|| *Comments on the 2011 Sprint All-Star Challenge:* View the most recent comment <#81> | Post a comment <#post> 1. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:02 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) NASCAR, try all you want, but you can't manufacture a race. 2. CarlEdwards99 posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) not a whole lot of action, aero push seemed to be a big factor, have to say one of the more boring all star races in history and I'm a Edwards fan. 3. CarlEdwards99 posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "NASCAR, try all you want, but you can't manufacture a race." if they really want to make the last 10 laps exciting, don't box teams in forcing them to take 4 tires on the last break. Allow different strategies. 4. Patrick posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) not one of the more exciting all star races. 5. RoushFan posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) After finishing 2nd in the Daytona 500 and at Darlington, Carl Edwards finally won a big race. I wish they wouldn't have made everyone take 4 tires on that last stop. It would've been much more exciting without it. 6. 00andJoe posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:18 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Three words: dull as dirt. What the heck was up with that final pit stop, anyway? At first they were saying they were expecting cars to stay out, but then it went to "mandatory four tires", which sucked (pardon my French). 7. cjs3872 posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finally, Carl Edwards wins a BIG one, even though it doesn't count towards his victory total, or other Cup stats, excepy money earned. I mentioned two week ago that Edwards was becoming the new Rusty Wallace, because of his lack of big victories, but this is the first step toward shedding the "can never win the big one" reputation. After all Edwards had finished second in marquee events five times (Daytona 500, Firecracker 400, and Brickyard 400 once each, and the Southern 500 twice). But the win may be shrouded in controversy. did you notice what Edwards did after the race? Seems that, even though his crew chief may not have been happy, Edwards' little stunt makes me wonder whether there was something about his car, either in the aero (front end, maybe) or the underside of the car that he didn't want NASCAR snooping around to be able to check, and destroyed the front end of his car on purpose. (Like when Darrell Waltrip intentionally blew up his engine just seconds after winning the very first running of this race, or some of the alleged illegalities about Jeff Gordon's first two winning cars in this event.) The end of the race may not have been as controversial as some in recent event history, but what happened after the race may have taken care of that. After all, the Fords have seemed to have a BIG advantage all year (after all, how else can a driver like David Ragan win the Showdown and finish well ahead of ALL FOUR Hendrick cars in the All-Star Race), and maybe Edwards didn't want NASCAR to find out what the Roush team is up to. 8. RaceFanX posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Carl Edwards wins the race then destroys his car attempting a donut in the grass when he hit a drain (in his defense it was extremely hard to see). Jack Roush responded with grace to the post-race crash. He told Carl he'd be helping them fix it over the next week. Jimmie Johnson runs a Cup race without his signature #48 for the first time. Lowe's cut a deal with Hendrick to have him run the #5 instead for this one race only to promote a 5% discount with their in-house credit card they were offering at that time. Jimmie still put a very small #48 inside the #5 with a Sharpie before the race. DW joked it was cheaper than giving out 48% discounts. With Jimmie in the #5 Mark Martin's normally #5 team brought back Hendrick's old #25 for one race only. With the permission of their new sponsor Farmer's Insurance the team used the opportuity to run a Tim Richmond throwback paint job. It looked good and Mark ran decent but ironically was knocked out of the race by contact with Jimmie that didn't cause a crash or a caution but ruined the car's aero. 9. Unser1 posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Edwards almost rolled it when he hit the drain post-race. 10. cjs3872 posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 00andJoe, seems like the broadcast team didn't know what the rules were. How can a network (this was a FOX broadcast, even though it was on the SPEED channel) put a broadcat team on the air that doesn't know what the rules are? I'm sure looking forward to those classic Indy broadcasts from the 1970s and early 80s this week, because those broacasters (Jim McKay, Keith Jackson, Jackie Stewart, and Sam Posey) actually know what the rules are (remember McKay's and Stewart's ramblings about the 1981 Indy passing under yellow controversy) and even though those races were tape-delayed (the Indianapolis 500 wasn't televised live until 1986) they also covered a race MUCH better than any of the broadcasting teams do today. (The broadcasters also got emotional after seeing a bad accident, and got fired up when there was a good finish (such as how McKay and Posey handlied the 1982 Indy finish), unlike the broadcasting teams of today, who sound extremely dull in comparison) The boradcast networks and broadcasting teams (FOX, TNT, and ABC/ESPN) can learn a lesson from the classic broadcasts from the 70's and 80s'. 11. 18fan posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Two Waltrips in the booth. Really SPEED. That's the best you can do. Carl Edwards had won 1 segment of this race going into tonight and promptly won 3 segments, including the big one. 12. RaceFanX posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In the most unsurprising announcement in auto racing history Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the fan vote to get into the race. He was a non-factor in the race itself though. 13. Anonymous posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I feel cheated. This race lacked the excitement that the SPEED channel promised. 14. Jarrett88fan posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is 100% correct. "if they really want to make the last 10 laps exciting, don't box teams in forcing them to take 4 tires on the last break. Allow different strategies." The Roush cars of Edwards, Biffle and Ragan had an advantage on the field in the areo and grip/traction department... even Kyle Busch couldn't catch them. Without the post-race stunt, this All-Star would go down as one of the most placid along with 2008. 15. AlmirolaFan88 posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I also agree with allowing for multiple stratigies, Carl was beaten 2 weeks in a row for taking 4 tires when others took 2 or even stayed out, now everyone takes 4 and no surprise, he wins. But he had a great car all night and deserved this one. 16. 18fan posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth also had an advantage but never got to use it fully because he was always in the middle of the field and ended up with minor right front damage. 