Mathguy64 said:

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The speed cut and pack racing started was earlier when Bill Elliot hit 212 mph in qualifying and the car started becoming an airfoil and they couldn't keep them on the racetrack. Guys in wrecks either flying into the catch fences or flying off the back edge of the track all together. That qualifying run scared nascar so much they immediately put in the carb spacer to limit HP.

I think RFK yesterday proved you can run flat out and make it work.

Everyone was stuck in a prisoners dilemma strategy. Everyone said "we can win by minimizing gas time on our road". So they all chose the strategy. But it's dumb. Once one team chose a different strategy of run fast it ruins the prisoners dilemma.

Everyone else was very lucky a yellow didn't catch them all a lap down.

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I think Bobby Allison nearly going into the stands at Talladega and nearly taking out the flag stand was what made them finally go to restrictor plates. That was back in the 80s and was probably more driven by fears of liability than it was safety of the driver's.

There were always packs of cars at those tracks, but there was always always a few cars that would outclass the field and others that were laggards. The whole-field-in-one-pack racing we see today is largely the result of the restrictor plates that started in the late-80s. They minimized the technical advantages, maximized driver skill, and gave the driver only two controls - a gas pedal and a steering wheel. Put the pedal to the floor and try to find a spot to draft. Hope the guy next to you doesn't screw up.