FORT WORTH, Texas – The format for NASCAR’s 2021 All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend will feature six short rounds, random lineup draws, inverted starts and a pit stop.

What, no Figure-8 crossroad?

Maybe another time. At first glance it would appear the fingerprints of TMS President/General Manager Eddie Gossage, who is hosting his first All-Star Race, are all over the paperwork planning. That’s not the full story. 

“I proposed a format back in January and the finished product looks nothing like that proposal,” Gossage said. “And that’s fine, that’s good. Obviously, we had a voice in it, NASCAR has a voice in it, FOX has a voice in it. And I’ll tell ya, I had a Zoom call with a number of folks at FOX, not just the talent but also producers, directors and whatnot. Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer had a lot of thoughts and really shaped where we wound up in a big way.”

Gordon, of course, is a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion who won the All-Star Race in 1995, 1997 and 2001 with Hendrick Motorsports. Bowyer, who retired from the Cup Series after the 2020 season with Stewart-Haas Racing, has joined Gordon as color analyst during telecasts on FOX and FOX Sports 1.

Gossage, hosting the All-Star Race for the first time in its 37-year history, has promised a “Fort Worth feel” to the June 13 program with pre-race festivities to feature an Old Western theme during driver introductions.

The format at “The Great American Speedway” on Sunday is as follows:

_ The All-Star Race will feature six rounds, totaling 100 laps.

_ Starting lineup for Round 1 will be determined via random draw.

_ Rounds 1 through 4 will be 15 laps each; Round 5 will be 30 laps; the Final Round will feature a 10-lap shootout.

 _ At the beginning of Round 2, the field will be inverted via random draw (minimum of eight/maximum of 12) live on FOX Sports 1.

_ The Round 2 random draw also will be seen live by fans attending the race on Big Hoss TV.

_ Before the start of Round 3, the entire field will be inverted.

_ At the beginning of Round 4, the field will be inverted via random draw (minimum of eight/maximum of 12).

_ Starting positions for Round 5 will consist of the cumulative finish from Rounds 1-4. The lowest cumulative finisher starts on the pole, second-lowest starts second and so forth. All cars must enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop during Round 5.

_ Starting positions in the Final Round will be set by finishing positions of Round 5.

_ Only green flag laps will count during the All-Star Race.

_ The fastest team on pit road during the mandatory pit stop will earn $100,000.

_ The race winner will be awarded $1,000,000.

_ The race-winner also will hoist the NASCAR All-Star Race Trophy. Produced by Jostens, the stainless steel cup stands 36 inches tall and weighs 100 pounds.

_ From a technical side, all elements of each car remain the same except for a tapered manifold spacer, which will be 57/64ths.

“This is a full-metal rodeo for a big ol’ bag of dough,” said Gossage, who is capping his 27-year tenure at TMS with this non-points/huge payday event.

Gossage reiterated that Gordon and Bowyer were staunch proponents of a format featuring short races.

“We didn’t want heats,” Gossage said, “because if you win a heat you advance to the Main, right, under normal circumstances. The fans want to see all the drivers racing. So if you had a heat and that guy went to the garage because he was waiting for the Main, you wouldn’t see Driver X. These are all the top names in the sport, obviously. We talked about it and a true heat wasn’t the way to go. Short races is what the fans and the media have been saying for years they want to see. OK, we’re listening to the fans and the media. That’s where it came from.

“In a lot of ways it’s a throwback to the Saturday night race that all of us came from, all of us love and what made us fans to begin with. If you think of the early rounds as heats, you can think of the 10-lap shootout at the end as your feature. It’s not extremely complicated, despite what some have said.”

Chase Elliott, winner of the COVID-19-impacted July 2020 ASR at the half-mile/high-banked Bristol Motor Speedway, could become the first repeat champ since Jimmie Johnson in 2012-2013. Johnson, of course, is a seven-time Cup Series champion and Elliott’s former Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

“I think it’s (the format) fine. Whatever they need to do to create a story line, or whatever, for the race that is not a points race,” said Elliott, whose $1.1-million victory served as a springboard to the Cup championship. Bill Elliott, Chase’s dad, won the second All-Star Race in 1986 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, sister 1.5-mile track to TMS in O. Bruton Smith’s SMI empire.

