[Bob Tanner]

WARNING: Post is long, involved and might prove boring and/or irritating
I don't know about you but, to me, the All Star Saturday night as thrilling as a 0200 infomercial on how to become rich flipping real estate. I'm not alone. Among those who thought there was a definite problem with competition include: Mike Mulhern-Winston Salem Journal, Mike Margolis and Jerry brankowski of Yahoo Sports, Dustin Long of Roanoke Times, Brian Hildebrand of Las vegas Sun and Pete Pistone of CBS Sports. To say David Poole and Monte Dutton agree goes without saying. These aren't bloggers, they're respected sports journalists who all follow NA__AR closely. Even MRN's Mike Bagley called the race a "real snoozer!"
I don't like to complain about something without reason (the race was basically B-O-R-I-N-G) nor without offering possible solutions. The following is my suggestion for making futre All Star races, enjoyable, exciting and maybe most important, relavent. In fact, I have a suggestion to make the entire All Star evening a better show.
(1) Only winners of Cup races in the past year qualify to run the All Star All Points races, the Clash, the Twin 150's and the last All Star only. No past champions, no "Pity Position" (fan's vote-in), no ten-year exemptions, just recent winners. This is an ALL STAR race, NOT a nostalgia, "luck in, or popularity race. The race fans deserve nothing less. This means the Shootout and the fan vote goes bye-bye.
(2) Make the race actually worth something Let's face it. To these drivers, the share of the $1 million they get for winning (approximately $200K after taxes) is nice but it's not exactly awe inspiring. They have the potential to use the race as a test sessio0n, as we heard over and over in the week preceding the race. Let's make the race worth a million PLUS 200 driver and owner points for winning, 100 points for 2nd and 50 for third. 10 points for places 4 thru 12 and 5 points for everyone else.
It's a NA__AR race, run with cars meeting NA__AR specs, run on a NA__AR sanctioned track. This might make the teams think twice before using the race as a test platform.
Besides, charging full ticket prices to watch test sessions being run under the guise of a race is basically fraudulent and otherwise dishonest.
(3) Change the format This race was in danger of seeing one driver being in a distant zip code from the rest of the field, before his test engine went <poof>. With the drivers out there motoring around getting knowledge for next Sunday, it was like a 100 lap race with three debris caution thrown in. Again, B-O-R-I-N-G. Since this is a special race, let's try something special... Three 33 lap segments with mandatory pit stops for fuel and adjustments, and(get ready to throw something at me) a coin toss before segment two and three. Heads, the field starts in the order they finished in the previous segment, tail the entire field inverts! This will prevent sandbagging and, possibly, someone like Kyle pulling a disappearing act like this past race. Yeah, it's a gimmick but having an All Star race is a gimmick in and of itself.
(4) Cut out the Shootout and the "Pity Vote" This race is for All Stars, NOT non-winners and most popular or most loved drivers.
(5) Run the trucks It place of the Shootout run an All Star CTS race. CTS winners from the past two years in two 25-lap segments. Coin toss between segments, as described above. 100 points to win, 50 for 2nd and 15 for 3rd and 5 for the rest of the starting field. $500K to win. CTS drivers eligible for the Cup All Star can NOT run the CTS race. However the team can get any other Cup, BGN or CTS driver available to run.

Keep the Burnout Contest because it's entertaining, I guess. Some people like that sort of thing.
Keep the re-starts with 1st and 2nd starting in the front row. NA__AR really needs to adopt that in regular Cup racing.

Arguments:
(1) It's not fair!
"Fair" is where you go for funnel cakes and ferris wheel rides.
(2) The other drivers don't get a chance for extra points!
Sure they do. They had 39 races to qualify for the All Star.
(3) I won't get to see "my driver" in the All Star!
Get over it. "Your driver" had a year to become an All Star. Write him and advise him and/or his team to get off their collective butts and perform for a change.

OK, Have at me. I interested in seeing opposing debates. But, I guaran-damn-tee the above would give the fans an exciting and entertaining evening of racing they'd talk about for weeks afterward.

[simple simon]

well Bob i dont think i have much of a problem with any of it

oh, well, except for the fact that both you and i know there is no way in hell NASCAR would implement any of this

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by simple simon

well Bob i dont think i have much of a problem with any of it

oh, well, except for the fact that both you and i know there is no way in hell NASCAR would implement any of this

I appreciate you comment.

I agree. NA__AR has its "traditions" to keep in mind.

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

I agree. NA__AR has its "traditions" to keep in mind.

What traditions would that be Bob? The ones of days of old, or the ones today in which they double talk, play favortism, or manipulate the rules at their discretion, and pretty much ☻☻☻☻☻☻ on the tradition that was?

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

I agree. NA__AR has its "traditions" to keep in mind.

which traditions would those be

the Southern 500 ..... or maybe the Firecracker 400 ..... or maybe North Wilkesboro ..... or maybe the racing to get your own dang lap back instead of being handed it via some "lucky dog" crap ..... or maybe the tradition of qualifying for a race on your time and not because youre part of a "chosen" group ..... or maybe the tradition of winning a Championship because of a consistent season and not because you made it in some "Chase"

those traditions ?

oh wait ... that's right ..... they already did away with all those traditions

[Havax]

the lucky dog is a safety issue though

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Havax

the lucky dog is a safety issue though

It wouldn't be if NA$CAR had stepped on the youngins that weren't adherin to the Gentlemen's agreement.

