When you’re talking about sporting events that compete based on distance rather than time, there are no guarantees as to how long an event will take.
When you go to a baseball game, barring weather issues or a tie, you’ll see nine innings of play. How long it will take? Nobody knows. That’s part of the beauty of the event. But, the bottom line is: you see a complete game.
Do you complain if you go to a track meet and see a bunch of world records because the races didn’t last as long as you expected?
So, why are people complaining after two straight weeks of, unusually, quick NASCAR Cup races. Complete, full-distance races. Not weather-shortened.
Are these the same people who complained that the last 7 laps at COTA took an hour? (Okay, I don’t remember that timing exactly, but the point remains the same.)
The solution is not to put Stage breaks back in. Adding 8-10 caution laps, just to lengthen the time of the event, accomplishes nothing. That’s around 10% of a road course race.
The solution is to relax. And, accept that some races are going to be shorter than others. Heck, the next one you watch could go four hours. But, longer doesn’t necessarily mean a better value