17. Jarrett88fan posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Reutimann received a largely indifferent response from the fans at CMS during driver intros and has a solid run to finish 3rd. More All-Star Race format changes will come as a result of this outcome... mandating a 4-tire pit stop at the end of segment 3 just before the final 10 lap segment helped Edwards win. 18. Anonymous posted: 05.22.2011 - 1:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, What do you expect of the broadcast team because 2 of the 3 in the booth are Waltrips. Darrell Waltrip isn't a great broadcaster and I think he might be getting worse this. Darrell Waltrip says the wrong words sometimes in a broadcast such as saying If it??s any constellation? instead of ??If it??s any consolation?? during the race at Darlington as an example. Darrell didn't even know anything about Trevor Bayne before the Daytona 500 because he didn't do his homework on information on Trevor. I remembered Darrell Waltrip even admitting that after the race was on fox and while he was interviewed by Dave Despain on Wind Tunnel. Micheal Waltrip never impressed me for truck series races as a broadcaster. I know there has been talk behind the scenes that Darrell Waltrip wanted Larry McReynolds to be replaced with Micheal Waltrip for cup series events on Fox full time. What is going to happen if Darell Waltrip gets his way is the announcing gets even worse than it is now with Larry McReynolds. 19. Rusty posted: 05.22.2011 - 1:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just got back from my hotel, we got to go to this race. My first in person NASCAR race at a track other than Daytona. It was a total blast, and the new HD TV on the backstretch is amazing. One of the most amazing experiences in my life. With that said, I know this had to be a boring race to watch on TV. I was amazed at the lack of action, especially in the last 10 lap segment. They literally ran single file everwhere on the track for most of it. I couldn't help but laugh at Carl Edwards tearing up his car trying to do a burnout. He ended up climbing into the stands just a few rows in front of us. Overall a boring race, but an amazing experience for me. 20. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 05.22.2011 - 1:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But the win may be shrouded in controversy. did you notice what Edwards did after the race? Seems that, even though his crew chief may not have been happy, Edwards' little stunt makes me wonder whether there was something about his car, either in the aero (front end, maybe) or the underside of the car that he didn't want NASCAR snooping around to be able to check, and destroyed the front end of his car on purpose." You never can tell with situations like that. The only people who know this for sure would be Carl and/or his pit crew, crew chief and owner. But stuff like this has been done before. This is hands down the most boring race thus far in 2011. It was nice seeing Biff get up front and dominate for a while, but the lack of battling in this race was astounding. 21. DaleJrFan19 posted: 05.22.2011 - 3:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Without the post-race stunt, this All-Star would go down as one of the most placid along with 2008." Couldn't have said it better! 22. DJ posted: 05.22.2011 - 4:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I stayed up for that?Easily the most boring all star race ever.SNOOZE..... 23. martin-n-rusty posted: 05.22.2011 - 7:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, if he was doing donuts and plowed it into the wall, you might have something. 24. Mrittenhouse84 posted: 05.22.2011 - 8:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Roush cars just have it flat figured out right now on the 1.5 milers. There is no chance in hell edwards wrecked that car on purpose. The chances of that happening are incredible. It was just a fluke incident. But pretty funny 25. DieselDan posted: 05.22.2011 - 8:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Micheal and Darrell Waltrip in the booth? Glad I missed this one. Fox is a joke at no matter what they do. This isn't one of NASCAR "Big" races. This is a non-points paying farce that should just go away. 26. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 05.22.2011 - 9:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race pretty much sums up everything I hate about auto racing today. So many damn gimmicks, and I love how SPEED had about 12 Hours of Pre Race for just over 1 hour of racing. And please, never give SPEED a contract for cup series races. I personally think they should just dump this race, or move it to Martinsville, Darlington or a road course. This constant bunching up through yellows and manipulation through strategy makes my head dizzy. Only chance this race had of becoming exciting was if Kyle got a good restart and Carl would have probably got back up to him with about 4 laps to go. But once again, the NASCAR Sprint All Star Challenge featured everything, except actual auto racing. 27. Cooper posted: 05.22.2011 - 9:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The problem is, the amount of hype that surrounds this race makes the race underwhelming every year. They always advertise that the drivers are going to race harder and that is an insult. Every driver races hard throughout the season and saying otherwise is a disgrace to the drivers. If the car doesn't "have it" in the All-Star race, they're not going to throw a racecar away by being an idiot and bonzaiing every corner. These guys race hard all the time, and to think that the All-Star race would be any different is completely wrong. NASCAR's All-Star event is still the best in the world, but the format has sucked every year recently and really needs to be overhauled. Seriously 100 laps is way to long. 28. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.22.2011 - 9:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why the F*** was Michael Waltrip in the booth? He is a complete waste of space. He offers no insightful analysis, tries to be funny but fails miserably, and couldn't stop talking about his cars in the Open (Truex) and this race (Ruet). Why does SPEED like this guy so much? He is totally worthless. He was worthless as a driver, he is worthless as an owner (rocket fuel, stolen swaybar, $20 million of debt that Kauffman bailed him out of so he can have two very talented drivers wasting their primes with his second rate organization), and he is totally worthless in the booth. How many asses has he had to kiss in his entire career to keep a public profile? And the fans hate it. As if the race wasn't bad enough (it was), he made it even worse. 2013 cannot get here fast enough. NASCAR needs to spend all their money and energies on the new Cup car making sure this car can race side by side and not have the aero push rule everything. I don't care what the cars look like, I just want good racing back. With this car, they can't even race at Darlington anymore. I don't care if they have to run Pintos and Hugos, make sure the new car RACES! This has been awful. With that said, I tip my cap to Carl, the 99 team, and all of the Fords. They really have their shit together this year. Every week they are there and contending. I don't buy the conspiracy theory. I don't like Carl at all, but he is just flat taking it to them. With the way NASCAR inspections are nowadays, they couldn't get anything past them. Besides, they could just inspect the other Roush cars. Biff was just as strong, and Kenseth looked great at times. They all have the same stuff. It isn't like Darrell and his "special" 1985 engine that only he was running (and not his teammate Bonnett). And his manhole drain adventure looked like a complete fluke. He couldn't destroy the front end like that again if he tried. Overall the race was a dud, as have been most of the All Star races in the last 20 years. Ever since that incredible Dale/Kyle/Davey finish in '92, these races have been largely forgettable. The biggest reason is that Charlotte Motor Speedway is just not a good track for good racing. Luckily they have that asshole Bruton Smith to do all these publicity stunts to take the attention off the fact that the racing here sucks (they are doing the same thing at Texas). Like the big screen. What was the point? "Look at us, we have the biggest HD TV in the world, now pay attention to the size of it and pay no attention to the crappy racing below it!". Every year they promise us explosive fireworks, and every year we are disappointed. The only fireworks are the manufactured ones they set off every ten seconds. And like everyone has said, the mandatory four tire stop at the end was a stupid idea that robbed us of any drama. And another side note: When did Chad Knaus forget how to call a race? Can't he see that track position is EVERYTHING! Just one week after being bit by this, he does it again. And why can't he ever lose his mind like this in the cha$e? Him and JJ always make all their mistakes in the first 26. Yeah, 6 in a row is coming. My advice is to just do like I did last year, go ahead and accept it and move on. It makes the lst 10 races a lot easier. 29. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.22.2011 - 10:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I personally think they should just dump this race, or move it to Martinsville, Darlington or a road course." That would be excellent, but it will never happen for all the wrong reasons (of course I always said the same thing about side by side commercials in Cup, and I got proven wrong. I've never been so happy to be wrong). Martinsville will never happen because it is "small market". NASCAR is convinced they need a "big market" to host this race, like Charlotte. So what if the race track is is actually in Concord, a good 20 minutes from the heart of Charlotte, and the race track really sucks. As we all know, since the track is in Martinsville, VA, the only people who will attend the race, watch the race, or care about the race are the residents of Martinsville, VA. So even though it has the best beating and banging action on the tour, it can't be held there. (Will somebody please take Brian France to Green Bay, Wisconsin and Lambeau Field and explain to him the history of the Green Bay Packers and how they are, along with the Steelers, the most popular team in all of the NFL and the most storied and fabled football franchise ever and have a 75,000 person waiting list for season tickets, and people like me that live in North Carolina would love to go watch a game at Lambeau just to say I went). Same deal with Darlington. Besides, that is an ISC track. Bruton Smith would lose his shit if they took that race from one of his tracks. And Sears Point (which, along with Martinsville, has become the new Bristol) would be a REALLY kick ass place for this. Imagine a 10 lap dash there with no points on the line. Hell, look at the late race dashes they have there WITH points on the line. But they can't run that at night, and as we all know night racing is better. In the daytime, with the changing track conditions and temperatures leading to teams having to adjust and usually preventing a runaway winner, that doesn't matter. Cars at night JUST LOOK BETTER! So what if the thrill of night racing has long since gone (night racing at Kansas? are you serious?). And so what if the cars look beautiful with the afternoon sun beaming off their cars late in daytime races? Night racing is better. Period. End of story. I don't want to discuss this anymore. At least NASCAR doesn't. (This race started at 9:30 and ended at 11:30, why not start it in the sunlight of 7:30 and end it at 9:30 when it is totally dark?) "They always advertise that the drivers are going to race harder and that is an insult. Every driver races hard throughout the season and saying otherwise is a disgrace to the drivers. If the car doesn't "have it" in the All-Star race, they're not going to throw a racecar away by being an idiot and bonzaiing every corner. These guys race hard all the time, and to think that the All-Star race would be any different is completely wrong." Amen. "This race pretty much sums up everything I hate about auto racing today. So many damn gimmicks, and I love how SPEED had about 12 Hours of Pre Race for just over 1 hour of racing. And please, never give SPEED a contract for cup series races." AMEN! "But once again, the NASCAR Sprint All Star Challenge featured everything, except actual auto racing." A-FREAKING-MEN! 30. cjs3872 posted: 05.22.2011 - 10:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, it was a placid All-Star Race, but there had been so many crash-fests in recent runnings of the race, so it was about time a rather uneventful running showed up. Also martin-n-rusty, if I remember correctly, didn't Mark Martin do pretty much the same thing in 2002 after winning the Coca-Cola 600 (minus the front end damage) and it was found that his car was too low in post-race tech? I just really believe that the Roush Fords have had such a big advantage this year that they just didn't want NASCAR snooping around to find out what they're doing. The clincher that Roush has a HUGE advantage has to do with the fact that David Ragan, perhaps one of the three WORST drivers ever to start in the All-Star Race (and the WORST ever to win the Sprint Showdown) finished well ahead of ALL the Hendrick cars in the race. That, to me is very telling. By the way, if Trevor Bayne ever does recover from what's ailing him (which I doubt, especially if he has a blood infection), I doubt he'll be all that successful in some of these events, given how conservative he seems to be in races. And Roush considers him to be the future of his organization? Bayne may very well wind up as the only driver since the inception of the All-Star Race to win a race and never compete in the event. As for the broadcast team, yes I know that having both the Waltrips in the booth is not a very good idea, but none of the other broadcast teams are very good either. Of the color analysts doing NASCAR today, Wally Dallenbach (who's doing color for IndyCar racing this year on Versus) and Kyle Petty are the best, followed by Dale Jarrett. The FOX squad are not only self-promoters, but they're also cheerleaders for certain drivers. Not to mention that none of today's lead broadcasters (with the possible exception of ESPN's Marty Reid, who seems to lack knowledge of the sport) have the passion for the sport like Jim McKay, Keith Jackson, Ken Squier, and even Jim Lampley and Paul Page seemed to have. Saying that, there's no excuse for ANY broadcasting team doing ANY event, from sports to the presidential election not to even know what the rules are, something that even Mike Joy seemed to be guilty of. 31. KurtBusch22Fan posted: 05.22.2011 - 10:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't get why everyone is whining about a lack of battles for the lead. Well, if you actually payed attention to the other battles. Has anyone seen up to 7 cars bunched together? If you just payed attention, then maybe you would've actually saw an exciting race. 32. cjs3872 posted: 05.22.2011 - 11:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) But I also think that the speeds are going to be producing major problems in the Coca-Cola 600 (and maybe the NNS race the day before). After all, Ragan ran a lap of 191.677 MPH (I believe it was) to take the pole for the Showdown in hot, sunny conditions, and Kyle Busch turned an unofficial lap of over 192 in the process of taking the pole for All-Star Race itself. Don't be surprised that, if track conditions are just right on qualifying day, that someone turns a lap close to 195 MPH. The last (and only time) speeds