Elliott is one of 17 drivers to have clinched All-Star berths heading into Cowtown. That list includes, alphabetically, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. Criteria for eligibility includes Cup Series race-winners in 2020-2021 and fulltime drivers who are either past All-Star winners or past Cup champions.

Meanwhile, the All-Star Open will be contested immediately before the All-Star Race in three rounds of 20 laps, 20 laps and a 10-lap shootout with round-winners and the overall winner advancing into the All-Star main event. Fan balloting will determine the final driver in the field who is otherwise ineligible. Fans may vote for their favorite driver by visiting www.NASCAR.com for details.

“The format is definitely a bit confusing when you look at it on paper, but once you take it all in and digest it, it makes a lot of sense,” said Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who is headed for the All-Star Open. “There’s not going to be a stage in the race where drivers are taking it easy or conserving. Everyone in the entire field is going to be working really hard from Lap 1 to Lap 100 and I think that should help the racing.”

The mandatory four-tire pit stop during Round 5 pays homage to a competition formerly held at the Charlotte Coliseum during All-Star Race Weeks at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

“That’s tough to do, particularly right now when NASCAR is doing most of their races as a one-day show,” said Gossage, noting that SMI President/CEO Marcus Smith wanted to feature the pit crews at TMS.

“One, the NASCAR All-Star Race has always been a showcase for pit crews, whether it was that pit crew competition or part of qualifying, where everybody ran a qualifying lap along with a pit stop,” Gossage said. “Marcus kept talking about we needed to do something with the crews, and that was the genesis of the idea of the embedded pit crew competition in Round 5. There’s some money on the line and everybody does it differently, teams do it differently. Some crews are eligible for bonuses if they win…so let’s do something to put the spotlight on the crews.

“You’re timed from the entrance to pit road, there’s a line there and a line at the exit of pit road. So the driver has to do a great job getting onto pit road, into the pit box, the crew’s got to do a great job and you got to get out of that pit box and cross that line. That puts pressure on everybody and that’s what the All-Star Race is all about. So the crews can earn money, they can earn a good starting position for that final 10-lap shootout. That was Marcus’ idea.”

Prosper native Chris Buescher said the first All-Star Race in Texas is a personal highlight of NASCAR’s revamped 2021 schedule. “I think it’s going to be pretty wild seeing the new format of the race,” said Buescher, of Roush Fenway Racing. “We have to race our way in. But I do think it’s going to be a neat race.”

TMS fan Chris Sharp of Duncanville, who regularly attends all NASCAR and IndyCar events at the track, said he and fiancee Lydia Dickey are looking forward to Sunday’s program. “Format, well, almost need to be an attorney to figure it out,” Sharp said. “Anxious to see what Eddie has planned after the race. Lots of hype on social media about it. Sounds like he is going out with a bang.”

Indeed, TMS is billing the post-race celebration as “one never before seen at a NASCAR race.” Recall that TMS’ ground-breaking ceremony on April 11, 1995 was marked by a pyrotechnic display overseen by Gossage.

“Not blowing up anything,” Gossage told RacinToday.com. “Fans just need to say in their seat. If they leave their seat they’re going to miss it and I think they’ll kick themselves because it’s one of those unique things.”

The weekend celebrating the 25th Season of Speed at “No Limits, Texas” also features the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 250 Powered by Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 220. Both races are booked for Saturday, with the NCWTS event set for noon (CDT, FOX Sports 1, MRN, and 95.9 The Ranch) followed at 3 p.m. by the Xfinity Series (FS1, PRN, 95.9 The Ranch).

Pre-All-Star Race activities on Sunday will see rocker Sammy Hagar and fellow-guitarist Vic Johnson playing Hagar’s classic “I Can’t Drive 55” as part of the festivities. Hagar, aka the “Red Rocker,” and Johnson will perform the 1984 radio and MTV hit from a stage located in the TMS grandstands at Section PL 102.

