NASCAR considering using All-Star Race rules package in regular season race in 2018

NASCAR might be considering the use of the All-Star Race package of restrictor plates and special aero elements in a regular season race, and it could be sooner than you think.

Plenty of wise individuals cautioned against a rush to judgment about the NASCAR All-Star Race rules package and its effect at Charlotte Motor Speedway two weekends ago. Yes, it made the racing tighter and more exciting, but don’t forget that teams didn’t have time to test or adjust to it. If they did, the smarter, better ones would find a way to be just as untouchable as they currently are, and the racing might not be that much better.

Then the Coca-Cola 600 happened, and there’s a reason why our article about Ryan Blaney’s car catching fire was more widely read than any of our other coverage from Sunday night. Or rather, there were hundreds and hundreds of reasons that align perfectly with the number of laps led by Kyle Busch, who was impossible to catch out in front of the field and swept every stage and the race itself.

It’s not that the fastest car/best driver combination, which Kyle Busch often is, especially on nights when Kevin Harvick crashes out early, shouldn’t win. No real NASCAR fans are suggesting that.

On the other hand, it behooves NASCAR to at least consider something that might make racing on the sport’s many intermediate tracks more interesting, especially when the 2017 Pocono XFINITY Series race and the All-Star Race provide some evidence they might already have it. Thus, it’s not shocking at all to read NBC Sports report that NASCAR is considering using the All-Star Race rules package again this year.

That’s a faster timetable than many expected, but one that Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition seemed to confirm to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

"Before we totally commit to putting races on the schedule for ’19 … we all kind of felt it would be interesting if we could take another look at it somewhere this year …We’re working with the industry to come up with a plan to potentially look at it again, but we don’t have anything etched in stone at the moment."

Miller didn’t name specific tracks that might be considered for the package, but we have our own ideas on that. The key to get drivers and teams to buy in would be to announce when and where the All-Star Race rules might be used far enough ahead of time to give them ample time to prepare, perhaps even with additional testing sessions.

Next: Coca-Cola 600 highlights, stage results

Then again, that circles us right back to where the voices of caution were warning us before. With that extra prep time, all the restrictor plates and spoilers in the world might not be enough to keep a Kyle Busch or Harvick from running away from the field again. Still, in a season that is looking increasingly like a two-man battle even before it reaches the halfway point, anything that can make the other 30-plus drivers on the track each week a bit more relevant is worth exploring.