NASCAR teams to have less practice time this year

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NASCAR confirmed Thursday that teams in its top three series will have less practice time this season. Weekend schedules for upcoming races at Daytona, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Auto Club Speedway show that Cup teams will have at least an hour less practice time at each track compared to last year.

Cup teams also will have one less day to practice at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the Daytona 500. While the schedules are listed as tentative, NASCAR does not expect any major changes to them before those events. Among the reasons given for the reduction of practice is that teams stated they did not need as much on-track time.

The changes also are being done to make the weekend more efficient. Most weekends are expected to have less practice time. There will be a few exceptions. NASCAR is expected to give teams additional practice in July at Kentucky (additional layer of asphalt added to track) and Texas in November (repave). NBC Sports