We’ve got NASCAR tonight. And it should be…exciting?
The All-Star thing must not be something NASCAR thinks they have right, because it feels like they keep mixing it up, and this year’s format is a doozy. Here’s the breakdown:
TV: FS1
Time: Open Race starts at 6:00 PM EDT, All-Star Race starts at 8:00 PM EDT
Where: Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth or Fort Worth area, forget which but it’s up that direction)
The Open Race
The Open Race features everyone but the 17 drivers who’ve clinched spots by either winning a race this year or last year, winning a past All-Star Race, or winning the Cup Series championship in the past. Those are, in alphabetical order:
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman
Kurt Busch
Kyle Busch
William Byron
Cole Custer
Austin Dillon
Chase Elliott
Denny Hamlin
Kevin Harvick
Brad Keselowski
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
Michael McDowell
Ryan Newman
Martin Truex Jr.
Everyone else is in the Open Race. Those guys are NOT in the Open Race. Sorry, maybe a confusing way to do it.
The Open Race will have three segments (basically stages, but they’re calling them segments and there might be some kind of difference). The first one’s just 20 laps. The second one’s also 20 laps. The third is only ten laps. The winner of each, plus the winner of the fan vote (or the highest-placing driver in the fan vote whose car is intact post-Open Race), make the All-Star Race.
Fairly straightforward, right?
Ok now get a load of this shit:
The All-Star Race
Six rounds. What are rounds? Again, probably just stages or segments, but there might be a difference. I don’t know! And I mean, I’m not the most informed NASCAR fan, but I do watch a decent amount of NASCAR. Do the rounds have themes or something? No. But…well, here they are:
Round 1: Starting lineup set by random draw, 15 laps.
Round 2: Starting lineup set by inverting field “starting anywhere from the eighth through 12th (sic) positions, to be selected by a random draw,” which I think means they’re either leaving at least the top seven in place and then flipping the field behind them starting somewhere between eighth and twelfth or that they’re leaving the field in place from eighth to twelfth onwards and flipping the top eight to eleven in place. My impression is it’s the first. 15 laps again.
Round 3: Starting lineup set by inverting the whole field this time. 15 laps.
Round 4: Starting lineup set with the 8th-12th inversion thing again. Another 15 laps.
Round 5: Starting lineup set by cumulative finish from first four rounds. 30 laps. All cars must do a four-tire stop at some point.
Round 6: Starting lineup set by Round 5 finish order. Ten laps.
The winning driver will get a million dollars. The pit crew with the fastest stop during Round 5 will get $100,000.
The idea behind inversions is that they make for more exciting racing by having the faster cars race through the field, and there’s presumably some strategy involved with the 8th-12th inversion thing, but I don’t fully get it and I’ve yet to see a thorough take from someone who does. Could be fun to watch, though, if you’re looking for action.
Trucks, Xfinity Recap
John Hunter Nemechek won the Truck race yesterday. Kyle Busch won the Xfinity race.
