“It just makes it hard”: Kyle Busch’s crew chief deems SMT data as a factor in lack of racing excitement in NASCAR

Kyle Busch's crew chief Randall Burnett has taken a jibe at the abundance of data at the NASCAR teams' disposal. According to the latter, such sharing of telemetry data has robbed the racing excitement of the high-octane sport.

Over two decades ago in 2001, SportsMedia Technology (SMT) and NASCAR joined hands to transmit the race data to the broadcasts for Cup Series races. However, with the advent of technology in motorsports, the focus was soon on the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Meaning, the team could get hands on their and the rival's race data.

Moving forward, the technology has become so advanced and all the teams have the same car under the hood, that one can easily look at their rival's race data and devise strategies accordingly. However, according to Kyle Busch's crew chief, the plethora of data circulated among the paddock has reduced the excitement of competing in NASCAR.

Through the SMT data, the teams can access anyone's throttle time, braking pressure, and zones where heavy braking and acceleration occur, among several other aspects. Burnett highlighted how having access to large SMT data has, in reality, not left much scope for the teams to carve out a win from challenging situations.

"Everything is so close right now, especially in the Cup Series. We go to the racetrack and we're a 15th-place car, we're a tenth off the pace. It's that tight, so everybody's got the same car right now, the same everything, the same access to all the data," Burnett said via Dirty Mo Media on X.

"If you go to the racetrack and you're looking at somebody else's car, you can tell where their car's better within seconds. We always complain, 'There's no passing.' Well, everybody's doing the same thing and everybody has access to so much information that the difference between winning and a 20th-place car is so minute these days. It just makes it hard," Kyle Busch's crew chief added.

"You will have a boring a** race"- When Kyle Busch expressed his displeasure on providing critical race data to rival teams

Unlike the modern-day approach of extracting the race data within seconds and providing it to the driver and their team, the conventional days were quite different. The veteran drivers had to learn from their rival's strong points by looking at their races, studying them, and talking to the driver. As a result, it took nearly 13 years for Kyle Busch to set up his driving style to make his car go fast and rake in championships.

However, nowadays, though the driver has to work their way out to dominate the asphalt, the spoon-feeding of critical race data has made the pursuit of strategizing to beat the NASCAR greats much easier.

During the 2018 season, the then-Joe Gibbs Racing driver revealed critical data sharing robs the thrill of battling against rivals as everybody has the same success recipe at their disposal, making the race very redundant with limited overtaking.

"If everybody else does these things and drives Martinsville a particular way, you will have a boring a** race because everybody will drive the same speed and do the same thing because it’s the fastest way to get around there. I don’t see it [race data sharing] as being positive to this sport. When we are all driving the same that is not a positive thing,” Busch expressed his disappointment via AutoWeek.

So far, no update from NASCAR regarding limiting the data transfer has surfaced. But repeated displeasure from drivers like Kyle Busch among several others and the fans might prompt the officials to take significant steps to enhance the allure of stock car racing.