The All-Star Race package didn't work for the XFINITY Series Pocono race

The much lauded NASCAR All-Star Race rules package might not improve racing everywhere, and it seems like the Tricky Triangle might be one of the places immune to its benefits.

By now, if you’re a NASCAR fan, you don’t need us to tell you about the restrictor plate, spoiler and special aero package used during the All-Star Race. It’s been all the buzz these last few weeks, but while there certainly is convincing evidence it might help at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it hit a bit of a snag Saturday at Pocono Raceway.

The rules package, which actually made its debut last year during the XFINITY Series race at Indianapolis to rave (and well-deserved) reviews, was in effect at Pocono’s XFINITY Series event this weekend. The only problem is that it didn’t work.

Kyle Busch ran away with the race, which isn’t surprising because he’s Kyle Busch. But the restrictor plate and other elements weren’t enough to slow him to the point where other cars could catch him once he was out front. Nor did they encourage all that much drafting in the pack that was attempting to run him down.

Except for the exciting four-car finish to Stage 1, where Paul Menard broke free as he came up on a lapped car entering Turn 3, and some interesting jockeying for position on restarts, the All-Star Race rules package mostly failed the eye test. The racing didn’t seem all that much more exciting than a typical summer afternoon at Long Pond.

The statistics back that assertion up as well. The 2017 XFINITY Series race at Pocono Raceway featured 12 lead changes among six drivers, and the longest run with a single driver in front was when Kyle Benjamin led the first 21 laps. On Saturday, the lead changed hands just seven times among six drivers, and Busch led the last 40 laps while also leading 24 earlier in the race.

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What about among the rest of the field? NASCAR’s loop data shows that green flag passing was well down from last year overall. Last June, the race produced 1,346 total green flag passes versus just 1,033 on Saturday. Nine drivers in 2017 passed more than the 47 cars Ross Chastain passed under green this time around.

That doesn’t mean it’s time to panic or that NASCAR should forget about trying the package out at other tracks. The whole reason for the XFINITY Series races experimenting with it is to shine a light on where it might be beneficial, and lord knows most people would probably be in favor of the Brickyard 400 trying it after what happened during the junior circuit race there last summer. In terms of the All-Star Race versus the Coca-Cola 600, there’s a strong argument to be made for using it next Memorial Day weekend too.

What is apparent after Saturday, though, is that the various voices who cautioned that the All-Star Race rules weren’t going to turn into a silver bullet that could solve boring racing at tons of tracks were correct. Maybe Pocono Raceway needs some tinkering before the right formula is concocted, or maybe just leaving the cars the way they are normally is the best it’s going to get at the Tricky Triangle.

Next: See the Pocono 400 starting grid, lineup

But the Cup Series returns for it’s usual mid-summer stop at Pocono on the last weekend of July, and we just learned that it doesn’t need the restrictor plates and 12-inch spoilers when it arrives, because they simply wasn’t effective there this weekend.

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The All-Star Race rules package didn’t work for the XFINITY Series Pocono race

By Nick Tylwalk | Jun 3, 2018

The much lauded NASCAR All-Star Race rules package might not improve racing everywhere, and it seems like the Tricky Triangle might be one of the places immune to its benefits.