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No matter how you look at it, this definitely won’t be just another Saturday night under the lights. The All-Star race is special for fans and drivers alike. When you put a certain number of what are called the best drivers in the world in fast racecars on the 1½ mile track at Charlotte Motor Speedway and hold a million-dollar carrot out in front of them, you can bet it will be a different and exciting night of racing. That’s the thing about the All-Star race. It’s all about fun and chasing the carrot more than anything else.
Lately there’s something NASCAR brings to this race to try out under racing conditions and it’s the same this year. There will be a few things different on the cars and it remains to be seen how it will affect the handling of the cars when they pull up to pass. Usually they stall out and the one with the advantage is the one out in clean air. Since that seems to be the biggest driver complaint – not being able to complete a pass – hopefully this will be step in the right direction.
So, what is it that makes the All-Star race different from all the others? Well… the biggest difference is that it is all or nothing. It’s about winning the million dollars and that’s about it. There are no points to be gained and finishing second or worse won’t really be remembered. The winner is the one that takes home the money – or at least him and the team take it home – and they get to bask in the glory of being the All-Star race winners until next year.
For just a moment, I just have to give my thoughts on last weekend’s race at Kansas. Many have stated it was the best race on a 1½ mile oval in the 2019 season. I have to agree with that and it was good to see something closer to real racing going on, with multiple grooves and side by side, two and three wide rather than so much follow-the-leader laps.
Another thing about Kansas was the performance of the Chevys. They are finally beginning to look like they can compete with the Fords and Toyotas and even on 1½ mile tracks, which have been their biggest weakness, particularly over the last two years. It looked like a Chevy was actually going to win it but, right at the end, Brad Keselowski managed to pull away on the final overtime restart and take it to Victory Lane. Alex Bowman finished second for the third race in a row and almost got his first win in Cup. the Hendrick Chevys are finally showing they can run up front even at the end of a race and three of the four HMS teams finished in the top six. That could mean they might make a race of it in the All-Star on Saturday night.
I have to admit, with the competition being so tight between all the manufacturers, the All-Star race could prove to be one of the best ever All-Star races in recent history. If last week at Kansas was a precursor to what might happen in Saturday night’s slugfest, well, let’s just say it should be intense. There will be chances taken that normally wouldn’t be seen and they will be coming from every driver on almost every lap in every stage.
Most importantly, the final fifteen lap stage will likely be a total slugfest and it will be interesting to see just which of them will cross the finish line in one piece and out front of the rest. We all know that it’s pretty much “anything goes” when it comes down to how the drivers will take it to their competitors. In the past it has sometimes gotten pretty rough and particularly when there are several cars coming to the checkered flag and it’s door handle to door handle and bumper to bumper.
Now don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I don’t think anyone is trying to intentionally hurt anyone but, sometimes the racing gets rougher than normal and some have been hurt in past years. Fortunately, most of the damage is to the cars and from high emotions accompanied by hot tempers and heated “discussions” as they survey their damage and loss. Will there be fisticuffs when all is said and done? Well… that remains to be seen, doesn’t it…
See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© May 17, 2019 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated