Is North Wilkesboro Best Location, Format for the All-Star Race?

Is this current All-Star format and location the best possible version of this race for the NASCAR Cup Series?

Mike Neff: Being the resident “get off my lawn” guy, I will stick with my longtime belief. Charlotte Motor Speedway invented the All-Star Race and that is where it belongs. North Wilkesboro Speedway is close enough that it isn’t too much of a burden on the teams in the All-Star Open, but ideally the race belongs in the de facto home of NASCAR.

Luken Glover: Having it at North Wilkesboro is a good option as the track works its way back onto the schedule consistently. I like the format of having a 200-lap race with a 100-lap opening and 50-lap stint at the end to see who can manage their tire wear, especially with the primary tires and option tires. I’m not a huge fan of NASCAR mandating teams to start on the option tires as that dampens strategy initially. Overall, the All-Star Race is a B+. The large downside is the current production of the short track package, which will hopefully be fixed in the near future.

Wyatt Watson: I don’t think so. It was fun to have North Wilkesboro host the All-Star Race for its triumphant return, and North Wilkesboro is also close enough to still make All-Star weekend truly feel like an off week. However, with how unexciting short track racing has become, there’s only one place that makes sense to once again host the fight for $1 million: Charlotte. The racing product at mile-and-a-half tracks have been extremely fun and entertaining to watch during the Next Gen era. It would make perfect sense for NASCAR to return to Charlotte in the future if it fails to figure out how to save the short track racing product.

James Krause: I think so. While I loved the All-Star Race at Charlotte growing up, North Wilkesboro feels like the perfect next step for the event. It ties NASCAR back to some of its roots and provides that authentic local short track aesthetic you can’t get at almost any national series events. Whether we get quality short track racing remains up in the air.

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