Sink or swim.

Since the All Star race this past weekend I've heard more and more suggestions, or request, that the race be moved to a different facility. Many are tired of O. Bruton Smith and family, some are tired of the antic-limactic racing, and others just want to see something different. After 27 races at Charlotte I agree its time to consider a different venue. I understand that the Charlotte area is considered The Hub of the sport and that the majority of the teams and employees are located close to the speedway, but that is not the reason for the race. The race is for the fans, and lately they haven't been getting their money's worth.Charlotte Motor Speedway is a great facility and has been a leader in the sport for the majority of its existence but there is only so much they can do. Between the lack luster racing, the ever changing formats, and now the rediculous 'Fan Vote' many of the are losing intrest in the race. It just don't live up to the hype any more. At this point I think a change would help to reinvigorate the weekend and bring a little excitement back to the race. And judging from all the empty seats it is obvious that many no longer care to pay the lofty price of a ticket, fight the crowds and traffic and be at the mercy of the weather and walk away and wonder why they came.What do you think, should Sprint ask that the race be moved to a different facility? Should the race be rotated between several different size tracks, or just moved to a different track to see what happenes? If you had a say, what track would you think would put on the best show for the fans? Me personally, I would vote for Richmond.Sound off!Bumpertag in S. Carolina
updated by @bumpertag: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

no...

Sink or Swim ??????? LOL

The original intent of RJR was to have the event at a different venue each year. Richmond's Paul Sawyer was pretty sure he'd get the first one, but at the last minute, CMS was selected based on what Humpy offrered. As we know, the event was moved in year two to Atlanta and we had the Mother's Day disaster. It has been at Charlotte ever since.

Personally, I think it should be held every year at a different venue as was the original intent.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

Wally votes to sink. Lol

I agree, change the venue, not the formats. JMO

Humpy last year described the process of staging the event at night and mentioned how hard Paul had gone after it. We were sure at the time based on what T. Wayne had told us that the race was ours. Not the first time RJR said one thing but did something else, though.

I went with then sales manager Jim Duncan to Winston Salem in 1991 to visit RJ Reynolds Sports Marketing Dept. The meeting was with RJR director of sports T. Wayne Robertson to make a presentation for the 1992 Winston All Star Race. Our contract was always for one year. We yearly made a presentation to them to get the event back.

I was really worried that year because Richmond promoter Paul Sawyer really wanted the event. So, we made our presentation and presented them with five promotional ideas. Wayne and his group didn't like any of them and I thought we were going to lose the race. Right before the meeting ended I said: `Ok, I have another idea...let's run it on Saturday night.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

Just get rid of it all together. Give the teams a week offSo go to another place and see more contrived fabricated entermainment. That is pretty much what happens on a weekly basis anyhow

I vote to cancel the race entirely. The all-stars race against each other every week, and without gimmicks and contrived fan votes. Give the teams a week off. There are too many races on the schedule anyway but that's a topic for another discussion.If you want to spice up the season, do a Winston Million type of promotion. Ideally this would involve an intermediate and short track with the final leg on a road course. But Bruton doesn't have a road course and ISC doesn't like to spend money.Of course the goal has always been to upstage the month of May in Indianapolis. I've tried to think of ways to spice up the World 600 but have failed. There have been various attempts to reward drivers for leading specific laps but that hasn't been successful in turning up the excitement level. You've really got to pay out for every lap to keep them dicing up front, so let's say $2500 per. The drivers make enough money and so do the crew chiefs, so let's make it payable to the rest of the crew. They'll work their hardest on setup and do their best on pit stops. And the driver will be obligated to race as hard as he can for every lap so as to not let down the guys he depends on for his success.

Some good points raised here, especially those who vote to get rid of it all together. It was fun the first few years, but it has become so contrived and fake that it is no more fun. I do watch, because I'm addicted to seeing fast cars chase each other, but I really don't care who wins or finishes second or whatever.

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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.

I agree with you, Tim....It seems to have its course, I believe.

I've openly championed that the event should be dropped. (Not sure I can refer to it as a "race".) The original idea was a good one, and I think the buzz from those first few years helped lift Cup along with other aspects that increased its popularity. But I can count on 1 hand the number of memorable events: DW's blown engine in the 1st one, the Pass in the Grass, One Hot Night, and perhaps Michael Waltrip's popular win in the Wood Brothers 21. Otherwise, they've pretty well been duds.

Having said that - I went last weekend anyway. It was my 1st ever (and my last) All Star event. I'll blog more about it later, but I went for 4 reasons:

• I can't make it to the 600 this year, but I still wanted to spend tailgating time with friends.
• I'd never been to one of these events, and I figured I'd cross it off my list this go-round.
• I got the chance to visit Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville for the first time and THOROUGHLY enjoyed the visit. LOTS of RacersReunion.com material noticed as well.
• Closely related to the 1st one: Schaefer and lobsters.