were near this high was in 2005, the year the track was ground, and that was a disaster, and one of the reasons (but hardly the only reason) was the extreme speed. I have the feeling that the 600 (and possibly the NNS race) will not be a race, as much is it will be a war of attrition. Therefore, you're not likely to see any of the drivers that battled for the win in the All-Star Race to be up front when it counts in the 600. Simply put, drivers like Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Greg Biffle just drive too hard, and I think you'll see the more consistent (and in some cases, conservative) drivers run up front in the 600. Drivers like Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson (if HMS can provide him with a good car, which they seem to be incapable of this year, more often than not), Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer will be among the drivers that I think will be contending, because they're not as likely to push the envelope too hard. By the way, all the above listed drivers, except Bowyer, have won this race (the 600) at least once, with Kahne and Burton having won it twice, and Johnson being the only driver ever to win it three years in a row, and I suspect that this year's race will be a lot like the 2005 race was, which Johnson won. 33. anomous posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) what the heck!!!! the race was not that boring! will you all stop whining!!!!! 34. Bronco posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Carl picks up his first win in a NASCAR exhibition race and promptly destroys the front end of his car while attempting to do a burnout in the grass. The format of this race has got to change, the first 50 laps are essentially meaningless and there is little incentive to race hard then. Can't believe NASCAR decided to hold the Iowa Nationwide race on a Sunday just so that the Cup guys wouldn't have to pull double duty in one day, or have to skip the Nationwide event altogether. "The clincher that Roush has a HUGE advantage has to do with the fact that David Ragan, perhaps one of the three WORST drivers ever to start in the All-Star Race (and the WORST ever to win the Sprint Showdown) finished well ahead of ALL the Hendrick cars in the race." Sam Hornish is by far the worst to have won the Showdown. 35. Smokefan05 posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't get why everyone is whining about a lack of battles for the lead. Well, if you actually payed attention to the other battles. Has anyone seen up to 7 cars bunched together? If you just payed attention, then maybe you would've actually saw an exciting race." people have to complain about something, you should know that by now. A race started and a race finished and someone won 1 Million dollars. "Can't believe NASCAR decided to hold the Iowa Nationwide race on a Sunday just so that the Cup guys wouldn't have to pull double duty in one day, or have to skip the Nationwide event altogether." Your driver is running it, i see no reason why your complaining. I have more to say about this whole race and people reactions but i'm keeping it myself. 36. 00andJoe posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #34 - actually, I didn't have any problem with the first 50 laps. It was only the last 10 that were bad. Good: The lap-25 mandatory green-flag four-tire pitstop. It mixes things up and gives the pit crews a chance to influence the outcome... Bad: ...the lap-90 mandatory yellow-flag four-tire pitstop. Really? Didn't we already do this on, y'know, lap 25, except more so since it was under green? Here's a suggestion: ditch the 10-minute break. It's needless and all it does is give cars a chance to break (exhibit A, Regan Smith). Change the rule so that on lap 90, all the cars are required to come in and stop in their pit...and that's -all- that is required. You can take four tires, two tires, no tires, heck you don't even have to send a single man over the wall if you want to, all you have to do is come to a complete stop in your pit box and from there out it's up to you. Also, let's change the 'halftime' in the Open to a mandatory green-flag pitstop (a la the first-50 in the main event) with the option to change two or four tires. These simple changes would produce a much better race, IMO. 37. Jarrett88fan posted: 05.22.2011 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Exactly on the money 00andJoe Post #36. But, seriously a dud/placid race always comes along after a few interesting strategy/surprise winner races... excepting Eddie Haskill's victory celebration accident, this one will be forgotten within five years, even with the Jr/Fan Vote occurrence. 38. 18fan posted: 05.22.2011 - 1:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In 2008 they did only require a stop in the box, no tire change was necessary. 39. Rusty posted: 05.22.2011 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't get why everyone is whining about a lack of battles for the lead. Well, if you actually payed attention to the other battles. Has anyone seen up to 7 cars bunched together? If you just payed attention, then maybe you would've actually saw an exciting race." I was at the track, there wasn't much battling for anything after a lap or two from the restart. I had the time of my life, but I'd imagine this being rough to watch on TV. To DSFF, not sure what Concord being 20 minutes from downtown Charlotte has to do with anything. A 20 minute drive is pretty much nothing, and besides the New York Giants and Jets are both considered big New York markets but they play games in New Jersey. I don't think they hold the All Star Race in Charlotte because it is a big market anyways. They do it because the Charlotte area pretty much the heart of NASCAR. I'm typing this right now from my hotel room in Mooresville where almost every team is located and its' like a 30 minute drive to the track and I'd imagine it would take less without the race week traffic. Add to the fact that the new Hall of Fame is in downtown Charlotte and the track has a brand new record breaking HD screen, I'd imagine NASCAR won't even consider moving it to another track. Personally, I'd love to see an All Star Race under the lights at Bristol, but it is fine in Charlotte. 40. Red posted: 05.22.2011 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To me, this race is completely unnecessary for one simple reason: Every race is already an All-Star race! The whole point of an All-Star event is to put all the best players on the field/court/track at the same time. Well guess what, the best drivers are ALWAYS together on the same track, so why do we need this gimmick-fest? It's rarely exciting, and wastes an enormous amount of money that teams could be spending on races that actually matter. Also, I think it's bullshit that Charlotte (a boring track) gets THREE Cup events a year, and yet there are plenty of deserving venues out there that don't even get one Cup race. How about we move this date to Iowa, or Nashville, or Irwindale, or ORP, or Montreal, or Road Atlanta, or pretty much anywhere else?! Glad to have real racing back next week. 41. