Track Smack: All-Star race becoming three-ring circus

1. It's time for the annual All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. With no points at stake, is this event really important?

Dave Rodman: Of course it's important, because it's all about the money and it pays a cool million to win. Otherwise, the risk of tearing stuff up far outweighs the benefit of another test session, unless you're real smart about it. It's important for the fans if the format makes it a show, and it appears the return to the 10-lap segment might do that -- but you could make a pretty good argument for a five-lap final segment, too.

David Caraviello: Sorry, but I fell out of love with this event years ago. It's a great idea, and was once done very well. Now it's so overproduced, has so many long gaps, and so many changing rules that I'm just not crazy about it anymore. I mean, sure, the winner gets a big paycheck at the end. So for them, it's totally worthwhile. For everyone else, it's a glorified practice session for the Coca-Cola 600.

Raygan Swan: I don't know, after giving it some thought and trying to keep up with the slew of rule changes, I think it is more important for sponsors and just costly for teams. And it is kind of sad for the low-budget teams trying to qualify and waste their time when they could be putting their efforts into the following week's 600. It is enjoyable to see the change in drivers' race style when points are not involved. That can be entertaining. But it just seems like a big carnival to me.

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Dave Rodman: You know what? This would be the ideal event for a team race. Since NASCAR and Grand-Am are now allied, and since rule changes rule in this one, make a driver change mandatory in the middle of the event. Now, that would be the ticket. Give some struggling drivers a chance and make some instant all-stars!

David Caraviello: Um, Dave, let's come back down to reality there big guy. The one draw here is the drivers. Fans want to see Dale Jr. mix it up with no points at stake. They don't want to see him turn his No. 88 car over to somebody they've never heard of. And the last thing the All-Star Race needs is another long gap with no action!

Raygan Swan: Dave, if that means the event will take longer than it already does, then no thanks! But it might be funny to see drivers doing fire drills.

Dave Rodman: No -- the driver change would be in the middle of a pit stop in the middle of the race. I think it would be great stuff. If each of the races paid $100,000 to start, that would be a great incentive for the teams. Again, it can be valuable as a test, but not if you wreck your stuff and it is, after all, a race. No guarantees. And of course, you'd have to tighten up the eligibility parameters. One hundred grand to start is a start-and-park vulture's proverbial wooly mammoth.

Raygan Swan: Bottom line I just think the season is too long for an all-star race that doesn't affect the end result of the season and the championship

Dave Rodman: Let the fans pick the driver teams. Just think if they matched Elliott Sadler and John Andretti, for example. Or Tony Stewart and A.J. Allmendinger. The challenge of fitting the respective drivers would be cool. If it's a circus anyway, you might as well add some more clowns, right?

David Caraviello: Hey, how about this -- we just take the best and most popular drivers in the series and let them race! No pit stop regulations! No multi-segments! Just shorten the field, throw a big wad of money out there, ask NASCAR to look away for about two hours and go at it. What a revolutionary idea! It might be something people actually want to see!

Stay or go?

Charlotte has been the permanent host of NASCAR's All-Star race since its inception in 1985. Is it time to move this race around the country or it in the Queen City? Bill Kimm and Jason Schoellen debate in this week's Head2Head.

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Raygan Swan: I'd watch.

Dave Rodman: But if you were to do that, is Lowe's the best place to do it? Or how about this? We know Lowe's is the best place to do it -- but since selling seats is such a challenge, why not do it on the short track. Or mix the segments between the short track and the speedway? Why not do one segment on the dirt track, one on the short track and a finale on the speedway? Though that, I know David, would kill your idea of no gaps and no boredom.

David Caraviello: Yes Dave, a one-hour gap so 80,000 spectators cam change seats. Brilliant. Hey, no question this thing is a good idea. Anyone who watched Dale Earnhardt Jr. win the Winston in 2000 knows how cool the race can be. But it's kind of become weighed down in recent years. People want to see a race, not a made-for-TV extravaganza.

Dave Rodman: So do the dirt track segment in the early afternoon and tape it for the TV broadcast! There is a solution for anything if you want to seek it out, right? Make a segment that's the "Great All-Star Race." The driver and crew chief have to navigate from the Hall of Fame site in downtown Charlotte to the speedway. Again, taped to be added to the Saturday night extravacast!

David Caraviello: Shoot man, if you're gonna go that far, just stick 'em in legends cars and turn 'em loose on the quarter mile.

Raygan Swan: Since you guys are giving crazy ideas, why not scrap the race all together and put on a NASCAR drivers game show! Put them in an entirely different element, something that won't take all night but is still entertaining for fans. Like NASCAR's version of the show "Wipeout."

David Caraviello: Or maybe this: Passenger cars in rush-hour traffic! First guy from Charlotte to Mooresville wins $1 million!

Dave Rodman: I'd like to see those cats circumnavigate race traffic without the benefit of helicopters.

David Caraviello: Yes Dave, that would indeed be a real challenge for these all-stars. (Continued)