Before the first year of the Winston Million, an official told me that they best thing that could happen is that they have someone win it the first year. That way, it would prove that it was doable and generate more interest in subsequent years rather than seeing interest wane as the impossible task.
For the first decade and a half of NASCAR's All-Star race…it seemed like we had a signature moment about every other year. For a while, that was a good thing. But now that we're in a long stretch without one, interest is waning.
In other words, the All-Star race has become a victim of its own early success.
Each year, the old video gets rolled out and reminds us how exciting the event could be. But, despite the, seemingly, constant tweaks to the format, it isn't happening.
I don't have the answer…except that, maybe, it's time to lower our expectations. Appreciate that we're seeing the best of the best run a special event with a limited field and quit trying to create that "game 7 moment". Game 7 moments work…because they don't come along every time.