Preseason Thunder will not return to Daytona in 2027
· Yahoo Sports
Fans have been calling for the return of Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway, which served as a pre-season test and the first glimpse of new driver/team combinations.
In April, NASCAR's John Probst indicated that a January test at Daytona was likely to return, but plans have since changed. The original plan was to use the test to improve the superspeedway package, but NASCAR now appears more satisfied with the current package after recent changes to the spoiler and horsepower over the summer.
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NASCAR still sees areas to address, especially in regards to extreme fuel-saving, which has become a major feature of the opening stages at superspeedway races. However, NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell said NASCAR currently has no plans to hold the test.
General view
General view“On our end, you look at the changes we’ve made, and this goes back to our competition group, we’ve said we’re going to move fast," said O'Donnell. "I think historically at NASCAR we would have said, we’ll see in 2027 and we’ll talk about the short track package in 2028. That’s not the case. We moved quickly. From an on-track competition car, are you able to move and do some different things directionally? I think we’re comfortable with heading to Daytona with what we saw.
"Now, kind of the officiating or sporting regulations, I think we are taking a look at. With technology, with AI, it's become such a focus on fuel-saving. If you ask the drivers if they ever fuel saved at Talladega ten years ago, the answer is yes. That's always happened. But it's become such a focus now on what you can do and the strategy in the race.
"That is the focus in terms of how does the actual race play out, not necessarily the car, but what does the race look like in terms of is it stages or whatever we may do during the race.
"But we don't have plans right now to go test at Daytona."
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