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 05.22.2011 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't get why everyone is whining about a lack of battles for the lead. Well, if you actually payed attention to the other battles. Has anyone seen up to 7 cars bunched together? If you just payed attention, then maybe you would've actually saw an exciting race." I paid attention, and I saw a snoozer. Coming from me, that's pretty huge since I rarely complain about how the racing was. Quite possibly the most lifeless All-Star I've EVER seen. I would also like to give kudos to the entire Roush organization. Last year at this point, they were still out to lunch but now it seems they have all of their teams running well. Hell, even David Ragan has looked respectable. I wouldn't mind seeing Iowa, Road America, ORP, Montreal or other NWide tracks get a Cup date as they're very watchable for me most of the time, but I kind of hope they don't because it would give guys like Brad and Carl yet another Cup companion track to tear it up on in Nationwide, and it wouldn't make it any easier for them to want to stop running full-time in that series. "Can't believe NASCAR decided to hold the Iowa Nationwide race on a Sunday just so that the Cup guys wouldn't have to pull double duty in one day, or have to skip the Nationwide event altogether." Amen. How many times have you seen a Nationwide race on Sunday? 42. cjs3872 posted: 05.22.2011 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco, Sam Hornish may not have been very good in NASCAR (that's indisputable), but he also has 3 IndyCar championships and the 2006 Indianapolis 500 to his credit. So yes, I would have to rate Ragan as, by far, the worst driver ever to win the Showdown. I would even rate Hornish ahead of drivers like Jimmy Spencer, who also once won the Showdown. In fact, Hornish may one day get elected to the Int'l Motorsports HOF in Talladega due to his IndyCar success. By the way, the "REAL" future star of Roush Racing won today in Iowa. I call Ricky Stenhouse the "real" future star ahead of Trevor Bayne (assuming he ever gets healthy again) because he's aggresive, while Bayne drives a lot like Benny Parsons and the Labonte brothers (especially Terry) drove. Bayne will, in my mind, NEVER win a NNS race. remember, Stenhouse actually TOOK the lead from Carl Edwards in today's race, while Bayne, in his Daytona 500 victory, INHERITED the lead from Ragan, and even wanted to push Stewart to the win after that. So we may see Stenhouse in one of Roush #6 car next year, even if Bayne is healthy, which is doubtful. 43. Rotor77 posted: 05.22.2011 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Back in the day, Nationwide races were held on Sundays more often than you think. Of course, that wouldn't let you set up your little straw men either, would it? For example, when Cup ran Daytona in the summer, the Nationwide race was the following day at Milwaukee. Etc. 44. irony posted: 05.22.2011 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Charlotte is not a large market and NASCAR does better in the Winston Salem market (Martinsville, North Wilkesboro) than it does in the Charlotte market ratings wise. My opinion is that the All-Star race should have its own venue. Rockingham would be my first choice with Wilkes a close 2nd. 45. cjs3872 posted: 05.22.2011 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think the Charlotte Motor Speedway, as long as the event is held in May, is the best place for the event to be held. The problem with the racing last night, and I think it will be even worse this week, has to do with the extreme speeds that the cars have been running (a 195 MPH lap in qualifying is not out of the question). I think that will produce more blown tires, crashes, and engine problems (not that attrition is bad), and it may even produce an accidental (no pun intended) winner. I mean Trevor Bayne (a rookie) won the Daytona 500, Regan Smith (for a team from Denver) won the Southern 500, could we have a surprise winner for the third time this year in one of the sport's crown jewels? (Something that's never happened in the sport's last crown jewel race, the Brickyard 400.) 46. I Love Japan posted: 05.23.2011 - 2:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not as terrible as people claim but not as good as other All-Star events. I think this race was good in 2002. Since? Nope. 47. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.23.2011 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ Rusty post 39: You are right about Concord, but that wasn't the point I was trying to make. I'm just saying NASCAR has a "big market" obsession. And yes, the same is true for all other sports, which is why, using an example you mentioned, you'll never see an NFL team called the "East Rutherford Giants" or the "New Jersey Jets" or the "Foxboro Patriots". My point is that the track in Martinsville says "Martinsville" on its walls referring to the small but beautiful southern Virginia town in which the track actually resides. The track in Concord says "Charlotte" on its walls, which is pretty much the deciding factor in NASCAR's eyes. That is also why, as has been discussed, NASCAR will never ditch Kansas and Chicago's dates for Iowa which is also in the Mid West and has MUCH better racing. "Iowa" isn't "Chicago" or "Kansas". Although, once again, in Chicago's case, from what I hear, it is pretty far out of Chicago and its "Loop" (I'm not sure what that is, I've never been to Chicago). Trust me, I love Concord. Have you got a chance to go to Concord Mills? The Bass Pro Shop they have there is amazing. And the Mall it is attached to is top notch. When I want to go mall shopping after getting some, I go there even though there is a mall in Winston Salem about 10 minutes from my house (it takes me about an hour at best to get to Concord depending on I-85's fickle traffic). And Mooresville is beautiful too. Their restaurants are amazing. My point is NASCAR wants you to think Concord is basically an extension of Charlotte. It isn't. Neither geographically nor stylistically. And I have to say I think the Hall of Fame is not in an ideal location. Unlike CMS, it truly is in "Uptown" Charlotte (get it right Rusty, or the Charlotte PR police will get you). But it is tough to get to and kind of on the edge of the city. It would be better to be in Concord IMO. 48. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.23.2011 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, I think it's bullshit that Charlotte (a boring track) gets THREE Cup events a year" I agree. And this is ME saying this. As I mentioned above, the track is a little over an hour from my house. And I haven't gone there since 2006 even though I've been offered free tickets at times. The racing there is simply awful. They should have ditched Charlotte's Fall date instead of dropping an Atlanta date. With its tire chewing, Atlanta has become a fun race to watch. I know they have attendance issues, but Atlanta is a quirky town. They are mostly transplants. Atlanta Braves playoff games fon't even sell out, and the Braves are hands down the team of the South. Every date swap NASCAR has made since 1996 ended has been a backwards move or a lateral one at best from a racing standpoint. 1997: North Wilkesboro out, Texas in. HUGE backwards step. Wilkesboro had great short track beating and banging along with a tire chewing surface that tested drivers. Texas races are as bad as Charlotte races. VERY little side by side racing. And they are even worse at night. So this year they decided to make the Spring race a night race. Brilliant. 1997: North Wilkesboro out, Loudon in. Backwards step. NASCAR has a great New England fan base, they deserve better than the crap they get from that track. It doesn't touch Wilkesboro as far as quality of racing. 