By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports activities NASCAR Author
Drivers don’t essentially dislike going to Texas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race, however they don’t wish to go to the identical monitor 12 months after 12 months after 12 months for the occasion.
With the drivers making a second consecutive journey to the 1.5-mile monitor for the All-Star Race this weekend, many hope the venue will change for 2023.
The All-Star Race was once a staple of a two-week racing calendar at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was thought-about a particular occasion for which solely the winner obtained a big purse and drivers did not should make an extra journey.
However the occasion appeared to get stale at Charlotte, so NASCAR began to not solely create distinctive codecs but in addition at instances use the race to attempt totally different aerodynamic packages or rule adjustments that it was contemplating.
The COVID-19 pandemic additionally gave NASCAR a chance to vary course, as 2020 noticed the race transfer to Bristol as a part of the schedule restructuring. Then, when Speedway Motorsports wished so as to add Circuit of the Americas (in Austin) to the NASCAR schedule in 2021, NASCAR moved a factors race from Texas Motor Speedway (in Fort Value) to COTA and the All-Star Race from Charlotte to TMS in hopes of making particular occasions at each tracks.
Kyle Larson on why he needs the All-Star Race to maneuver yearly
Final week at Kansas, defending All-Star Race champion Kyle Larson described what he knew about this 12 months’s format and talked about why he’d wish to see the occasion transfer round.
“I do know there’s a variety of logistics and, I am certain, a variety of stuff that goes into it, however I really feel just like the championship race and the All-Star Race can be enjoyable to see it transfer round,” stated defending All-Star winner and Cup champion Kyle Larson.
“Clearly, the championship race is tough as a result of it is November, and climate all through the nation will not be the identical. In Might, I really feel like you’ll be able to type of race wherever in america. For the All-Star Race, I’d like to see it transfer round. I feel that’d be thrilling.”
The All-Star Race has been held at Speedway Motorsports tracks, so the sensation is that if the occasion strikes, it doubtless can be held at one of many tracks in its portfolio. The issue is a lot of these tracks have already got factors races inside a few months of Might, after which there would nonetheless doubtlessly be three factors races amongst Texas and COTA (which could be carried out — it’s only a query of whether or not that will harm attendance).
“It must be a giant occasion,” stated driver/proprietor Denny Hamlin. “I personally assume we have to cease saying it is for 1,000,000 {dollars} as our promotion tagline. It’s been that approach for [close to] 30 years.
“We’ve obtained to replace slightly bit. … I might wish to see it transfer on the whole.”
Denny Hamlin on All-Star Race format, promotion
Denny Hamlin stated it’s time to cease selling the All-Star occasion as a race for $1 million. He explains why and in addition provides his ideas on the format.
The NASCAR Cup Collection hasn’t had the best occasions at TMS since a reconfiguration gave the monitor two distinct turns. The monitor has been a testing floor for a way a lot traction compound needs to be utilized in hopes of making a second groove.
“You need to rotate it,” former Cup champion Chase Elliott stated in regards to the All-Star website. “I feel that is what that race was initially designed to do, was to maneuver round and provides followers in a special area a particular occasion like an All-Star Race, which I feel is admittedly cool.
“It’s what different all-star video games do in different types of sports activities.”
Chase Elliott on why the All-Star Race ought to rotate
Chase Elliott has two explanation why the All-Star Race ought to journey: Different sports activities rotate their all-star occasions, and he hasn’t had a lot success at Texas Motor Speedway.
The hope — for the second consecutive 12 months at Texas — is that the All-Star Race and its format will make issues thrilling. The format will not be easy to elucidate, however most drivers don’t sweat the main points.
“I benefit from the All-Star Race,” former Cup champion Joey Logano stated. “I feel all people does, proper? It doesn’t matter what the foundations are. It’s arduous to know the foundations generally as a result of they’re so totally different on a regular basis.
“It looks as if you’re by no means out of it.”
Joey Logano on what he likes in regards to the All-Star Race
Joey Logano says he enjoys the All-Star Race it doesn’t matter what the foundations are.
Here’s a breakdown of how the occasion will go, beginning with qualifying.
— Sixteen drivers who didn’t mechanically qualify for the occasion are within the preliminary last-chance qualifier, referred to as the Open: Austin Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick, Garrett Smithley, Chris Buescher, Harrison Burton, Justin Haley, Todd Gilliland, Cole Custer, Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cody Ware, Landon Cassill, BJ McLeod and Daniel Suarez.
— Their beginning order shall be decided by single-car, one-lap qualifying on Saturday.
— The Open shall be a 50-lap race Sunday with phases of 20-20-10.
— Within the first two phases, all laps depend besides stage breaks, and there shall be one try of NASCAR extra time on the finish of every stage. Within the ultimate stage, solely green-flag laps depend, and there shall be limitless overtimes.
— The winner of every stage advances to the All-Star Race (and doesn’t compete within the the rest of the Open).
