Over the course of the past decade, NASCAR has tried to reconnect with an increasingly distracted fan base that is leaving it for other sports. 

Some of the organization's plans have been radical, such as the playoff format and the use of bonus points. But as the series heads to Martinsville (VA) Speedway this week, perhaps NASCAR's greatest scheme is being tested on a half-mile bullring that harkens back to the greatest time in the sport's history.

The weekend's schedule for the First Data 500 is being abbreviated to a two-day show, with practice occurring on Saturday followed by qualification and the race on Sunday.

Dirt track events are typically run in one day, with two-day formats saved for their most prestigious events.

One of the disciplines that has syphoned off many of NASCAR’s fans has been dirt track racing. Increasingly, fans are returning to their roots by attending local races and following national tours such as the World of Outlaws Sprint and Late Model Series, Lucas Oil Dirt Late Models, or the United States Modified Touring Series. The stock car juggernaut has taken notice.

NASCAR has used the two-day format a few times this year, and its fans — who can be extremely vocal each time a big change takes place — have not raised their collective voice to complain. 

Scaling down to two days reduces the weekend budget by 25 or 30 percent both for the teams and the fans, but there is one other enhancement that can now be made as NASCAR perfects the two-day schedule.

The 1972 season was the beginning of NASCAR’s Modern Era; 1971 was the end of the Golden Age. In 1972, NASCAR scaled back from 48 races to 31, and the schedule has remained in the 30s ever since, with events being scheduled exclusively on the weekends or the occasional Monday holiday.

To reduce the schedule, NASCAR turned its back on dozens of short tracks. It also stopped running midweek shows.

The last three-race week was held in August 1971. In fact, there were two occurrences that month. Following a fall trip to Talladega (AL) SuperSpeedway on Aug. 22, NASCAR visited Columbia (SC) Speedway on Friday, Aug. 27, and Hickory (NC) Speedway the next night. Earlier that month, it visited Atlanta Motor Speedway on Aug. 1, Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC, on Aug. 6, and International Raceway Park in Ona, WV, on Aug. 8.

The last midweek shows for NASCAR came on back-to-back nights in July 1971 at Albany-Saratoga Speedway and Islip Speedway in New York.

It is time for their return. Dirt track racing regularly hosts midweek shows in an effort to accommodate as many tracks and fans as possible. The scale of a track that holds 6,000 fans compared to ones that hold 75,000 or more is certainly notable, but since many of those grandstands are idle because NASCAR cannot visit them, the benefit is incremental.

Could two-day formats be the precursor for another midweek show? Dare we hope that a dirt track could be returned to the schedule? Virginia Motor Speedway in Jamaica, VA, has facilities that rival Martinsville, Richmond (VA) International Speedway, and several other big-name race tracks.

Last year, that seemed unthinkable. Today, the notion is much less far-fetched. Ultimately it is the fans who will decide. It’s time to cry out for a return to the Golden Age, because NASCAR is listening now more than ever.