There are several important stories related to the NASCAR All-Star Race on Wednesday, ranging from striking low-brightness lighting for cars to the fact that it’s at Bristol Motor Speedway instead of traditional Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The $ 1 million exhibition event on the line for the winner will also introduce the Cup Series to the “rule of choice”, also sometimes known as the “cone rule of choice”, which will allow each driver to select the lane you want to restart from and add more strategy to the mix.
As NASCAR explained, for the All-Star Race, when “drivers approach a designated spot on the track, they must commit to the inside or outside lane for the restart.” And it was a big deal last month when NASCAR announced that the rule of choice will be tested in this race.
But Clint Bowyer has some concerns about overstating the potential impact of a rule.
Ahead of Sunday’s Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, Bowyer spoke to reporters through Zoom and spoke about the rule of choice:
“You hear drivers talk about it and I fear, as I do many times, I don’t want to oversell it. Can it have an impact? Absolutely. But if you over-sell it, you will never meet the expectations of what people expect from it.
“For the most part, I don’t see it likely making a difference beyond a few rows. I just don’t see people giving up two or three places to stay outside. Possibly if you use old tires or something, that’s where an opportunity like that comes in … Can it work? Yes. I fear it is oversold? A bit.”
The ruler is popular in short track and dirt racing, but it is new in the Cup Series exhibition event, which is often seen as a way to experiment with different rules without implementing them in point races. righ now.
With NASCAR’s current restart rules, only the leader selects which lane to restart, and everyone else has to line up based on their position on the track at the time. The choose rule opens that up to give drivers the opportunity to select the preferred lane.
And many drivers are really interested. Austin Dillon advocated for it. Jimmie Johnson said “it could be beneficial for everyone” because “many drivers grew up in a series that has chosen cones.” Joey Logano joked that if a group of 12-year-old runners can work out the rule, Cup drivers can do it, too.
But, as Bowyer pointed out, it doesn’t always work. He said:
“I think, like anything, I think it’s likely that he has a problem or two, something explodes, something that just can’t be anticipated in advance. We have had some dialogue. I spoke to NASCAR.
“And obviously, having late models competing across the country, as they travel across the country, they travel and run. And they enter a certain track, they will implement their rules many times to attract the locals and attract those boys because you need them to count the car and put on the show.
“So I’ve seen it go well and I’ve seen it go wrong. I honestly don’t want that to be the focal point in Bristol. It’s not just about the cone rule. “
The NASCAR All-Star Race is an abbreviated event with 140 laps divided into four stages, including a 15-lap shootout for the checkered flag and $ 1 million.
But it’s not open to everyone, and Bowyer is among those still looking to qualify, which he can do by winning the fan vote or winning the NASCAR All-Star Open immediately before the All-Star Race (8:30 pm ET FS1).
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