[j-man24fan]

YOUR IDEAS ARE AMAZING!!!! *gives applause* nascar should take your ideas! may i submit ideas of my own?
keeping all of your ideas except for the 33 laps-

5 segments, starting at 5pm-6 pm, the all star race starts with a 50 lap segment, must make 2 pit stops under green flag. caution after lap 50- this segment is to get the bugs out of the cars, and get used to the track

segment 2-40 laps, *the field is set based on a fan vote for paint schemes (i've always been a fan of special paints, this is entirely my idea, but you can change it) basicly, a transition to the night racing, must make a green flag stop.

segment 3- 30 laps, field is set by finish of the last segment. no green flag stops must be made

segment 4- field is set by popular vote. 20 laps, caution laps don't count. top ten finishers make it into the final segment

segment 5- 10 laps, field is inverted for shakeup, cautions don't count, Go in all for the money and points

[Phils20]

Originally Posted by Havax

the lucky dog is a safety issue though

BS, they can have them not race back to the flag, and just not give a freebie.

Why do we feel that anyone is entitled to get a lap back on every caution?

Didn't used to be that way, even when they did race back to the flag. It actually made it less likely at some tracks!


Great idea Bob. I really like the idea about running the trucks instead of the open.

But that would put too much pressure on the Cup boys to match the Truckers intensity. Those rich guys at the top aren't gonna risk anything!

[j-man24fan]

Another edit on my post.... in segments 1-3, the last 2 finishers are eliminated, in segment 4 the last 3 are eliminated. that makes for an intense finish with the mix up inversion.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Quality88

What traditions would that be Bob? The ones of days of old, or the ones today in which they double talk, play favortism, or manipulate the rules at their discretion, and pretty much ☻☻☻☻☻☻ on the tradition that was?

The tradition of taking a good idea (in this instance an exhibition race), then screwing the whole thing up (in this instance the silly, inane and capricious fan vote - proven over and over to be a very bad idea when it comes to race fans who can't distinguish between good and popular - and doing away with the very essence of NASCAR - stock car - and replacing it with a questionably design faux stock car which causes as many racing problems as it was advertised to fix). THAT was the tradition I spoke of.

[j-man24fan]

Let's All Hope Humpy Goes back to Ye Olde Drawing board, maybe even take a peek on websites of nascar fans for ideas, and make Next Years All Star, which btw, is the 25th Anniversery of the Event, and make it BIG!

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Havax

the lucky dog is a safety issue though

Where did I mention the "Lucky Dawg?"

Oh well. Anyway, it is NOT a safety measure. Its only use is to artificially increase the number of cars on the lead lap (and some would beg to argue its biggest use is to kind Junior, or some other big tee shirt seller, on the lead lap).

NA__AR has effectively stopped racing back to the flag be mandate immediate slowing and setting the field by the scoring loops.

This thread wasn't about "Lucky Dawg's" but since it was addressed, IMNSVHO the "L.D." might be nice in minor league racing or in the local go kart or quarter-midget track where some kid's self esteem might be a factor, but it has no place in professional auto racing at its top levels.

But I could be very wrong...

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

The tradition of taking a good idea (in this instance an exhibition race), then screwing the whole thing up (in this instance the silly, inane and capricious fan vote - proven over and over to be a very bad idea when it comes to race fans who can't distinguish between good and popular - and doing away with the very essence of NASCAR - stock car - and replacing it with a questionably design faux stock car which causes as many racing problems as it was advertised to fix). THAT was the tradition I spoke of.

Gotcha. .

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by j-man24fan

YOUR IDEAS ARE AMAZING!!!! *gives applause* nascar should take your ideas! may i submit ideas of my own?

Thank you. You are much too kind.

I'm just a guy who's followed stock car racing (IMCA, MARC, ASA, ARCA, NASCAR) and local racing all over the country for the better part of a half-Century, and have waaay too much time on my hands.

I've seen sanctioning bodies and promoters all over do things really right and really wrong. I just take the things I've seen tracks make the fans happy, and apply these things to Cup.

NASCAR could do far worse than getting out of its opulent offices in Daytona and go to tracks like Thunder Road in Vermont, Stafford in Conn, I-70 Speedway in MO, to name three plus many others. Go to tracks which don't have fly-overs and the promoter's ten-year-old daughter sings the National Anthem. The tracks where "Joe Six-pack" works all week then pulls his decade-old Mustang to the track on his flatbed trailer to race in the Bomber Class. The tracks where, despite glitz and glamor, manage to pack the stands each week and leave the fans going home hating some drivers, loving others but just glad they attended the race, and still have enough in their pockets to grab a bite at Denny's or Waffle House.

IF NA__AR would mimic some of the things these tracks are doing, we might spend more time here being fans and not critics?

Feel free to use any of my printed thoughts. Public domain is for all.

Thanks again.