NASCAR All-Star Race: What's the Point and Does It Still Matter

For much of its 37-year history, NASCAR’s annual All-Star Race was considered one of the jewels of the season.

The first race, in 1985, featured a surprise finish as Darrell Waltrip took the checkered flag first, seconds before the engine in his Junior Johnson Chevrolet exploded. Rivals suspected Johnson, ever the “innovator,” had put a powerful but illegal engine in the car and that Waltrip destroyed it after the win to avoid the probing eyes of inspectors.

That set the course for what was then known as The Winston. Big money was at stake—the winner eventually got $1 million, and the fact that no seasonal points were involved gave the race an edgy Wild West flavor.

Over the years there were dramatic finishes: Davey Allison winning the first night race in 1992 after he and Kyle Petty crashed at the finish line. Rusty Wallace punting Waltrip on the final lap to win in 1989. Dale Earnhardt outdueling Bill Elliott in 1987 in a race that included Earnhardt surviving a ride on the infield grass.

The race became a hot ticket, thanks in large part to an evolving format that attempted to force dynamic finishes. Sometimes that concept worked; sometimes it failed miserably.

The race, originally intended to be spread around the Cup circuit, instead became a mainstay at Charlotte Motor Speedway, whose promotional experts poured coal into the All-Star engine to keep interest high. The COVID pandemic opened the door to moving the race to Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020, and last year’s event was held at Texas Motor Speedway.

The race returns to Texas Motor Speedway Sunday night, bringing with it a slice of uncertainty about its future and its relevance in a series that, after years of stagnancy, is looking toward new and different horizons. Instead of a special event, the race has carried a certain element of “just another weekend.”

Denny Hamlin has been among drivers suggesting that the race needs revitalization, possibly including moving it to a new venue each year. This week, Hamlin retweeted a Twitter comment that suggested that “NASCAR drivers and teams would rather have a couple weeks’ vacation than keep up the pretense of the All-Star Race.”

Chase Elliott endorsed the idea of rotating the race “to give fans in the different regions a special event. … It’s more like what other forms of sports do. I’m hoping that next year they switch it up and head somewhere else after being back in Texas for the second year.”