The White Zone: Let’s add some other events to the All-Star weekend

“The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and I want to know why we don’t do other activities on All-Star weekend.

Every year on the weekend before the Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series gathers at Charlotte Motor Speedway to run the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. It’s composed of winners from the previous season and the races preceding it in the current season, past winners of the event, past Sprint Cup Series champions, the winners of the two Sprint Showdown races and the recipient of the fan vote. It’s your old school Saturday night shootout where the winner gets a million dollars.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk. I’m here to talk about the lack of miscellaneous events that you find at All-Star events of the stick and ball sports.

Now you could argue that the city of Charlotte and the NASCAR shops are in and of themselves miscellaneous events. However, when I look at the All-Star weekends in other sports, they tend to have a common denominator. They all have skills events that precede the main event. These events include the home run derby in Major League Baseball, the SuperSkills competition in the NHL and the shooting stars competition, the skills challenge, the three-point contest and the slam dunk contest in the NBA.

Now not all of them have miscellaneous events with their All-Star game. The NFL Pro Bowl doesn’t have any skills competitions preceding it. Although you could argue that the Pro Bowl itself is a miscellaneous event that leads up to the Super Bowl.

Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Some of you might remember that we used to have skills events leading up to the All-Star Race. The first one was always the pit crew challenge which gave the winning team of the event the first pit stall choice on race night. They did away with it in 2013 due to a lack of sponsorship.

Another, for a few years, was the burnout contest where the track brought in some celebrities to score the burnouts. For some reason, that too went away.

So I’ve been giving this some thought and I’d like to throw out some suggestions for skills events. One would be a celebrity race event. The basic premise is that you put some famous people in cars – probably something from the Richard Petty Racing Experience or the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure – and let them run a mini race. Before you say, “they don’t know how to drive a race car,” they’ll let anyone drive a car if they let me drive 10 laps around Talladega. The presence of these celebrities might bring some added exposure to the All-Star Race itself.

Personally, I’d rather see something like having drivers from other forms of racing do this event instead of pop culture stars, but this time of May is when the big boys are preparing for Memorial Day Sunday. Which is what I, and others in the racing world, consider the single biggest day of racing on the planet.

Another thing I’d like to see is an obstacle course race where you put down cones and the drivers have to navigate the makeshift road course in the fastest time.

This next one is not so much a car-related challenge, but it still requires skill nonetheless. We take the four drivers with the most Twitter followers, give them a minute and see who can sign the most memorabilia.

And, since this is a fantasy, let’s bring back the Pit Crew Challenge.

If you guys have ideas for other skills events, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section.

My plane is about to take off, so I must wrap this up. Until next time, I’ll leave you with this fact. Nylon is made from coal and petroleum.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Tucker White
Tucker White
I've followed NASCAR for well over 20 years of my life, both as a fan and now as a member of the media. As of 2024, I'm on my ninth season as a traveling NASCAR beat writer. For all its flaws and dumb moments, NASCAR at its best produces some of the best action you'll ever see in the sport of auto racing. Case in point: Kyle Larson's threading the needle pass at Darlington Raceway on May 9, 2021. On used-up tires, racing on a worn surface and an aero package that put his car on the razor's edge of control, Larson demonstrated why he's a generational talent. Those are the stories I want to capture and break down. In addition to NASCAR, I also follow IndyCar and Formula 1. As a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I'm a diehard Tennessee Volunteers fan (especially in regards to Tennessee football). If covering NASCAR doesn't kill me, down the road, watching Tennessee football will. I'm also a diehard fan of the Atlanta Braves, and I lived long enough to see them win a World Series for the first time since 1995 (when I was just a year old). I've also sworn my fan allegiance to the Nashville Predators, though that's not paid out as much as the Braves. Furthermore, as a massive sports dork, I follow the NFL on a weekly basis. Though it's more out of an obligation than genuine passion (for sports dorks, following the NFL is basically an unwritten rule). Outside of sports, I'm a major cinema buff and a weeb. My favorite film is "Blazing Saddles" and my favorite anime is "Black Lagoon."

1 COMMENT

  1. I don’t think the timing issue has been brought up. I feel it should be a true Midseason Classic and people are locked into Indy at that time of year. I would like to see Scott Dixon and Matt Hagan run the All Star Race ,too.

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