On-track activity Sunday will begin with the NASCAR All-Star Open (5 p.m. CDT, FS1, MRN and 95.9 The Ranch) followed by the $1-million-to-win NASCAR All-Star Race (7 p.m., FS1, MRN and 95.9 The Ranch).

NASCAR’s All-Star 10 Days of Speed continues today at Texas Motor Speedway and throughout North Texas. The remaining schedule of ASR-related activities (all times CDT):

Wednesday, June 9

Bobby and Terry Labonte All-Star Clay Shoot benefitting Speedway Children’s Charities, Circle T Ranch, Westlake, 1:30 p.m.

ALL-STAR TEXAS MIDWAY

Carnival rides, games and food, Texas Motor Speedway, 4 to 10 p.m.

ALL-STAR KICKOFF FESTIVAL

Bobby and Terry Labonte Q&A/All-Star Cruise Night Car Show w/95.9 The Ranch, Texas Motor Speedway Infield, 7 p.m.

Thursday, June 10 

GEICO All-Star Infield Camping and Big Frig’s Burnout Alley open, 8 a.m.

ALL-STAR KARTING FOR KIDS

Benefitting Speedway Children’s Charities, Lone Star Kartpark, 4 to 8 p.m.

ALL-STAR TEXAS MIDWAY

Carnival rides, games and food, Texas Motor Speedway, 4 to 10 p.m.

VIRTUAL BETTER-HALF DASH

NASCAR women compete in Virtual Texas Motor Speedway on iRacing platform, Virtual Texas Motor Speedway, FOX Sports 1, 5 p.m.

ALL-STAR 50/50 RAFFLE

Benefitting Speedway Children’s Charities, Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track

ALL-STAR SPRINT CAR SHOWDOWN

Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, 6 p.m.

Friday, June 11

ALL-STAR TEXAS MIDWAY

Carnival rides, games and food, Texas Motor Speedway, 4 to 6 p.m.

ALL-STAR 50/50 RAFFLE

Benefitting Speedway Children’s Charities, Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track

ALL-STAR SPRINT CAR SHOWDOWN

Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 12

ALL-STAR 50/50 RAFFLE

Benefitting Speedway Children’s Charities, Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR ALL-STAR FAN ZONE

Driver souvenir rigs/tents, sponsor displays, carnival rides, interactive activities, Texas Motor Speedway, 9 a.m.

ALL-STAR TEXAS MIDWAY

Carnival rides, games and food, Texas Motor Speedway, noon to 11 p.m.

SPEEDYCASH.COM 200

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race, Texas Motor Speedway, noon

ALSCO UNIFORMS 250 powered by Cheddar’s

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race, Texas Motor Speedway, 3 p.m.

Sunday, June 13 

ALL-STAR 50/50 RAFFLE

Benefitting Speedway Children’s Charities, Texas Motor Speedway

ALL-STAR LAPS FOR CHARITY

Benefitting Speedway Children’s Charities, Texas Motor Speedway, 8 to 10 a.m.

ALL-STAR TEXAS MIDWAY

Carnival rides, games and food, Texas Motor Speedway, noon to 10 p.m. 

NASCAR ALL-STAR FAN ZONE

Driver souvenir rigs/tents, sponsor displays, carnival rides, interactive activities, Texas Motor Speedway, 1 p.m.

NASCAR ALL-STAR OPEN

NASCAR Cup Series Non-Points Race, 50 total laps, Texas Motor Speedway, 5 p.m.

NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE

NASCAR Cup Series Non-Points Race, 100 total laps, Texas Motor Speedway, 7:10 p.m.

ALL-STAR POST-RACE CELEBRATION

A celebration never before seen at a NASCAR race, Texas Motor Speedway

TICKETS

Tickets for Texas Motor Speedway’s 2021 major event season, including the June 13 NASCAR All-Star Race, are on sale now at http://www.texasmotorspeedway.com. Fans can track all of Texas Motor Speedway’s events on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Keep up with the latest news and information on the Speedway’s website and TMS mobile app.

 

 

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