This is my conclusion after having watched NASCAR’s all-star event and numerous others in the world of stick and ball sports: NASCAR’s all-star event stands head and shoulders above the rest.
I love the NFL, but the Pro Bowl is a joke. By early February everybody but the kickers are hurting, so half the time a significant number of the league’s best players can’t play. The players get a nice trip to Hawaii, but that’s about it. It’s sterile, there’s really nothing on the line. I mean does ANYBODY watch the Pro Bowl? You media guys don’t count.
Major League Baseball has a lot of pageantry and history. The “Mid-summer” classic has played for over 70 years and is the grandaddy of all-star events. They’ve thrown in some twists like the home run derby, and they’ve awarded the home field advantage in the World Series to the winning squad to provide incentive to keep players from mailing it in. Yet, for all they’ve attempted to bring sexy back to the baseball all-star game, there’s no sizzle.
The NBA gets props for trying. You’ve got your slam dunk contest, the 3-point shootout, and a variety of other preliminaries. David Stern and Company also get kudos for being unafraid to try new ideas. Yet, when it comes game time, the NBA All-Star is more of an exhibition by individual players than it is a game. The players look like matadors on defense and there’s just no apparent passion out there.
Passion is no problem with a million dollar prize on the line. In this year’s
race, you had 21 of the sport’s best chasing that checkered flag like a hound for a bone. You take the season points out of the equation and there’s that sense urgency you don’t get in a regular points race. Some of the things I saw in that final lap dash reminded of that movie Rat Race. You had the normally conservative Matt Kenseth drag racing Jeff Gordon on the straight-aways, Kyle Busch shooting a gap between those two to take a lead and the kind of intensity you hope to see every week.
Now I’m sure many of you, like me, were a little concerned about the way the race started. Waiting all the way until lap 81 for a green flag pass for the lead is not my idea of excitement either. On the other hand, the role of strategy played a very big part in setting up the final stages. You had teams going with two-tire stops or no stop at all to gain track position. I guess if I’ve learned one thing about racing, I’ve learned the early portion of the race sets the stage for what happens later. You many not in a race at lap 25, but you sure can lose one there.
And then with racing, there’s always the element of survival. I don’t think anyone will argue that Jimmie Johnson had the fastest car Saturday, but as we all know, there’s more to racing that just a fast car- it’s also about making the right adjustments, avoiding the wrecks, the pit crew executing a flawless stop and much more.
It was that kind of teamwork that set the stage for Tony Stewart’s victory. Because he’s Tony Stewart- a 2-time champion with an impressive resume in other forms of racing- you know you have to account for him. At the same time, I’m really not sure anyone besides his most loyal fans saw him coming. I’ll admit I didn’t.
Let’s just say it right here- the 10-lap final segment was a winning call. You had to make all the right moves and be smart to get there, but once you got there, it was a no-holds-barred trophy dash. Whatever the race lacked in suspense beforehand was more than made up for right here. There’s enough laps left to make things happen, but not so many you end up watching one car pull away for a snoozer of an end.
I know it’s been argued by others that this is not a “real” all-star race. That fans can vote in a raw, unpolished rookie (and they did), and there others in the field who haven’t produced all-star results in a few seasons. I still say giving the fans once car of their choosing is a good thing. It plays into that American love for the underdog. As for the guys that are not having an all-star season, it still in a sense provides them a chance to be recognized for past accomplishments (all-star wins, past championships) and may provide a springboard to get a good run kick-started.
I also like the “race-in” events for a lot of those same reasons. It was also cool to see guys who don’t ordinarily get a lot of camera time have their moment in the sun. I’ll bet that interview with Sam Hornish was the first time some fans had even heard him speak.
All that to say this: when it comes down to an all-star event, NASCAR seems to have found a formula that combines the best elements of the sport. If fans are paying good many to see the best square off with each other- it is owed to them to provide what they paid for. When you combine fast cars, big money and bragging rights under the Saturday night lights, you’ve got a good thing going.
PHOTO CREDITS- Upper left photo and Stewart celebration by Toronto Jr Fan. Grandstand photo by jimkim_2000. To see more, visit flickr.com, or click on the hyperlinks.
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If you will go back and read all the reasons you give for why the “All Star” race was so good, you will see that those are the exact same comments you would make for any Cup event. Stick and ball sports don’t have all their players playing each other at the same time all the time. NASCAR does. By going to ANY NASCAR Cup event, you are seeing all of our stars. Having a NASCAR “all star” event every year in May is a marketing tool for the series sponsor. My opinion is that the drivers drive the same for a points win as they would for the million bucks. If you want something unique, that pays big bucks and no points, let all the teams enter, give them one set of tires an one tank of gas and the last one running wins the money.
@Jimbo. Very interesting. I never thought of it that way.
Jimbo got most of it. One big marketing ploy. It was a big sickening circus.
For nascar to purposely write the rules to keep Elliott out is way over the top. ANY Past champ should be able to run the ALLSTAR showdown if they got the car, the desire, and the ability.
Does anyone in their right mind believe Logano got voted in by his legion of fans?? for that matter how is any rookie elegible to be called an Allstar? Rookies should have to work their tails off to get recognition as a good driver first and great after they have proved themselves. They should not have everything handed to them on an orange platter with the blessing of nascar via the top thirty five rule and seat time given by goodyear tire tests.
The only high spot was Stewart takin care of business.
@tom1194. They shut Elliott out. What would they do that for? Now I can get how you can make a case for him being there on the basis of his career accomplishments, but you’re making this sound like some conspiracy theory. I’d love to have him racing in the #21 as a nod to a past champ and one of NASCAR’s great teams of the past. But writing the rules to keep him out? There’s not even a good motive for it.
I was shocked that Logano got in. On the other hand, have you SEEN any of the other sports’ all-star games? Guys having crappy years get in because they play in big media markets or they’re living off accomplishmentsof the past in the MLB game. NFL? Some scrub running back who averages 100 yards a game gets in because he carries the ball 40 times, becasue the REAL all-stars are either sitting out or playing for some crappy team.
I personally think he got the young fan vote. At least he didn’s make a fool of himself in there.
Hey jimmy, not wanting to argue too much but name some other current drivers that that would fit in that category (raced last year and a past champion or an allstar winner more than 10 years ago). Bill is the only one as far as I can tell. Now if i can figure that out I’m pretty sure the people up in Daytona could have figured that out, too. To add one more driver to the line up and that driver is a man that can still draw an audience, you are right, why would they keep him out. That’s a question for them, not me.
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