NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway with other changes?

The All-Star race at Bristol could see a choose cone in addition to a new number placement (Rendering example sent to teams)

The NASCAR All-Star Race and All-Star Open have been moved from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Bristol Motor Speedway. The event will take place on July 15.

The state of Tennessee will allow the speedway to bring in 30,000 fans. They’ll be spaced out in groups within the 160,000 seats in the building.

“The NASCAR All-Star Race is an event known for making history, and we will enhance that legacy by hosting the event at Bristol Motor Speedway,” Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith said in a release.

“While Charlotte will always be recognized as the birthplace and traditional home for the All-Star Race, the current data surrounding the pandemic in North Carolina makes Bristol a better option for fan access this summer,” Smith added.

This is a very welcomed change, adding more emphasis on the short tracks within the current schedule.

“We are excited to take one of the most unique races in our sport to one of the most unique race tracks in our sport,” NASCAR Executive Vice President of Racing Development Steve O’Donnell said in a release. “Bristol Motor Speedway puts on classic short-track action every time we race there, and we’re anticipating an elevated level of intensity for the NASCAR All-Star Race.” 

The All-Star race pays $1,000,000 to the race winner.

Other changes?

But, there’s more exciting changes we could see for the 2020 NASCAR All-Star event.

Choose cone

A choose cone lets drivers pick their lane just ahead of a restart. After pit stops, just ahead of the restart, drivers roll past the start finish line single file and are forced to choose the inside or outside lane.

The top 5 drivers could all choose the preferred groove, the inside for example. Then, the driver in 6th could be the first to choose the outside and he would instead start on the front row, outside.

The choose cone has been discussed for several seasons. That discussion has been heightened recently.

It removes an issue where drivers park at the exit of the pit lane. If they are going to come off pit lane in 4th on the outside but would rather start 5th on the inside, drivers are known to stomp the brakes just before the exit of pit lane and let one car go by. This has already created accidents in the past.

NASCAR Number Placement
NASCAR Number Placement

Number placement

New for this season, tiny stickers have all but gone away. Previously, the front of the left and right side doors were filled with series sponsor stickers.

NASCAR has mostly done away with this. And that’s opened the door for something new.

The primary sponsors are currently limited to the hood and rear quarter panels of the car. While, the largest surface area on the race car is reserved for the car numbers.

For Bristol, we will likely see a change. The number could go on the rear quarter panels while the sponsor logos could be moved to the doors.

NASCAR informed teams on Monday of a new concept. That Sunoco No. 56 graphic was the example sent to teams.

The concept was drawn on the 2022 car. So, we can expect this to be the case for the 2022 car, if it goes well at Bristol.

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Bristol Motor Speedway | Charlotte Motor Speedway | NASCAR

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