2004: Rockingham out, California in. HUGE HUGE step backwards. Cali might be the worst racetrack ever built. Rockingham kicked ass. A high banked quirky little track with a tire chewing surface. Worst of all, they put Cali's second date on Labor Day weekend, greasing the skids for Darlington losing one of its dates. They ended one of the best NASCAR traditions, the Southern 500 at Darlington in the oppressive heat and humidity of the South Carolina summer. This, overall, was the worst move NASCAR has ever made. 2005: Darlington out, Texas in. HUGE step backwards. Darlington is simply what NASCAR is all about. Calling it's layout "quirky" doesn't do it justice. The way it has to be driven, along with its (formally) tire grinding surface is just magic to watch. Texas Motor Speedway + night race = BORING! 2005: Rockingham out, Phoenix in. Backwards step. I like the racing at Phoenix. It is unique and entertaining. But Rockingham is better. 2011: Atlanta out, Kentucky in. Big backwards step. A unique tire grinding track, what is basically an oversized Rockingham now, for yet another low banked intermediate. 2011: California out, Kansas in. Lateral step. One boring intermediate switched for another. As I said, Cali is the worst racetrack ever for stock cars (I'll give Indy a pass because it was built 40 years before NASCAR even existed) so technically Kansas would be a VERY slight upgrade, but I'll call it lateral because of the bullshit reason Kansas got a second date. Kansas built a casino. Really, that is the only reason it got a second date. Why not give Homestead a second date? They have great racing. Ugh. Here is my 36 race schedule: Daytona 500, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Homestead, Bristol, Darlington Atlanta, Rockingham, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro, Talladega, Richmond Charlotte, Dover, Pocono, Michigan, Sears Point, Daytona Iowa, Indy, Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol Darlington, Richmond, Loudon, Dover, Iowa, North Wilkesboro, Martinsville, Rockingham, Talladega, Atlanta, Phoenix, Homestead notes: off weekends on Easter, Mother's Day, and after the first Iowa. The only night races or race to end at night: The Bud Shootout, the 600 should do its day into night thing, the first Iowa race to counteract the heat, Chicago for the same reason, The August Bristol race, and the Fall Richmond race. All other start AND end in the daytime. Bristol will be retro reconfigured. The All Star race will be the same weekend as the 600 and shortened. Really tempted to ax the Brickyard 400, and instead run a Saturday Night 400 lap race at IRP that weekend. 49. 00andJoe posted: 05.23.2011 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 600 entry list is out. Robby Gordon is in the #7 Trevor Bayne is entered in the #21 Stremme in the #30 Mike Bliss in the #32 T.J. Bell in the #50 Scott Wimmer in a second Robby Gordon car, #77 Riggs in the #81 Starr in the #95 50. Red posted: 05.23.2011 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just for fun, my fantasy schedule (not in any specific order): Daytona x2 Talladega x 2 Martinsville x2 Bristol x2 (repaved w/ less progressive banking) Richmond x2 North Wilkesboro x2 Dover x2 Iowa x2 Atlanta x2 Darlington x2 Rockingham x2 Irwindale IRP Phoenix Loudon Pocono Indianapolis Michigan Nashville Milwaukee Homestead Watkins Glen Sears Point Montreal Road America Current Cup tracks that miss the cut: Las Vegas, Texas, Charlotte, Kansas, Chicago, Kentucky, Fontana. I don't care about market size! Also, I would require tracks with two dates to make their races different; one day and one night, one 400 mile and one 500 mile, etc. 51. Rusty posted: 05.23.2011 - 8:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Charlotte is not that big of a market really. When you talk other sports, the Panthers and Bobcats are considered small market teams. If NASCAR wanted the All Star race in a big market, they would do it in California or something. They do the All Star race there because like I said, the area is the heart of NASCAR. About every team is located in the area except Furntiture Row. Daytona is the birthplace of NASCAR and Charlotte is its' heart. That is why those tracks have more events than normal tracks. I think the problem with the event is the format. The idea is nice, but the format sucks. I miss the inverts. The four segments are stupid, especially having a ten minute break to only run ten laps. 52. cjs3872 posted: 05.23.2011 - 8:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Roush and the Wood Brothers would be crazy (and just plain dumb, in my opinion) to run Trevor Bayne in the longest race of the year just a week after he was not even able to run a 150-mile race with three breaks in the event. First he should start with the 300-mile preliminary, if he can physically do it. The first Cup race he should run (if physically able) would be a 400-mile race (Kansas, Daytona or Indy), and then move him into more rigorous events, if he can do it. But making his first Cup race the most rigorous race off all is, in my mind, just plain stupid. If they do that, I fear a repeat of Dale Earnhardt, Sr.'s incident at the start of the 1997 Southern 500 may be repeated, with possibly even worse results. 53. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.24.2011 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree about the format Rusty. What I miss were the elimination races. 3 segments, those who finished 21st and back had to park after segment 1, and only the Top 10 finishers got to run the last segment. That was cool. 54. Talon64 posted: 05.24.2011 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jack Roush gets his 4th All Star win with his 3rd different driver (Mark Martin twice in 1998 and 2005, Matt Kenseth in 2004, and now Carl Edwards in 2011). Roush ties RCR for 2nd most All Star wins (Earnhardt 3, Harvick 1). David Reutimanng has his best run and gets his best finish of the season in 3rd, too bad it doesn't count for points. 55. Kevin17fan posted: 05.24.2011 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My idea for a revamped All-Star format: Eligible drivers include race winners from the previous and current season, and all former series champion and All-Star winners that are currently competing full-time, and the winners of each of the two segments of the Showdown. The Showdown would be run in 2 segments, a 20-lap and a 10-lap, with a mandatory stop under the caution after lap 20, but the only requirement is a stop in the box. The winner of each segment advances to the All-Star. The All-Star would consist of 3 segments, two 20-lap and the final 10 lap segment. A mandatory 4-tire stop is required under green sometime between laps 10 and 19 of segment 1. Another mandatory stop with only a stop in the box required would take place place between segments 2 and 3. There would be a random inversion after segment 1. 21st on back are eliminated after segment 1 and 11th on back after segment 2. Caution laps do not count in segment 3. 56. Ryan posted: 05.24.2011 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch gets caught speeding going 128 MPH in a 45 MPH zone. Atta boy Kyle... He must have been out of tampons. His head isn't where it needs to be. http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Kyle-Busch-flagged-for-driving-128-mph-8230-i;_ylt=AuTNgddqHFx9FyYvzzG2LSs5nYcB?urn=nascar-wp1502 57. RaynlovestohatesKyleBusch posted: 05.24.2011 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan, Did did it occur to you that Kyle wanted to see how fast his new sports car could go? Did it occur to you the what Kyle did wasn't caused by a lack focus, but an attitude that thinks he's can speed without getting caught? I forgot, you don't post here if Kyle does well in a race and make up a lie on why you didn't post on those weeks such as posting before today. I take it that Kyle took you girlfriend or your bigboy underwear and hate him as a result. 