Friday Faceoff: What Is the Ideal All-Star Race Format?

1. What is the ideal NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race format?

Mike Neff: There have been so many, it is hard to decipher what works best. A great option would be four 20-lap stints that let people dial in their cars and can set the first two rows of the final run. The final segment is Australian rules. The number of laps will be one less than the number of cars in the event. Every lap, the car in last place is dropped from the race. It would result in some intense racing, for sure. It would also be great to see the drivers have to put up their own money to make the winner-take-all purse.

Christopher Hansen: The All-Star format from the mid-2000s would be the best version. Fifty laps in segment one, 20 for segments two and three, followed by 10 green-flag circuits to end the race at 100 seems like the perfect format.

James Krause: Part of why the All-Star Race has lost its luster in recent years is because stage racing is a weekly thing in NASCAR now. Keeping the stage format for the All-Star Race works, but you need to jazz it up a little bit more than a random stage break. Why not reintroduce the eliminator-style format from 2002 to 2003? After one stage, cut the field by six cars. Do it again after another stage and set up a short sprint to the finish with the best of the best. It’s a change from the usual, and it makes those first two stages more exciting as teams fight to stay in the running.

Wyatt Watson: I would run the race similarly to how it was contested in the early 2010s. Split the race into four segments but double the lap distances from the format that was used at Charlotte Motor Speedway. One 100-lap segment with a mandatory pit stop after lap 50, two 40-circuit segments and a final 20-lap green-flag run with no caution laps counting.

2. Which winless Hendrick Motorsports driver is more likely to reach victory lane first: Alex Bowman or Chase Elliott?

Hansen: There’s a case that can be made for both Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman on who could win first this season. For the first time this season, Elliott showed race-winning speed at Kansas Speedway before a slow pit stop mired him back in the field, costing him a chance to breakthrough. Bowman, on the other hand, has run closer to the front more weekends than Elliott, including a solid fifth-place run at Kansas. The next few tracks on the Cup schedule will benefit Elliott the most, but when his car has speed like we saw at Kansas, the pit crew can’t afford to have any mistakes.

Krause: Bowman. He has built his reputation as a guy who can be quiet all day and then steal a win here and there. Now, I don’t think Bowman’s next win is going to be as much of a surprise. He’s led 110 laps, has two poles and is probably one move away from winning at Homestead-Miami Speedway. While both have been getting consistent finishes, Bowman’s confidence has been on an upward trajectory since winning at the Chicago street course last year. Elliott is probably the safer bet of the two to win, but Bowman and crew chief Blake Harris are more likely to take risks when in a position to win.

Watson: While Bowman has been a bit more consistent this season, Elliott is starting to turn the heat up after his performance at Kansas prior to the late blunder by his pit crew. Elliott has been finding the speed lately to contend for wins, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him compete for the win, even at the Coca-Cola 600 next week.

Neff: That is really a coin flip. There are ovals over the next few events, which currently look better for Bowman. We then get a cluster of road races that favor Elliott. With the couple of recent runs that have shown a bit more speed for Elliott, the edge is slightly in his favor.

3. What is the biggest contributing factor to the rise in disqualifications this year?

Krause: It’s one of two things, maybe a bit of both. One, NASCAR is getting really good at finding cheaters. With the technology available to it in the form of body scans, the R&D center and the fact that it is essentially the supplier for the Cup Series, I’d hope it’d find flaws in cars easier. My second theory is what I hope is true, which is that teams are simply cheating more now. More than any other sport, NASCAR is one that’s actually grown in large part due to those cutting corners and exploring areas where they can find an advantage. It’d be cool if NASCAR just had a weekend where they let teams show up to the track with whatever met safety qualifications, but that’ll never happen … right?

Watson: Teams pushing the boundaries just a little too far. It’s that, plain and simple. The rule book is littered with too many rules and regulations now because NASCAR controls the car design. Teams are constantly trying to find ways to bend the rules. The problem is that the rules have never been harder to bend. Now, although it sucks to see your favorite driver getting DQ’d or docked a boatload of points, this is the reality NASCAR fans have to live in now.

Neff: It is hard to say what has been going on. With the ridiculous parity of the spec racecars we have today, there are almost no areas where the teams can make significant changes to gain speed. As a result, they are making little tweaks here and there to attempt to gain tenths of seconds. It used to be modifications to areas. Now, it is leaving off or adding items to make those gains.

Hansen: Whether it’s been in the Cup Series or most recently, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, teams are continuing to try and find any sort of advantage to aid their on-track performance. With the old Cup Gen 6 car, we’d see the top teams try and make small aerodynamic changes to gain an edge when it came time to race. With the Next Gen, because race teams get parts that are from a single source supplier, there’s less room to make any changes like with the previous cars.

4. On this week’s episode of Actions Detrimental, Kyle Busch mentioned that he had two possible Indianapolis 500 rides fall through at the last minute. Besides Busch and Kyle Larson, who other Cup drivers would you like to see attempt the Indy 500?

Watson: Elliott and Christopher Bell. Elliott needs no introduction as NASCAR’s most popular driver. It would be a match made in heaven to see Elliott strap into an IndyCar going 240-plus mph. With Rick Hendrick already having relations with Zak Brown and Arrow McLaren, this deal has more of a chance to become a reality. On the other hand, it would be awesome to see Bell square up against Kyle Larson, especially after seeing the battles between them in both NASCAR and dirt racing. However, Bell attempting the double doesn’t seem as likely since he races for the same owner who denied Busch his opportunity.

Neff: All of them is too easy of an answer. Bell is a great choice due to his open-wheel roots. Brad Keselowski is an excellent selection from the historian aspect of his career. Denny Hamlin would be interesting just from his fame in terms of popularity outside of the stock car world. Finally, Joey Logano, purely from his status as the most successful driver for Team Penske’s stock car arm. Seeing any stock car guys would we great, but those are the few that would draw the most eyes.

Hansen: With Roger Penske having a big role in the everyday operations as track owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a no-brainer would be to have Penske field an entry for Logano, who’s already starting to leave his mark in NASCAR as a three-time Cup champion and 37 wins. Bell is another big name that I’d like to see have the opportunity to run in the Indy 500, especially with his rising rivalry with Larson not just in NASCAR but also in dirt racing, where Bell excelled before making the jump to stock car racing. 

Krause: The all-time list of drivers to win the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500 is two drivers long — AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti — and has been unchanged since 1972. Enter Austin Cindric. His dad is the president of Penske and his grandfather, Jim Trueman, won the 1986 Indy 500 as an owner. Cindric also has prior open-wheel experience in USF2000. While Cindric wouldn’t be a favorite to win, attempting the double might be what launches his stardom in racing beyond being the third man at Penske behind Logano and Ryan Blaney.