A tight track squeezed into a historic football stadium populated by the debut of racecars with a new design posed a risk as well as an opportunity for NASCAR on Sunday.
The opportunity was what one NASCAR official described as a "proof of concept," a chance to broaden the sport's audience and provide a template for future forays into other large markets unfamiliar with the in-person spectacle of race day.
The risk, of course, was taken primarily by the drivers, navigating a cramped quarter-mile track they'd never traversed that required constant braking and turning because straightaways were nearly nonexistent. And doing so in brand-new cars dubbed Next Gen.
