Kyle Busch reacts to new promoter caution: “What are we doing?”

The concept of a promoter’s caution in this year’s All-Star Race has been met with skepticism and even ridicule by some in the NASCAR garage. Now, the annual exhibition race has always been seen as a bit of a testing ground for new and out there ideas, so we shouldn’t be entirely surprised. It’s also embraced far more questionable gimmicks than this in the past, but it’s still something that is raising eyebrows.

The rule goes like this: The promoter of the event, which is Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith, has the power to throw a caution whenever he chooses before Lap 220 of the 250-lap All-Star Race. He can only use this power once and if a natural yellow occurs after Lap 200, he loses the ability to do it. Speedway Motorsports owns North Wilkesboro Speedway, which is hosting the All-Star Race for the third consecutive year after the historic track was resurrected. 

It’s a bit strange, but the All-Star Race has done weirder things before. Even still, two-time NASCAR Cup Series Kyle Busch made his thoughts on the new rule clearly known during an appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast this week.

“What are we doing?” questioned Busch, who won the All-Star Race in 2017. “If we’re Bailey and Barnum (the circus), then let’s just freaking call it Bailey and Barnum. I mean, they went out of business.”

He and show co-host Freddie Kraft, who works as the spotter for Bubba Wallace, then joked about just letting a drunk fan decide. Kraft even wondered if the reset will change anything, which is a fair point based on recent history. Passing at short tracks with the current generation of car is notoriously difficult, even with restarts. Joey Logano won last year’s All-Star Race from pole position, leading 199 of 200 laps. The year prior, Daniel Suarez led from pole position until Kyle Larson passed him 55 laps into the race and never looked back. The format for this year’s race will place a competition caution at around Lap 100 as well, serving as a break.