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Race Without Lights (And Other Insane All Star Ideas)
5/16/08: SOZ Studios, MI - By Dennis Michelsen "DMIC" (RaceTalkRadio.com)
NASCAR's All Star race is celebrating its 24th birthday. So much has changed since the very first event. Back in 1985 the Cup champion Darrell Waltrip earned $1.3 million for his entire season. DW also pocketed $200,000 for winning that very first Winston All Star race. Last season the All Star Race winner took home a cool million dollars while the Cup Champion earned $15.3 million! But one thing has not changed over the years; the All Star race is the one event where the drivers go all out every lap! Just about every crazy idea has been used by Humpy Wheeler to kick this race up a notch. How about racing without lights?
Great Way to Introduce NASCAR
Do you have a friend or spouse that thinks NASCAR is boring? If you want to get them hooked on NASCAR racing have them watch the All Star race with you this Saturday night. Even non-NASCAR fans enjoy the insanity that is NASCAR racing with no points on the line! You are guaranteed to see some craziness that would be considered out of bounds any other week. The condensed race format is also likely to keep the new fan interested from start to finish. If the master plan works then you can slowly introduce them to more racing in the weeks ahead.
Always Great Theatre
Junior Johnson didn't wait long to teach the rest of the NASCAR teams how to get it done in the All Star event. Just a few feet past the finish line Darrell Waltrip's engine went up in smoke. After his dominant win NASCAR would have liked to see how Junior Johnson tricked out the engine but only pieces were left. This kicked off the All Star race with controversy making the promoters smile even bigger! Each and every year it seems something crazy happens. Whether it was Earnhardt's "Pass in the Grass" or the infamous T-Rex car or DW saying he hopes Rusty chokes on the $200,000 this race always is great theatre!
Kick It Up a Notch
What we need to add to the All Star race is a "Lack of Competition" caution. If a driver gets out front and shows any sign of dominance it is time to find the invisible debris and throw a caution! Line them up double start again and set them loose. Add a little more excitement by starting one of the segments with the natural rivals starting side-by-side. Wouldn't it be fun to see Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Busch racing side-by-side with no points to lose? Maybe instead of being just for the Cup guys we can use similarly prepared cars and field ONLY the winners of races in the three major NASCAR touring series. Every once in a while you need to give the format a tweak to keep it lively.
OK race fans I was just having a little fun with you suggesting some outrageous changes. At least I didn't suggest turning Lowes Motor Speedway into a 1.5-mile figure-eight track! I didn't steal some of the nutty ideas from Rockford Speedway either. Then again watching the best drivers in NASCAR race at night without lights might be something we would never forget! Humpy Wheeler could issues special night vision glasses to the fans. Bring on the All Star race! This is one show that never disappoints!
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