The 2024 schedule is set to come out any day now, and one question on people’s minds is where could they host the All-Star Race? North Wilkesboro was great from an event standpoint, and many are clambering for it to be rewarded with a points race sometime soon. If North Wilkesboro is given a points race, then somewhere else would have to host the All-Star Race, but where could it be held?
Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as we make this list. First off, the All-Star Race has always been held at Speedway Motorsports Inc.-owned venues, and secondly, weather in late May when the race is traditionally run.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Oval
Charlotte Motor Speedway was the All-Star Race venue for the majority of the race’s history. It made sense as it is close to the team’s home bases in the Charlotte metro area, and the race is usually held in the days leading up to the Coca-Cola 600, which is at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It made perfect sense then to just hold the All-Star Race there, but, a lackluster racing product in the later years of the race there made fans call for a new venue.
Now, times have changed, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Oval is one of the best race tracks with the current Next-Gen car. As a result, maybe it is time to give Charlotte another look for the All-Star Race once again. Why not give the race to a track that puts on the best racing product if North Wilkesboro gets a points date?
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway hosted the second All-Star Race in 1986 to a tiny crowd, and the race never went back there. Now, Atlanta is a completely different race track from what it was in 1986. It is a superspeedway-style track that happens to be 1.5 miles long.
It has hosted some great races over the last couple of years, but could Atlanta host a third event? There is a legitimate question about whether or not Atlanta could host a good crowd for a third race that happens to be a non-points event. If it could host a third event, then maybe this could work, but even moving one points race to the All-Star Race may not be the worst idea in the world to those who complain there are too many superspeedway races.
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville has welcomed NASCAR with open arms over the last few years. From hosting the Awards Banquet and Champion’s Week with a massive crowd to selling out two of the first three races held at Nashville Superspeedway. Add in an intermediate track with a solid racing product, and that could make for a great All-Star venue.
The other issue is similar to the issue with Atlanta, could Nashville support a second race? Not only that, but could they support a second race so close to the current points date on the calendar? The crowd would probably dwindle for one race, the other, or both, but, who knows? Nashville has supported NASCAR thus far.
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Look, the event in 2023 was spectacular, and North Wilkesboro more than proved why it deserves to be in NASCAR in some capacity. Maybe hosting the All-Star Race there continues to be the best move forward for the track. A lot needs to be improved with the short track product, so, maybe keeping it as a non-points event with a different format could spice up the show in the meantime.
It also is not impossible to run it as a dirt race in between potential repaves of the track. That was what was originally planned when the race track was revived in late 2022. Is moving North Wilkesboro to a points-paying even the right move for the race track, or should it just stay as an All-Star Race for the time being?
In the Stands
A while ago, we also asked the fans where they thought the All-Star race should be held in 2024. What did they have to say?
IntensityBroadcasting wants to see Rockingham come back.
RockyTopBucs says it should never leave the Carolinas again.
Adam Sarver sys that they should go back to Martinsville Speedway.
Clark W says the race should always be on shorter tracks.
Quite creative SteelHorseLive.
San Disbro wants them to return back to Charlotte.
We are just a few weeks or days away from finding out who will host the All-Star Race next year. Will it be one of these venues?