ALL-STAR RACE REVIEW
Rodeoh-no.
All-Star Race Open
Date: 5-22-2022.
Name of the race: All-Star Race Open.
Track: Texas Motor Speedway.
Laps: 50.
Pole winner: Tyler Reddick.
Outside pole: Daniel Suarez.
Stage 1 winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stage 2 winner: Chris Buescher.
Stage 3 winner: Daniel Suarez.
Fan vote winner: Erik Jones.
All-Star Race
Date: 5-22-2022.
Name of the race: All-Star Race.
Track: Texas Motor Speedway.
Laps: 125.
Pole winner: Kyle Busch.
Outside pole: Ryan Blaney.
Stage 1 winner: Kyle Busch.
Stage 2 winner: Austin Cindric.
Stage 3 winner: Ryan Blaney.
Stage 4 winner (won the race): Ryan Blaney.
Top 5: Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, and Daniel Suarez.
FYI: Texas Motor Speedway has been the center of controversy in stock car racing's top series for many years. Some say it goes back to its most recent repave back in 2017, which essentially made it a one-groove track, making it nearly impossible to pass. And the litany of additions to the racing surface such as PJ1 and resin as of recent hasn't made the racing any better either (if anything it has arguably gotten worse). Many long-time diehards and ex-diehards sight their hatred towards Texas Motor Speedway back to before its debut cup series race in 1997 when Speedway Motorsports Incorporated (SMI) which owns TMS, removed one of North Wilkesboro's cup dates in favor of the Texas market (the other date going to New Hampshire) leaving Wilkes County in the dust and in turn bringing the community around the speedway down with the track's demise. No matter what way you slice, it's safe to say that next to nobody was excited when in 2021 NASCAR announced it would be moving its All-Star race venue from Bristol the year previous and Charlotte before that, to the Dallas Fort Worth area, and just like last year, there's a lot to unpack here. The All-Star race format changes pretty much year to year, which usually is intended to keep things interesting. However, all these changes can be pretty confusing, for everyone involved. We'll touch more on that subject later on. One part of the All-Star race format that most people tend to enjoy is the open races, where drivers race their way into the main event that don't usually wouldn't qualify otherwise, and for those already locked in, their position would be determined on the pit stop challenge, with the fasted crew winning the pole. Kyle Busch would claim the pole of the drivers locked in on last year's wins, whereas Chris Buscher, Daniel Suarez, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr, would race their way into the show. Erik Jones would also race in the main event, winning the fan vote, and would start towards the rear. After the pre-race festivities and Governor Abbott waved the green flag to start the race, the electricity in the air soon started to die down, as fans were treated to typical Texas Motors Speedway action or lack thereof. As the first stage commenced it seemed at first as if the Gen 7 cars were putting on a bit of a show, something fans had surprisingly become accustomed to at the intermediate tracks ran so far this season. It wouldn't take long for that to change, and the same old Texas racing returned. Kyle Busch would win stage one with Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson in tow. On lap 36, our old friend the "tire failure" would rear its ugly head and Kyle Larson would be its next victim. The defending All-Star race winner would DNF and would go on to say, "It's Kyle (Busch)'s race to lose", a quip in the moment but would soon become reality. On lap 48 while leading, the younger Busch brother would also have a tire go down, causing him to go towards the bottom of the racetrack to avoid the oncoming traffic. In the ensuing madness, Ross Chastain, who was also contending for the lead earlier in the run, would hit Busch almost head-on, sending him airborne on two wheels, hitting the outside wall hard and taking out the 2020 All-Star winner Chase Elliott. All three drivers were checked and released from the infield care center under the red flag and were thankfully uninjured. Austin Cindric would win the stage after the restart. During stage three on lap 75, Christopher Bell would smack the wall and bring out the caution once more, with Ryan Blaney winning the stage shortly thereafter. With a 50-lap shootout remaining, Denny Hamlin would charge towards the front and contend with Blaney for the lead, but Blaney would take the top spot and hold it over Hamlin and Cindric in 3rd. This was it. With one to go, it was looking like Blaney would win his first All-Star race and a million dollars with it with a three-second lead over Hamlin, but mere feet from the start/finish line, the caution lights on the track would spark to life after Ricky Stenhouse Jr, running in 20th place, nowhere near anybody else on the track, would smack the wall. Now, normally this wouldn't be a problem, as under normal circumstances when the leader takes the white flag, the next flag ends the race. However, the current All-Star race format requires that the race end under green no matter what. Blaney, who had already dropped his window net thinking he had won with his crew members celebrating from the pits, was left in a tough spot. NASCAR requires that your window net must be up unless the race is over, and since it was not, Blaney was at risk of being black flagged, meaning he would have to go down the pits and lose his track position to get it fixed by his pit crew. After a lengthy and frustrating yellow flag stint of Blaney trying to prop up his window net, NASCAR finally deemed his situation under control and let the race commence, where he would finally cross the line for good and end the race. Runner up Denny Hamlin would voice his frustrations to the media after the race stating that the final caution was completely bogus and many other drivers, media outlets, and fans completely agree. Racing at Texas needs to change, and the ineptitude of Goodyear and the sanctioning body were on full display during the 2022 All-Star race. This begs the question; how can NASCAR change the All-Star race to make it interesting again? How can they make sure this display of incompetence doesn't ever happen again and do you think that Texas Motor Speedway should remain on the NASCAR schedule at all?
Next race: Coca-Cola 600 (crown jewel) at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night (5-29-2022).