Parks Race Reactions: NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte

On a night where the best in NASCAR went toe-to-toe for a huge paycheck, the Sprint All-Star Race was what every fan expected.

There was intense action, exciting passes, and when it came down to the time to go, everyone went for it.

What more can anyone expect when no points are on the line?

So now, here are my race reactions from Saturday night's festivities.

Let's first start off with the opening show, the Pennzoil Ultra Victory Challenge. I really was looking forward to this, but was absolutely disappointed in many aspects. It had nothing to do with the drivers themselves, but the way the contest was set up.

There is no way that 30 seconds is enough to generate some great burnouts. Plus, the judges were really lack-luster.

If NASCAR wants to up the stakes for next year, they need to change the rules.

They need to go back to the way they did it the first year, which was a true freestyle competition. There was no need for the cones. The drivers simply got to let loose.

I say keep the rule if the driver hits the wall, not on purpose, alright they are disqualified. However, if a driver noses it up to the wall and then burn it up, let it happen.

It's a fun competition, but still needs a little tweaking.

The Sprint Showdown was a very good race, and when it came to the drivers who transferred in, the two best cars made it. Martin Truex Jr. has been running very well and his team is just beginning to gel. Meanwhile, Greg Biffle ran his car to the limit and his team made a real hard call to keep him out between segments.

But, it nearly got him a victory and that was good enought to make it into the big show.

The fan vote, well I don't know. A lot of fans were glad that Carl Edwards got to race, but I don't know. Was he really the winner?

I mean, look at Jeff Burton and A.J. Allmendinger. Then ran hard and nearly got there. Edwards finished 10th, and was never a contender.

Did the fan vote really choose the right winner? It's hard to say, but that's up for debate as next year's race comes up.

Now, onto the All-Star Race itself. Let's face it, the first 90 laps of this event are not usually the exciting part. There was some good racing, but we all were not surprised how a majority of the segments went.

Jimmie Johnson dominated the first three segments, winning two of the three. The reason he lost the first was because of a miscue on pit road, which gave the Busch brothers the advantage.

Had the crew done a flawless stop, I can guarantee Johnson would have won the first segment as well. I said long ago the Charlotte Motor Speedway will still be Johnson's "yard" and he proved that.

But, this race is all about the final ten laps. And those ten laps made the race, figuratively and literally.

How can you not talk about the Denny Hamlin-Kyle Busch situation. I watched replays up until the wee hours of the morning, and have made my decision on what happened.

Hamlin did exactly what Busch would have done in the same situation. He saw the No. 18 car making a run, and went up to block. Not one time did the cars touch, it was a pure racing move that Hamlin did.

I cannot blame Busch for being angry when he wrecked, but how he went about it wasn't a good idea in my view.

Parking his wrecked car in front of Hamlin's hauler, tearing away equipment and then waiting inside his teammate's transporter, not the smartest move.

But, you have to credit Joe Gibbs for getting involved and having the two drivers discuss it rather than involving NASCAR. That was a great call on his part.

Will we see another in-team rivalry? I really don't know, but it will be interesting to see.

Finally, how about the Miller Lite Dodge and Kurt Busch. He made the best move of the night in getting out of the way on the restart following Hamlin and Kyle's incident. He got past Johnson and was in the perfect spot to get the win.

Those final restarts were tough for the team, but when he got a better start than Johnson on lap 98 and Joey Logano on lap 99, it was all over.

Miller Lite is moving to Brad Keselowski next season, and it looks like Kurt wants to send them out with a bang. A win already in Atlanta, and now a win in the All-Star Race. I would not be surprised to see this car return to the track next week for the 600-mile event.

This was a great way to head into my favorite weekend of the entire NASCAR season. We all saw what the drivers can do in 100 laps, what can they do in 400 next Sunday?