Bubba Wallace compares All-Star Race conditions to ‘real life Mario Kart’

We don’t think blue shells are part of the setup for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, but every other part of Bubba Wallace’s video game analogy could be pretty apt.

Thanks to a restrictor plate/aero package combo quite unlike anything that’s ever been tried at Charlotte Motor Speedway — but was used last season in an XFINITY Series race at Indianapolis, to exciting results — no one knows quite what to expect in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. Leave it to Bubba Wallace to put in terms that fans, especially younger ones, will appreciate.

The Cup Series rookie isn’t in the field for the All-Star Race, but will be one of 21 drivers trying to advance by winning a stage in the Monster Energy Open. Thus, Wallace has a had a chance to put the aero package to the test.

He sounded pretty excited about it:

For the uninitiated, Mario Kart is a popular Nintendo racing video game franchise featuring many of the company’s popular characters competing in go-kart races against each other, with Rainbow Road usually appearing as the final and most difficult track. The games are known for their frenetic and wild changes of fortune, where a driver leading on the final lap can easily end up last in the blink of an eye.

(Granted, often because other players used a weapon of some sort to spin them out, which we don’t think will be allowed in the NASCAR All-Star Race!)

The cars might also seem like go-karts to the Cup Series stars because the restrictor plates have slowed them considerably. As NASCAR.com reports, Kyle Larson nearly hit 190 mph in practice for the 2017 NASCAR All-Star Race, but speeds this year have been closer to 165 mph.

The idea is to try to ensure cars can’t so easily drive away from each other, forcing drivers to make more passes under tight conditions. The drafting and pack racing prevalent at Daytona and Talladega could also shape up, though probably not to the same overwhelming degree since Charlotte is a shorter track.

Next: 2018 Monster Energy Open starting grid

In any case, you’ll want to tune in at 6:00 p.m. tonight on FS1 to see if Bubba got it right, and if you see Mario or Bowser out there, don’t say he didn’t warn you.