The old heads in the crowd are going to enjoy hearing me have a take surround something going back to ‘the good ole days,’ for once.
Normally, I’m pretty relaxed on things that NASCAR tries, some being successful while others are repulsive failures.
I don’t hate the modern-day playoff format. I admire NASCAR’s willingness to try things like putting PJ1 on Texas even though it inherently ruined what used to be a great IndyCar race year after year.
This time, however, I’m pretty bullish on my thoughts about the NASCAR All-Star Race.
The annual non-points event returns to the schedule on Sunday night, this time at Texas Motor Speedway, for a six-stage race with a format that takes 10 minutes to even partially understand.
As seen below in this tweet from FOX’s Bob Pockrass – the format is a mess.
Have had questions about all-star format. See attached. Open is three stages 20-20-10 as a more regular race with stage winners advancing to the main event Sunday night. pic.twitter.com/rQ7oEAB8w9
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 7, 2021
That’s only part of the issue, too.
For me, this week feels like a glorified Busch Clash or whatever the newest name for the preseason race is.
There’s hardly anything that makes it unique – despite just over 10 years ago when it was one of the cooler stops in the schedule.
I want back the days of watching cars do three laps of qualifying with a four-tire stop in the middle, blazing down a pit road with no speed limit.
Give me back the pit crew showdown that showcased the top teams in the series changing four tires and pushing a car through an alley in a basketball arena.
That was cool. There was no denying it, and it made the race an event.
This year? It might as well be the Busch Clash part 2.
I get the issue of Charlotte as well. The Coca Cola 600 was as boring of a race as I’ve seen at the track in my memory. There’s a reason that the race moved to Bristol and then Texas this season.
But if the logistics are that hard to figure out – to get unique stuff like that back for the All-Star Race – then I’m cool with Charlotte. Bring them back there if you have to.
My overarching point here is that nothing about this race feels special like I think it should. Maybe that will change Sunday, but that’s why we watch on any week.
All I know is if anything does make this All-Star Race feel special, it’s going to be based on luck – not a format that makes you feel like your back in elementary school trying to learn how to do long division.