58. RaynlovestohatesKyleBusch posted: 05.24.2011 - 11:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What Kyle Busch did was wrong. Ryan, you should listen to me young kid. Being obsessed with Kyle Busch isn't healthy, but a sign of a person that needs help. 59. cjs3872 posted: 05.25.2011 - 11:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Guys, I think the elimination of drivers during the All-Star Race is a terrible idea. I thought it was terrible when they did it, and my opinion hasn't changed. A lot of times, a good portion, sometimes as much as half the field, were eliminated by wrecks. (There have been years in this race that a few as 10-12 cars were running simply because everyone else had crashed.) That wasn't the case this year, because the law of averages dictated the a sane All-Star Race had to occur, and this year was one of those years. I prefer the format that was used in most of the '90s where at least a part of the field, if not the entire field (lead lap cars only) was inverted between the two 30-lap segments, giving those sent to the bak ample time to move their way up, though some drivers would take advantage of this by sandbagging, or not racing very hard, which is why the inversion moved from a full-field inversion to a partial field inversion. The 2002 All-Star Race was a complete joke. Not only were there eliminations, but the field was inverted prior to the final segment, meaning that the leaders prior to that had absolutely no chance to win. The bigger problem was the lack of competition in the front of the field. That had moastly to do with the extreme speeds, which, in my oppinion are too high for the track to maintain good competition. They need to be slowed down about 6-10 MPH. It's not out of the realm of possibility, considering some of the speeds in qualifying for the Showdown, which were run in hot, sunny conditions, that we may see speeds in qualifying of 195 MPH, and speeds in the 600 of over 185 MPH. And I think this will make it hard to finsih the race, especially for the hard, aggressive drivers like Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, and Juan Montoya. Their styles are perfect for this event, but not for the 600. I think you'll see drivers like Matt Kenseth (my pick to win), Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and Jamie McMurray (the last three, only if their cars are competitive), because they know how to pace themselves to get to the end of a race, because with the extreme speeds I suspect we'll see, there may be a lot of crashes and tire problems, and maybe even an abnormal engine attrition rate, as well. 60. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.25.2011 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 128 on a street road? Really? From now on, I will only refer to the driver of the #18 car as "128". Does this mean we can finally ditch the whole "new and mature 128" once and for all? What does M&M's have to be thinking right about now? 61. Anonymous posted: 05.25.2011 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 128 mph on a back road isn't conduct detrimental to stock car racing!? He could have died doing that. Spencer Clark died as a passenger and they were doing the speed limit as was Charlie Bradberry when he died. 62. 00andJoe posted: 05.25.2011 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bayne is out of the #21 for the Coca-Cola 600, Ricky Stenhouse will be driving the car. 63. cjs3872 posted: 05.25.2011 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Which, 00andJoe, is the only practical thing that Roush and the Wood Brothers could have done. (see post #52 for the reason why) 64. Matt in Gainesville posted: 05.25.2011 - 11:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Of the color analysts doing NASCAR today, Wally Dallenbach (who's doing color for IndyCar racing this year on Versus) and Kyle Petty are the best, followed by Dale Jarrett." Kyle Petty, is that you? He should never ever be included in the best race announcer debate. He is simply terrible. Rarely adds anything insightful and says "you know what I mean" after everything he says. None of those TV guys hold a candle to the MRN/PRN guys. The ESPN crew is just plain vanilla boring with Marty Reid being the worst. I do like Dale Jarrett somewhat though. Andy Petree is too nonsensical. Personally, I think Mike Joy is the best of the TV bunch. Maybe they should get him, the guys from MRN/PRN Radio, and Dale Jarrett to do commentary. 65. Matt in Gainesville posted: 05.26.2011 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Boring race, but they can't all be spectacular. Ever seen a football blowout or a 10-7 type game by two bad teams? I don't really see the difference. At least it wasn't caution free like in 2008 (my driver won and I thought that race sucked). Wish they would make the All-Star shorter again. I liked the 30/20/10 format. Even back then some of them were snoozers though. I've been pleasantly surprised with the racing this season. Lots of good finishes and the racing has been decent. Plus the two upset victories were awesome. A few stinkers, California, Texas, and Dover come to mind, but enough great to decent to fall on the good side. I'm not sure where some of you guys were back in the 90's/80's/before. There were many races where very little happened and one guy dominated. I can't ever remember "dirty air" not being an issue or cars running side by side consistently at each track. That is just a farce. Anyway, it isn't like that is a new thing for NASCAR or racing in general. Heck in F1 sometimes the guy who is in the lead coming out of turn one wins the race automatically (essentially). I like F1 too, but that is the reality of the situation sometimes. Must be the "complainers are the loudest" thing. 66. irony posted: 05.26.2011 - 12:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like Kyle and Wally. Kyle is repetitive but they all seem to be to an extent. I can honestly say that I never got bored watching races in the 90s. I go back and watch the tapes of memorable races and realize that the racing itself wasn't better. It's probably the combination of broadcast crews being more professional, having a variety of stations covering the races week to week, and my liking the drivers of the time more than the drivers today. Also the broadcasts had so much atmosphere on all the networks back then. Every race felt like a big event, not just something that happens every week. All of the networks began their telecasts with catchy theme music followed by Mike Joy, Ken Squier, or Eli Gold telling us we were about to see a big event. And it felt like a big event because every track had its own character. No two tracks looked the same. The less overkill was probably a good thing as well. I used to get excited whenever happy hour was televised. That's almost funny looking back. 67. cjs3872 posted: 05.26.2011 - 12:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or back to the days when Squier, David Hobbs, Ned Jarrett for CBS in the 70s and 80s, or Jim McKay, Keith Jackson, Bill Flemming, Jackie Stewart, and Sam Posey for ABC back in the 70s and 80s, and Chris economaki worked for ABC through 1983, then moved to CBS in 1984. I prefer those broadcasts over today's, and if you've been watching ESPN Classic this week, you'll know exactly what I mean. ESPN Classic has been replaying a lot of the Indy classics, many of them for the first time. While the 1981-'82, '85-'86 races have replayed numerous times (in different formats), the 1974, '75, '80, and '83 races have been replayed for the first time this week, while the 1984 race was replayed for the first time, as will the 1988 race be replayed for the first time later today. The 1970 and 1978 races are due to be rebroadcast for the first time tomorrow. I also hope that some of the older Daytona 500 that ABC broadcast from 1963-'78 eventually appear. (The 1976 race has appeared numreous times in the last decade.) Several of those race broadcasts are on YouTube (Richard Petty's 1964, '66, '71, and '74 wins, though the entire '74 braodcast, the first live airing of the race, is not in its entirety, but about 35 minutes are missing. And the 1969 and 1978 races are also now on YouTube.) 