All-star events -- obsolete?

By DAVID GREEN

NASCAR's all-star race -- seems as if it should always be referred to as "The Winston" -- has produced some great memories over the years since its inception in 1985. It has also produced some serious snoozers.

Regular readers of this post (all two or three of you -- thanks, Mom) know that I think that's the way life is supposed to be. Some days are diamonds, some days are stones, as the late John Denver once sang; or, if you prefer, nobody ever had a rainbow until he had the rain (Jim Croce).

So, the question of whether every one ought to be a breath-taker is not at issue in this discussion. Rather, I wonder if the time for the concept has come and gone.

I'm not just talking about racing. It seems to me that the notion of all-star games in general no longer has any special appeal.

As far as I know, baseball was the original sport to come up with the idea of showcasing its top players in a single contest. Other professional sports added their versions of it, and NASCAR was a very late comer in joining that party.

College football has and has had, over the years, a number of special events. High school sports have competitions such as the Kentucky versus Indiana basketball series.

All of them are great in that they showcase outstanding players. Usually, the quality of the competition is of secondary importance. It's more of an exhibition than a game. Of course, players have competitive drive and they want to win. But they seldom play with the intensity they show in a playoff or championship or World Series game.

If anything, NASCAR's drivers treat their event just the opposite.

However, because of the nature of auto racing, there's no need for one special event to pit the all-stars against each other. They do it every time they race. The all-star event merely has fewer cars on the track and it doesn't grind on for 500 miles.

Home-run derbies, slam-dunk and 3-point shooting contests and other "gimmicks" have been added to every all-star event in existence today. NASCAR has its unique qualifying formats, its multi-segment races with inverted lineups, its pit crew competition. Why? In all cases, to try to stimulate interest and attract fans.

There's already enough competition for disposable income and time. It's almost as if NASCAR and other sports are competing against themselves by staging these extravaganzas.

I'm not suggesting The Winston should never have been run. It was just one of many great promotions of two of the best promoters ever, T. Wayne Robertson and Humpy Wheeler. The 1992 "One Hot Night" race remains, in my mind, one of the absolute best and most memorable races I have ever seen.

I am suggesting, however, that perhaps we should consider closing the books on it.

Anybody want to bet there will be close to equal numbers of filled and empty seats tonight at Lowe's Motor Speedway?