5 Things To Watch at the All-Star Race
Dale Jarrett’s Final Race
One of the classiest and most successful Cup drivers of the last 20 years will hang up the firesuit on Sunday (that is, until one of the three MWR cars falls hopelessly outside the top 35). Michael Waltrip Racing owes a great deal to Jarrett for where the company is today. It would be nice to believe Jarrett could have a storybook ending and challenge for the large cardboard check, but NASCAR racing rarely bows to Disney endings.
An Emerging Driver Will win the Open
The last three years the undercard race has been won by a driver on the verge of a breakout. IN 2005 Brian Vickers Mike Bliss on his way to his first win in a Cup car. He finally won a points race in 2006 (in eerily similar fashion). In 2006 Scott Riggs won the Open, which he followed up by winning the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 and also enjoyed his strongest Cup season. Last year Martin Truex Jr set up a hot summer streak by storming to an Open win. He went on to win at Dover, score top 3’s in four of six races and make the Chase.
Steve Park(2000) Tony Stewart(1999), Jeremy Mayfield (1998) Jeff Gordon (1994) and Sterling Marlin (1993) all won their first career Cup races within a year after winning the Open race. This year watch out for David Ragan.
Paint Schemes
In the All-Star race, even the walls enjoy a special one-off paint scheme. Since the time when Dale Earnhardt Sr would sport special schemes for Wheaties and Coke, to Jeff Gordon’s famous Jurassic Park T-Rex car, teams have taken the opportunity to exhibit their sponsors in a different light.
Wrecks in Effect
One simple equation explains the All-Star Challenge:
0 Points + $1 million = Checkers or Wreckers.
With no risk to their seasons at stake, drivers get more aggressive and take bigger chances to get to the front. It also helps that the race is only 80 laps, so everything gets condensed. Every lap is a frantic scramble (as opposed to a calm, relaxed scramble). People will attempt to pass where they normally would back off, squeeze into a hole the car won’t fit in and like a good fullback welcome all contact, bordering on inviting contact.
Feuds
Whether it’s a sibling rivalry or revisiting an old skirmish, the All-Star race is the perfect platform for getting something off your chest. In 2004 after Kurt Busch took out teammate Greg Biffle, plus about eight other cars when he gave bumpdrafting a try on a 1.5 mile track. In 2005 Tony Stewart was at the heart of a multi-car wreck, but Joe Nemechek used the opportunity to get into Kevin Harvick’s face while Stewart evaded criticism. Nemechek was apparently still upset at Harvick for inciting a large melee during the Gatorade Duels at Daytona that February (Note to competitors: Front Row Joe has a long memory, don’t cross him). 2006 Stewart was again involved in a wreck, this time with Matt Kenseth that had some residual tones from their tangle in the Daytona 500 from earlier in 2006. Last year Kurt and Kyle Busch collided, sparking a mild spat amongst the brothers. Said the elder Kurt Busch, “I’m not gonna be eating any Kellogg’s for a while.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr is far classier than most of his fans (at least the obnoxiously vocal ones), but if he wanted to settle any scores (hypothetical, of course), he could pick a worse race than an exhibition event. Like you weren’t thinking the same thing.
For what it’s worth, I have Greg Biffle as the winner and Ryan Newman and/or Juan Pablo Montoya involved in quasi-fisticuffs (I love it when I can use the quasi-fisticuffs tag).
May 15th, 2008 at 3:42 am
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