— Of the drivers who don’t qualify by way of the Open, the motive force with probably the most votes from on-line fan voting advances to the All-Star Race. As of Monday, the highest 4, in alphabetical order, had been Jones, LaJoie, Reddick and Suarez.
As for the principle occasion, the All-Star Race has 20 automated qualifiers, drivers who’ve both gained a race in 2021-22 or are previous All-Star Race winners or Cup champions.
These drivers: Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Michael McDowell, Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman.
— Their qualifying shall be performed Saturday in two components. The primary shall be one-lap, single-car qualifying. The highest eight will advance to a three-round elimination bracket, through which they are going to have two-driver, head-to-head matchups with a four-tire pit cease adopted by a race down pit street (no velocity restrict) and across the monitor to the start-finish line.
— The losers within the first spherical will line up fifth via eighth based mostly on qualifying velocity, the losers of the second spherical will line up third and fourth based mostly on qualifying velocity, and the results of the ultimate spherical will decide beginning spots first and second.
“The qualifying format shall be actually, actually cool,” Briscoe stated. “I hope I could make that high eight simply so I could be part of that.”
— The All-Star Race is a 125-lap occasion with phases of 25, 25, 25 and 50 laps. All laps depend. There shall be one try at extra time within the first three phases and limitless makes an attempt at extra time within the ultimate stage. Stage breaks shall be like common stage breaks (for those who pit, your working place is the way you come off pit street), however laps between the phases don’t depend.
— The winner of Stage 1 will begin on the pole for the ultimate stage so long as he finishes Fifteenth or higher within the subsequent two phases. The winner of Stage 2 will begin second within the ultimate stage so long as he finishes Fifteenth or higher in Stage 3. The winner of Stage 3 begins third within the ultimate stage.
— If any of the drivers who earn spots within the first two rows of the ultimate stage don’t meet that Fifteenth-place standards within the ensuing phases, they are going to begin based mostly on the place they had been working on the finish of the pit cycle following Stage 3.
— Any spots reserved within the first two rows which are forfeited (or if a driver wins a couple of stage) is not going to be stuffed by a second-place driver. There’ll simply be fewer than 4 reserved spots.
— After the second stage, every group shall be required to do a four-tire pit cease. The motive force with the quickest time from the pit-in line to the pit-out line (who has a pit cease with out penalties) will begin fourth within the ultimate stage, so long as he finishes Fifteenth or higher in Stage 3, and the pit crew will earn a $100,000 bonus. If there’s a tie, the motive force who was highest within the working order on the finish of Stage 2 would be the winner.
— Within the ultimate stage, if there isn’t any pure warning between Laps 15 and 25, NASCAR will throw the warning on Lap 25.
Sound complicated? That is as a result of it’s. But it surely’s designed to create pleasure from starting to finish, to reward drivers for getting up on the wheel early and to not enable them to sandbag for profitable an early stage. Additionally, this format brings a pit crew aspect into it.
Drivers sometimes don’t sweat the format till a couple of days earlier than the occasion. Many who had been requested about it final week at Kansas didn’t know the effective factors, and NASCAR was nonetheless finalizing a few of the “what-if” eventualities this week.
“I noticed the format, and it simply regarded like a bunch of effective print to me,” Hamlin stated. “So it is very arduous to determine. I wasn’t within the mindset on the time once I noticed it come out to attempt to course of the entire thing.”
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What to look at for
Groups could have the identical left-side tire for Texas that they’d final week at Kansas, and that doubtless has some groups involved about whether or not the tire can deal with the punishing hundreds, as a number of groups had tire points on the 1.5-mile monitor.
With the All-Star Race a sequence of brief runs of at most 25 laps, groups may be prepared to take a danger and have air pressures dangerously low or camber adjusted for max velocity and hope the tires don’t blow out.
A $1 million verify — the winner’s purse for the All-Star Race — will drive groups to make selections.
William Byron and Austin Dillon on the All-Star Race in Texas
Rising up near Charlotte Motor Speedway, William Byron and Austin Dillon went to a number of All-Star races on the monitor. They share their ideas on the occasion being held in Texas for a second consecutive 12 months.
Pondering out loud
The NASCAR appeals panel made an attention-grabbing determination when it modified the suspensions to the Denny Hamlin group (suspensions to crew chief and two crew members) from 4 occasions to 4 factors races.
Which means they will work this weekend on the NASCAR All-Star Race however will miss the subsequent 4 races at Charlotte, Gateway, Sonoma and Nashville. The suspensions of groups that didn’t attraction their penalties embrace the All-Star Race.
Is that truthful? Most likely not. However the appeals panel has the latitude to switch the penalty, and whereas it didn’t give a purpose for the change, it’s more likely to make the purpose that groups interesting shouldn’t assume a penalty will keep the identical.
Social highlight
They stated it
“This win confirmed why Kurt [Busch] is a champion and why we introduced him on board.” — 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan following Busch’s victory at Kansas
Bob Pockrass has spent a long time masking motorsports, together with the previous 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports activities in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Seashore) Information-Journal. Comply with him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
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NASCAR – CUP – NASCAR All-Star Race – 5/23/2022