NASCAR chief reveals discussions over 'unfixable' problem

NASCAR has admitted that they've discussed changes to prevent races at Daytona from becoming fuel conservation affairs.

Senior Vice President of competition Elton Sawyer discussed the issue during a media briefing this week, but confessed that he doesn't believe the problem can actually be solved.

Drivers will spend a good portion of next Sunday's season opener running at half throttle or less, as they look to save as much fuel as possible in order to shorten their pit stops and gain crucial fractions of a second at stage-end cautions.

Sawyer also noted that fans at the track appear to be enjoying the on-track product as much as ever regardless of fuel conservation, although more than six million people are expected to be watching at home on TV – who are typically less delighted by the concept.

NASCAR chief: I don't think we can fix it

He explained: “The short answer is that we've talked about it. Here's where it's conflicting for us. John (Patalak) and I will sit there in the tower, watching the race and listening to the broadcast and scanners, and if we turn that off, they're five and six wide, and (fans) don't know how fast they're going ... they're all standing up and cheering.

“So, it's like ‘okay', and John has said this many times, ‘what are we trying to fix?’ We can change something but what is it really going to fix?

"I think that's the question we ask ourselves, and we do, but Scott Miller runs all kinds of different models with presumptions and how we would change the stages but what are what are wanting to change? I don't think we can actually fix it.”

He went on to defend NASCAR's willingness to listen to its fans and introduce change, saying: "I would say that the priority list for things like that, I think we can take the news of the championship format, the Chase, which was high on that list, and we can put that on the green column. We tackled that one, and then that list of other things, fuel mileage, is...

“I'll say this. If you look at other big races, let's take the Indy 500, they drop the green flag and they are in fuel conservation mode, immediately. So, I think it’s a narrative that is out there, that we have to at some point, back to John's point, do we want to change something or what exactly is that we are we trying to fix?”