still want to measure Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse to the likes of the past drivers that departed Roush Fenway Racing since 2013.  There just isn't a proper measuring cup for this right now and the fans that do it need to realize something right now, Bayne and Stenhouse do not have the same equipment that Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle had from previous seasons.

There was a lot of changes that were implemented into the organization this past year to help put a spring in the step at Roush Fenway Racing.  The one major change was the team going to two-cars from being a three car for so long.  Greg Biffle and Roush mutually agreed that it was time for the split to happen.  Bayne and Stenhouse entered the organization within a year of one another in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and their driving styles were very comparable against one another.

Trevor Bayne talks with car owner Jack Roush

"Going into the season, what we hadn't done in the past is really give people individual goals," said Bayne on Race Day last Sunday.  "Have things that you set out to do.  Whether it is the aero department, engineering, design team, drivers, pit crews; instead of looking at a result and saying 'man we need to finish top-15 and just going out finishing top-15, we say what are the little things we can do every week to add up to top-15 finishes."

Stenhouse has seen the changes from a three car team to a two-car team as a way to get the cars faster and make changes quicker.

"One of the things that I have seen going down to two from three (cars) last year, we're able to get things implemented into our cars a lot faster," said Stenhouse.  "They're at the wind tunnel every week and they're taking what they learn and getting it into those two cars pretty quick.  A lot of focus is on both cars and that's really been showing every time we go to the race track."

Bayne's crew chief Matt Puccia brought a valid point as well.  The two young drivers have very similar driving styles so it makes it easier on the crews.

"Fortunately for us, Trevor and Ricky have similar driving characteristics and that's been really good for the two of them to work together on a weekly basis so those guys are really able feed off each other and help each other because their driving characteristics are so similar."

The two drivers go into this weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway both inside the Playoff Grid

Bayne and Stenhouse have worked together as teammates
since August 2010 in the Xfinity Series.

with Bayne sitting in 14th and Stenhouse in 15th.  The two drivers have made steadily improvements this season and while Stenhouse has more top-ten finishes, Bayne remains the more consistent one finishing in the top-15 consistently.

 "Well Ricky and I came in as Xfinity drivers for Jack and they always told us well you guys are the
future of the company," said Bayne.  "But I don't think we ever saw the day coming where we would be the only two cup drivers at Roush Fenway Racing leading the way.  So for us to be here now it is really cool to have watched us grow up, progress in our careers, and pushing each other and we're kinda all out.  I don't have things that I learned at a race track that I hold back from Ricky."

 That in the past was one of the biggest issues that sparred at Roush Fenway Racing.  There was more of a rivalry within the organization than a chemistry among the race teams.  Now the teams are working together to find speed and sharing what they find in their race cars.