Jeff Burton hopes NASCAR will return the Brickyard race to the oval

One of the most historic tracks in motorsports underwent some changes on the NASCAR circuit a few years ago. In an effort to change things up, the sport switched over to a road course race. Former driver and current analyst Jeff Burton hopes NASCAR makes a move back to the oval.

While the road course has provided a nice change of pace in Indianapolis, many fans miss seeing cars on the traditional oval. So, Burton believes it’s time to make a switch back — at least for the time being.

“I think Indianapolis Motor Speedway is much like the Roval. Having the flexibility to run either one, you should take advantage of it,” Burton said on NBC Sports. “You know, I proposed that the Roval date just have a date and not decide if it’s gonna be a road course or an oval until June. And then make a determination. …

“We’ve done this for several years, so I think it’s appropriate to go back and run the Brickyard on the oval. I think we should try it. What’s the harm? The place is so big, it’s hard to get a sense — there were a lot of people there this weekend.”

NASCAR’s push to implement more road course races and street races has been in an effort to grow the sport. By mixing things up from the traditional tracks, it’s possible to see a bump in viewership.

So, perhaps NASCAR will take Burton’s idea and potentially come up with some sort of rotation at a place like Indianapolis — which is traditionally a 2.5-mile oval track.

Michael McDowell takes checkered flag at Indianapolis

Michael McDowell surprised NASCAR on Sunday, recording his second career victory. It felt like an underdog story, but the driver felt like his team had a great chance to win.

“Absolutely not,” McDowell said about it being a Cinderella win. “I think we’ve been the fastest road course car since this Next-Gen car over the average of it, and I think statistically it’ll show that. I think if you just look at the average finish and you look at average running position, we’ve been a top 5 car every single road course race since this Next-Gen car has come in.

“Is it a Cinderella story from a lot of different aspects? Maybe. But off of pure performance, like I feel like we’ve been nailing it and having a shot at it. But I also look at it as like, we’re going up against some really big teams with a lot of resources, and to do what we did today is pretty awesome.”

McDowell has now won at two of the most iconic tracks in racing: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway.