NASCAR deserves credit for new and improved superspeedway package

Nobody knew what to expect in Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona thanks to new rules implemented by NASCAR for superspeedway races in an effort to improve the racing product at Daytona and Talladega. 

Not only were the rules new, but drivers only had one lap of qualifying on Friday before the green flag dropped on Saturday. There was no practice session for teams to try and figure things out. 

And while the racing on Saturday was not perfect or a replica of the 2000s superspeedway racing so many fans look back fondly on, it was much better than previous Next-Gen superspeedway races. 

Fuel saving was, of course, still a big topic, especially in the final stage as drivers tried to make it to the end of the race without a pit stop. 

But when drivers did decide to hammer down and run wide open, they had an opportunity to make moves, pass each other and pull out of line without being sucked backwards immediately. Three-wide racing without the crutch of fuel saving was possible, and the battle for the lead was much more lively and was not simply a drag race between the leaders of the top and bottom lanes. 

Drivers speak out on new rules package

"It was a lot of fun," said Chase Briscoe, who led 10 laps and finished 14th, speaking on NBC's post-race show. "Especially that first stage when nobody had a clue what was going on. There was really no fuel saving that first stage. It was fun. I could make moves and kind of do whatever I wanted. Even at the end of Stage 2, [I] was able to get pretty dicey."

"Great job by NASCAR and the whole team for coming up with something different here," said Denny Hamlin, who finished 11th on Saturday and was a major player in NASCAR making a change to the superspeedway package. "Thought there definitely was a change. The car felt a little different. I didn't think it was as logjammed as it was in the past. If you wanted to get to the front, I feel like you could."

Not every driver thought the new package, which will also be used in the Oct. 25 Chase race at Talladega, was an improvement, however. 

"I couldn't tell a difference," said Brad Keselowski, per Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. "I couldn't tell they changed the rules at all... We thought handling would be a bigger factor than it was, and it didn't really come into play."

Saturday's race was far from perfect, but drivers certainly had more liberty to make bold moves than they've had in recent races at Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR now has a template to use as it moves forward and tries to further improve the racing product on its biggest ovals.