Jan 29, 2007

All-Star Race Simplified?

NASCAR racing has always had a simple premise.  If you go around the circle X number of times before anyone else can do that, you're the winner.  Frankly, the simple premise is one of NASCAR's biggest appeals, so we have to wonder why the powers that be at the sanctioning organization keep coming up with complicated ways of doing things.  If you follow this column you know what we think about the unbelievably arcane system that results in qualifiers of the Nextel Cup and, ultimately, in the driver that wins it.  Those who can tick off how the points system works without referring to notes can probably be counted on your thumbs.  Beyond that, the winner of the final race of the Chase for the Cup does not automatically win the championship. In theory, a driver could go all the way through the 10-race "playoffs" without ever winning a race and still be crowned champion.  See?  Don't get us started.

This column is not about that but about NASCAR's latest bout of confusion -- its decision to "simplify" the mid-season All-Star Challenge race held at Lowe's Motor Speedway that is the rough equivalent of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.  One has to wonder how NASCAR defines the word "simplify."

Last year, the All-Star Challenge consisted of 90 laps, but they were divided into segments to provide more fan interest.  First came a 40-lap segment after which the race was stopped and teams got 10 minutes to work on their cars.  Then there was a 30-lap segment culminating in a quick yellow flag pit stop to bunch the field. Then a 20-lap segment ended in the checkered flag and a $1 million payout to the winning driver.  Yet another wrinkle was the fact that during one of the segments the front-runners had to start behind the laggards, designed to create still more on-track mayhem.

We all agree that's complicated.  Now for the "simplified" version we will see this summer. First the race will now be 80 laps broken, essentially, into quarters.  After the first quarter there will be an optional pit stop, and then, after the second quarter, there will be what amounts to a 10-minute "halftime," during which teams will be allowed to work on their cars.  At the conclusion of the third quarter, there will be a mandatory pit stop, and after that the final 20-lap sprint for the million bucks.  Simpler? Hmmm.

Equally obscure is the definition of All-Star in the context of the race.  For the 2007 Challenge, drivers who have won races in the 2007 or 2006 seasons, all previous All-Star Challenge winners, series champions from the last 10 years of Cup racing and the winner and second-place finisher of the Nextel Open qualify as All-Stars and can participate.  And if a driver doesn't get in by one of those routes, he can still be voted in by the fans.

So as you can see, NASCAR has made the whole process readily understandable.  Congratulations.