With that said, I've come to the realization NASCAR, Sprint, the teams, FOX, SMI and ISC really don't care what I think. I'm not on any fan council. I haven't emailed or tweeted them my thoughts. And I really don't believe it would matter if I did. Some have suggested rotating the race to different tracks. Whatever. All bluster. Won't happen. There is too much easy gravy to be made by everyone by keeping the race on the schedule and right where it is.

But if they're going to keep it in Charlotte and keep the format roughly the same, they really need to do something dramatic to mix it up. How about if Sprint and NASCAR put their money where their mouth is. Have an IROC type of race. Contract with someone like Robby Gordon, Dave Marcis, Donnie Allison, Joey Arrington, etc. to build a fleet of seemingly identical cars. Leave off the decals of the manufacturers and sponsors. Draw numbers from two hats to see (1) which car you get and (2) where you'll start. Only then will the team be allowed to apply a number and a couple of primary sponsor decals. Showcase the DRIVERS.

As for the "mandatory" pit stop, no more. The crewman and the decisions made by the crew chief week to week are invaluable - but not in this instance. Require a mandatory stop for tires or whatever. But do it under a caution and reset the field in the order they came down pit road.

With no pit strategy in play, drivers in someone else's cars, and limited risk of a team screwing around with the car, I think the drivers might be more willing to go all out for the win vs. preserving a car, earning a soft purse, and retreating to the comfort of their motor homes.

I just don't see any hunger from 80-90% of the drivers anymore. In the past, many had the hunger of a racing greyhound chasing after a fake rabbit.

But my proposal is 2nd only to my original idea of getting rid of the thing. Either give the teams a much needed week off before the summer grind begins or add another points-paying race to the schedule.

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.

The more I read the more I agree its time to end the All Star Race. This was a race born from money, and now the money has destroyed its own child. Th build up and hype gives way disappointment every year. I'm sure Bruton and Sprint hope the next All Star Race will be that rare race that will have people talking, but the truth is that the chances of that happening are very slim in the sport today.Time to give the eulogy and bury this event before there are more crew members in the garage than there are fans in the stands.

Why Richmond? Why not Rockingham ? or or open North Wilkesboro -- heck Atlanta would fair better than Charlotte, at least they arent arguing with city hall....

Give a thought to this even----Darlington, now that would be a barn storming place to hold a shootout

If you are going to continue with it, there are only a handful of tracks with the allure and amenities to host it. My short list is Charlotte, Vegas, Texas, and Richmond. 3 of 4 of course are owned by SMI. Just as the all-star or pro-bowl games of the NFL, MLB, NHL, etc. are in premium cities, that's the way NASCAR would go if the AS race were to be moved. Most existing cup tracks wouldn't even be sniffed - places like Dover, Phoenix, Pocono, Indy, Homestead, Darlington, etc. And non-Cup tracks wouldn't even be on the table - Rockingham and Iowa for example.

If Bruton wants to keep the money to himself - and Sprint and NASCAR go along with it - he could rotate it from the West (Vegas) to Central (Ft Worth) to East (Charlotte) over a 3 year rotation.

But I contend the location is the least of the event's problems. Fans love racing - they don't like strokers. The prelim race Saturday was a joke - mainly because all the drivers knew the outcome. Once McMurray set sail and Stenhouse settled into 2nd, everyone else just bagged it. They all knew Danica was advancing to the big show and chose to just run out the laps vs. running the risk of tearing up a car.

I think you have to incentivize the drivers again. They are more interested in playing nice to appease sponsors and don't want to tear up their team's equipment. But if you put them in randomly assigned cars built by third party, maybe the competitive hunger would return.

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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.

A shootout from long distance?? If you run it on a shorter track you get the true aspect of a shootout. A rifle on a big track or a pistol on a short track. My feeling is the short track would draw way more seat warmers and really bring back the old school desire that a lot of spectators are asking for

I'm not much on the IROC concept. N. Wilksboro would have been good at one time, but not now the way the track has crumble over the years. I think it will take short track action to bring the excitement back.

I knew we were in trouble when DW, Mike Joy, Larry Whopper, oops Mac and the rest of the television braintrust couldn't average the finishes of the contestants in the first segments and figure who was due to be in what order to pit for the final segment.

It's gotten so hokey that I'm not certain it can be saved or needs to be saved, either.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

Wilkesboro may be crumbling, but if the race was so located, it'd (instantly) be the toughest-ticket-to-get NASCAR.