In one of the most famous sports press conferences in recent history, Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson shared his thoughts on practice:
“I mean, listen, we sitting here—I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talking about practice. I mean, listen. We talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. We talking about practice.”
Iverson went on and on about practice during the May 7, 2002, press conference, entertaining reporters who had been among those questioning his dedication to practice and general team improvement.
Iverson’s point was that practice, in the long and winding days of the NBA season, was significantly overrated.
NASCAR is taking a different view, and it’s a step forward.
The sanctioning body announced this week major changes in weekend practice scheduling at most of the remaining Cup Series races this season. Instead of two groups of drivers participating in a pair of 25-minute practice sessions immediately prior to qualifying, all teams will run practice laps across a 50-minute session. The changes will go into effect for the New Hampshire Motor Speedway weekend next month and will include the rest of the seasonal schedule other than superspeedway races at Daytona Beach and Talladega and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where an extended practice session already is scheduled.
NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 - Practice
David Jensen//Getty Images
Ryan Preece readying for practice.
The changes will provide teams with a fuller look at track conditions, tire wear, potential chassis setup changes and more. The current pre-qualifying practice runs have felt more like “hurry up and rush” sessions than full opportunities for analysis and changes during sessions.
The extended practices could be particularly valuable to smaller teams that don’t have the technological reach of richer organizations and those with closer ties to car manufacturers and their engineering input.
This seems to be a good hybrid idea between the current limited practice and the multiple (and generally longer) sessions of past years, when practice fit more into Iverson’s exasperated view of the “opportunity.” When practices were scheduled several days leading to a Sunday race, some teams passed on the chance to hit the track at every available moment. Most drivers certainly didn’t need the track time, and lap after lap put wear and tear on engines and suspensions.
There is some validity to the thought that teams should have their cars essentially prepared to race when they unload, but fine-tuning opportunities in practice offer value, particularly when weather has introduced changes to track surfaces since teams’ previous visit. And younger, newer drivers, some making laps at a venue for the first time, likely will use every available minute.
Iverson probably didn’t need more practice. NASCAR teams might.
Lettermark
Mike Hembree has covered auto racing for numerous media outlets, including USA Today, NASCAR Scene, NBC Sports, The Greenville News and the SPEED Channel. He has been roaming garage areas and pit roads for decades (although the persistent rumor that he covered the first Indianapolis 500 is not true). Winner of numerous motorsports and other media awards, he also has covered virtually every other major sport. He lives near Gaffney, South Carolina and can be convinced to attend Bruce Springsteen concerts if you have tickets.