I did find the final segment of this version of the All-Star Race entertaining. The rest of the race…meh.
I just feel like the concept has either run its course, or is a victim of its own early success. The first problem is: NASCAR puts on an All-Star race every week. All of the biggest stars in the sport are on the same playing field, at the same time each week. So, what makes this week different? No points and a million dollars?
We’ve put a lot of effort into trying to re-capture the excitement of the early days. In fact, we try a different format every year trying to do it. The only thing that remains the same is a 10-lap shootout to end it. So, why not just do that? Because no one is going to pay good money just to watch 10-laps of racing.
NASCAR isn’t alone when venturing into the world of All-Star irrelevancy. The NBA All-Star game is a defenseless joke, baseball’s ended in a tie one year, and the NFL held theirs in Hawaii for years just to get players to attend.
Part of the overall problem is that an All-Star event used the be the only time you could see some of those stars. Now, we all can see all of them all of the time.
So, what should NASCAR do about the All-Star race? I don’t have anu grand ideas, so, let’s just use that week to shorten the season by one.