68. cjs3872 posted: 05.26.2011 - 1:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt in Gainesville, Kyle Petty may not be that good an analyst, but he's better than the Waltrip brothers, Larry McReynolds, Jeff Hammond, Rusty Wallace, and Brad Daugherty. I also don't know who's doing the lead this year for TNT, though the announcers for VS. Indy Car coverage have been many of the same ones that TNT uses for its NASCAR coverage. Mike Joy, while a very competent announcer, doesn't seem to have the passion that Squier, McKay, or Jackson had when they called motorsports events (although they could make any event exciting). Meanwhile, Dallenbach seems to be out of the Bobby Unser school of analyzing it like he sees it, no matter who the analysis makes unhappy. Dale Jarrett is a very competent analyst, though nowhere near his father Ned. (I don't know if any NASCAR analyst could ever be.) Andy Petree knows what he's talking about, but it just seems that he doesn't belong in the broadcast booth, but rather in race central (that's what ABC Sports once called it) with Wallace and Daugherty, ESPN's pit central with Tim Brewer. 69. cjs3872 posted: 05.26.2011 - 1:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And before anyone mentions that the first live flag-to-flag airing of the Daytona 500 didn't occur until 1979 (possibly the result of CBS' Super Sunday all-sports lead in to Super Bowl XII, the year before, the first time that a network gambled on a day of all-day sports coverage), the last 200 miles of the race from 1974-'78 were shown live, making the 1974 Daytona 500 the first one ever shown live. The only exception was 1976, when the first 19 laps were shown live, then ABC went to Olympic coverage for two hours, during which ABC showed live sporadic updates of the race (including the frightening Ramo Stott-John Ray-Skip Manning crash on lap 120, though the accident was not shown live, and the network did not have a good camera angle for the crash itself, though it did show Stott's blown engine, which started the chaos), and the showed the last 60 laps live. 70. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.26.2011 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't like Kyle Petty as an anounncer. I recall a Pocono race that was shaping up to be one of the more interesting races there, where fuel and tyre strategy was starting to play out and we got to the last 10-12 laps with the question being "can driver x with fresh tyres catch driver y with old tyres or will driver z make it on fuel?" Now I don't know about you, but to me that's pretty fun to watch. So anyway, they go through the drives that are in contention and figure out who's got what, then Kyle says; "You know what will make this race really exciting? A caution. Yeah, a caution right now would be great" NO, YOU MORON! 71. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.26.2011 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I, personally, enjoy Kyle as an announcer. I feel like he gives good insight and he makes fun of himself and his racing career a lot which is funny. He also has an irreverence about him that is sorely lacking in NASCAR right now. 72. the_man posted: 05.27.2011 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on an 8th place finish: ??A top 10 and it was certainly a fun race. I felt like we had a car that could have contended for the win, it??s just all about that track position, but everybody is trying to get that track position throughout the race. Our UPS ??We Love Logistics? car did a nice job. We can??t complain. We got a top 10 and raced our way in, and I think you better watch out for the No. 6 car next week.? 73. Rusty posted: 05.28.2011 - 11:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think a format I'd like would be..... Segment one: 40 laps, last three cars eliminated from the race Segment two: 40 laps, All but top 10 eliminated from the race Segment three: 20 laps with inverse 74. Anonymous posted: 07.26.2011 - 1:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) i like the 2002 format, 1st segment: 40 laps, cars outside top 20 eliminated, 2nd segment: 30 laps, cars outside top 10 eliminated, 3rd segment: 25 laps, inverted the field Start the race with the fastest qualified cars in the back, keep the fan voted driver allow fans to choose the number of cars inverted. OR give the fans a choice of which format they want too see, and what elements they want in place 75. DieselDan posted: 03.13.2012 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's a format to chew on: a true elimination race. Start a full field. Line them up based on wins, then on points. Screw traditional qualifying, as this a race for winners. Give the field 15 laps to sort themselves out, then eliminate the last place car/driver every lap. Caution laps don't count. Pitstops are at the driver's peril, as a pitstop won't keep you from getting eliminated. After a caution, there may be laps that cars in the pits or garage would be eliminated before cars on the track would get parked. Probably best raced at Richmond or Iowa. 76. RaceFanX posted: 04.23.2012 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Owners: #99 Carl Edwards- Jack Roush #18 Kyle Busch- Joe Gibbs #00 David Reutimann- Michael Waltrip #14 Tony Stewart- Stewart Haas Racing #16 Greg Biffle- Jack Roush #17 Matt Kenseth- Jack Roush #11 Denny Hamlin- Joe Gibbs #6 David Ragan- Jack Roush #29 Kevin Harvick- Richard Childress #39 Ryan Newman- Stewart Haas Racing #5 Jimmie Johnson- Rick Hendrick #42 Juan Pablo Montoya- Earnhardt Ganassi Racing #22 Kurt Busch- Roger Penske #88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.- Rick Hendrick #24 Jeff Gordon- Rick Hendrick #33 Clint Bowyer- Richard Childress #1 Jamie McMurray- Earnhardt Ganassi Racing #2 Brad Keselowski- Roger Penske #25 Mark Martin- Rick Hendrick #78 Regan Smith- Barney Visser #4 Kasey Kahne- Dietrich Mateschitz 77. RaceFanX posted: 01.02.2014 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Juan Pablo Montoya's final All-Star Race main event before heading to IndyCar in 2014. He finished in the top-10 in the Open in both 2012 and 2013 but that didn't advance him back into the big show. 78. Aaron posted: 03.27.2014 - 2:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Webmaster, the sponsor for Dale Earnhardt Jr. should be The Dale Jr. Foundation/VH1 Save the Music Chevy. 79. Maverick11 posted: 04.24.2016 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's been nearly 5 years so I don't entirely remember, but this race made the front page of our newspaper and the title was something along the lines of, "Edwards wins Sprint-All Star Race; Million dollar prize will help pay for repairs." 80. TheDewCrew posted: 04.09.2020 - 8:47 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) The race where the burnout was more memorable than the race itself and the open 81. RyanM posted: 07.23.2020 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unless he returns on a part-time or substitute basis after this season, this will have been the only time in Jimmie Johnson's cup career that he drove a car number besides the 48. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: