Clean Air (and Kyle Busch) Win All-Star Race

Clean air wins! That was what I got from the Monster Energy All-Star race finish. After winning two segments, Kyle Larsen was bested by the other Kyle (Busch) for the all-star win due to starting position.

Granted, Busch made a great move at the restart to get the lead. But on the 1.5-mile courses, track position and restart seem to be all that matters more often than not. No matter what Nascar has tried to do, the aero game always creeps back in and wins races for sometimes undeserving trophy recipients.

And for whatever reason, when Nascar was experiencing its highest popularity, people everywhere were building these same “cookie cutter” tracks. Now, we have a series flooded with track position battles, which leaves the real racing for a frantic restart scenario.

For what it’s worth, Larsen is one of the best at trying new things, which have a payoff from time to time. It was refreshing to see him gain some ground at the end of the race using the high line. And, it appears Nascar is going to try to bring the high line groove back through track prep for the upcoming 600 to give more multi-dimensional racing to the fans.

Clearly, something has to be done, as this has been the same old game year after year. And the sport is no longer in position to be okay with mediocrity.