As NASCAR prepares for the Sonoma Raceway event, a growing debate surrounds the number of road courses on the Cup Series schedule, with Chris Buescher joining the conversation to express his view. The topic of Chris Buescher NASCAR road courses is intensifying as the series features a record number of road course races in a single season.
Chris Buescher’s Perspective on the Optimal Number of Road Course Races
This year’s schedule includes six road course events: Circuit of the Americas, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico, the Chicago Street Circuit, Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen, and the Charlotte Roval. The increase to six tracks with road course layouts has sparked differing opinions among drivers, many of whom feel this number is excessive for NASCAR’s traditional format.
Brad Keselowski notably highlighted this concern on social media, stating,
“We went from 2 to 6 Road course races, possibly 7 next year. NASCAR was successfully built as a primarily oval racing series. IMSA was built as the primary road course series in North America. IMSA will always do road racing better than NASCAR, and that’s ok. Yes, TOO Many Road courses in NASCAR.”
—Brad Keselowski
Denny Hamlin added his voice to the issue, emphasizing NASCAR’s roots,
“I’m not a road course fan. I still believe we have too many of them on the schedule … Six is a lot, considering that we are NASCAR. We’re short track racing, oval racing, full contact type racing.”
—Denny Hamlin
While six road courses only make up about one-sixth of a 36-raceseason, this shift feels significant to many who identify NASCAR as primarily an oval racingseries.
Unlike some veterans whose careers began when road course appearances were limited to just Sonoma and Watkins Glen, Chris Buescher, who started racing in that same era, offers a nuanced opinion. The RFK Racing driver shared before Sonoma,
Image of: Chris Buescher
“I saw some chatter about this yesterday. I haven’t really been in the middle of it, but I’ve definitely seen it. My boss has been vocal about it. I’m not 100% on the same page as he is. I think four or five road courses is a good number. I don’t want to do this every week. This isn’t what we grew up doing, and it’s not what I wanted to do, or I would’ve gone to a different series.”
—Chris Buescher
Why the Growing Discord Over Road Course Scheduling?
The initial intent behind adding more road courses was to introduce variety for drivers and fans, offering a break from the dominance of oval racing. However, the sudden increase and clustering of these races have caused unease among many within the sport.
Rather than the sheer quantity alone, much of the tension comes from how NASCAR scheduled these races consecutively, making a stretch of the season feel unusually focused on road courses. This arrangement contrasts sharply with the traditional flow of the NASCAR calendar, intensifying the debate among drivers and fans alike.
Looking ahead, it is unclear if NASCAR will modify the 2026 schedule in response to this feedback. For now, the conversation over balancing respect for NASCAR’s oval heritage with the desire to innovate through road courses remains a central issue as the series heads to Sonoma and beyond.
