All-Star Race experiment could transform NASCAR
New car setup leads to passes, excitement
CONCORD, N.C. – After an unusually entertaining Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race Saturday night, many fans left Charlotte Motor Speedway bubbling with excitement.
A new competition package produced tight racing and daring driving. Even though the usual suspect, Kevin Harvick, won the race, there was an interesting mix of competition throughout the evening and an air of uncertainty about what might happen from one lap to the next.
It was one of those things that has been in short supply in much of modern NASCAR — a really good race.
Now it’s a new week, and at the end of it sits the next Cup race. It’s also at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it’s vastly different — a grueling 600-mile race that often devolves into one of the most tedious events of the season.
The knee-jerk reaction to Saturday’s successful evening is this: Why not put the All-Star package, which featured restrictor plates and huge rear spoilers among other innovations, in place for the Coca-Cola 600?
Charlotte Motor Speedway President Marcus Smith could be persuaded to take that route. He’s the guy selling tickets to the 600.
“Tonight was some of the best racing we’ve seen on a mile-and-half track in many years,” Smith said. “It was so much fun to watch. Fans weren’t using their seats. They were on their feet cheering.
“This is a huge step forward. This is mission accomplished. We wanted to make a positive impact on the sport and the racing. Tonight, judging by the fan reaction, it was really a lot of fun and exciting.”
Smith said he began lobbying NASCAR executive Steve O’Donnell “for more races with this package” shortly after Saturday’s event ended.
“It’s always better to do great things as soon as possible,” Smith said.
These kind of changes can’t be made overnight, however. Months of research and development went into the decision to try Saturday’s aero/engine package. It wouldn’t be realistic to expect teams to make such a big change on short notice, and it’s not likely that the specific package that fit CMS well would work at other intermediate-size tracks.
It’s also worth noting that NASCAR’s charter agreement with teams essentially prevents the sanctioning body from imposing major, expensive changes unless there are safety issues.
But Saturday’s big experiment was certainly a step in the right direction.
Harvick, an astute observer of the sport in addition to being one of its best drivers, was among those who quickly picked up on the important nature of the evening.
“Tonight’s racing was very aggressive,” he said. “It’s the perfect spot to try stuff like this. The effort the teams put in to make this happen was pretty high. It was brave and bold, but I think when you look at NASCAR racing in five years it will look like this and it all started here.
“It’s a big ship to turn. You can’t just pull the trigger and say, ‘Do it.’ I’d really like to make sure we don’t just jump and say that this is the save-all, do-all package. I’d like to see it slowly transformed to point-paying races because I think the preparation level will be a little different for every team in the garage.”
Joey Logano described the change as “not bad or good but different. It’s up to us to try to figure out what’s best, try to figure out what to do from here.”
There’s a notable statistic from Saturday’s race — 38 green-flag passes for the lead, as measured by sensors around the track. In the same event last year, which Kyle Busch won? That number was zero.