Bob Pockrass

Special for USA TODAY

For 61 years, with the exception of one because of wildfires, NASCAR has celebrated Independence Day by racing either on that day or the nearest weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

The venue that hails its February event as “The Great American Race” also served as the signature racing site for what many would consider a great American holiday.

But NASCAR will scrap tradition after this season in an attempt to add spice to its Cup Series playoffs as Daytona will play host to next year's regular-season finale on Aug. 29, 2020.

“At every race track we go to on the schedule, if you said what fits with July 4th weekend, it’s Daytona,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr., the recently retired racer and current NBC broadcaster. “I don’t know if it’s because it’s always been that way, it’s the beach, it’s just a real nice place to go visit and be in the middle of the summer.

“There is not a lot of other tracks that can provide what Daytona can provide on a holiday weekend. I’ve never tried to celebrate that weekend anywhere else other than Daytona.”

Earnhardt admits that “10 years ago I would have been raising hell saying this ain’t right,” but also admits he’s intrigued by the change, which should create buzz for the playoffs. A driver qualifies for the playoffs with a win, and Daytona serves as the ultimate crapshoot track.

“I learned a long time ago nothing is going to stay the same,” Earnhardt said. “The people that are important today in your profession aren’t going to be there all those years.

“Things are going to change and you have to be willing to sort of let go some of that stuff.”

The last time NASCAR messed with a scheduling tradition, it failed miserably. NASCAR ended 54 years of running Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway and gave its California track ownership of that holiday weekend. Eleven years later, and after another failed move to Atlanta on that date, NASCAR returned Darlington to its rightful place on the calendar.

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The Fourth of July change – NASCAR will attempt to boost its struggling race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by heading there July 4th week next year – shows NASCAR won’t let one mistake keep it from taking more risks. This one seems at least more calculated.

NASCAR, citing that it answered questions about the scheduling move when it was announced in April, declined to make an executive available to talk about the change heading into Saturday's Cup race at Daytona (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC) and what it says about its scheduling and overall philosophy.

“We have to continue to look at this sport and this race through a difference lens,” Daytona International Speedway President Chip Wile said. “This is a great opportunity for us to do something that is bold but also will be impactful for our race fans here watching live and on television.”

Maybe the tradition has gradually lost some of its luster. From 1959 through 1987, the race ran on July 4 before being moved to the Saturday of the closest weekend. From 1959 through 1997, the race started at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m.

The race moved to night in 1998, and few of the current crop of drivers even remember it as a day race, only having heard stories of traditions of families and fans going to the race in the morning and sunning on the beach by mid-afternoon.

“It hasn’t lost nostalgia for me,” said Aric Almirola, a Tampa native whose July 4th family vacation was a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando for a few days before heading to Daytona. “I still feel like when it comes time in the Fourth of July, we’re going to be in the Florida heat racing in Daytona.

“That’s normal for me. For that not being the case, that’s going to be different.”

Kevin Harvick, an advocate for change, views the shakeup as one of the best decisions NASCAR made with its 2020 schedule.

“When you have the Daytona 500 at your track, it’s kind of hard to even come close to measuring up to that,” Harvick said. “I love the position of where it is next year. … That tradition is long standing but also times have changed and you can definitely look up in the crowd and see it was time to change.”

One driver who is fine with not racing at Daytona – or anywhere – on July 4th is Clint Bowyer.

“Daytona stands on its own two feet,” Bowyer said. “It always will. It doesn’t need the Fourth of July to be part of that. Daytona is a celebration all of its own.

“I just feel like in today’s day and age where you have such limited celebrations of things, the Fourth of July, I want that in my own backyard. … I want to go burn my own finger and drink my own Busch Light. That’s what I want to do."

Bob Pockrass is a FOX Sports NASCAR reporter. Follow him @bobpockrass.