Did you watch Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR All Star Race? It featured a one-off rules package whose goal was to provide closer competition in NASCAR’s biggest exhibition race of the season. In recent years the All Star race has been missing some of the fireworks it has provided in years gone by. Last year’s winner Kyle Busch won by over 2 seconds, and without about seven laps to go it was clear that nobody was going to catch him. This year’s new rules package included a larger rear spoiler, new manufacture specific air ducts, and most notably a restrictor plate. This is the same rules package that the NASCAR Xfinity Series used at Indianapolis in 2017 which created a record number of lead changes and dramatically improved the racing compared to past years.
Last night’s All Star race was one of the better ones that I can remember. I liked the fact that the leader couldn’t pull away to a large lead like we’ve seen in past All Star races, and at other mile and a half tracks over the past few years. While I didn’t necessarily like that the cars could run wide open through the corner, I did like the tight packs that the cars ran in. It forced drivers to pick their lines and find partners who could help push each other to the front. Three and four wide racing at Charlotte is something I would have never believed I’d see! I just hope it’s something they move forward with and use at some of the other tracks. Michigan, Indianapolis, and maybe even Pocono could benefit from a similar rules package, but that’s not to say that racing under the current configuration is not exciting.
Sometimes it’s just nice to try something new. With fans leaving the sport in packs, it’s a welcomed change to see something that tightens the competition and allows for closer racing. Martin Truex Jr. dominated 2017 and Kevin Harvick is on pace to dominate 2018, so a rules package that bunches the field together and makes each race more of a wildcard could really shake things up in our sport. What do we really have to lose at this point?
What did you think of the recent rules change? Send me a tweet and tell me what you think. You can find me on Twitter at @Cody_Rose.
