NASCAR rivals Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch are in agreement that a rule change for Talladega Superspeedway this weekend will not fix the Cup Series' fuel-saving dilemma.
NASCAR has flipped the stage lengths for this Sunday's race in an attempt to address the three-wide, fuel-saving racing we saw for large parts of the Daytona 500 in February and other superspeedway events in recent years.
Initially, the stages for Talladega on Sunday were set to be 60 laps, 60 laps, and 68 laps. However, this Sunday's action will instead run a 98-lap first stage, followed by two stages of 45 laps each.
Busch has already cast his doubts on whether the change will have any impact, though, and it seems he and Larson agree.
Kyle Larson reacts to Talladega stage length change
"It'll be a little different with the stage lengths," Larson told the media at Kansas last weekend in reference to this Sunday's Talladega race.
"So just curious to see how that's kind of going to affect the fuel conservation and stuff throughout the race.
"I still think you're going to be saving quite a bit of fuel, but we'll see when we get there."
Busch: Crew chiefs will figure it out
Here's what Busch had to say ahead of this weekend's action: “I don’t think changing the stage lengths will make a difference.
"The purpose is to make the crew chiefs not have an idea of how to strategize fuel saving. But trust me, they’ll figure out a way to strategize for it.
"You’re always trying to figure out a way of putting the least amount of fuel as possible when it comes down to pitting."
NASCAR Cup Series action at Talladega Superspeedway takes place on Sunday, April 26 at 3 p.m. ET (FOX).
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