by Darrell Waltrip

The All-Star Race Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway was almost the perfect format — and by all means one of the most exciting all-star events we've had in quite some time.

But if they felt the need to tweak it again in 2010, here's what I would suggest: Run one long segment, say a 40 lapper, and keep the pit stop in place (that was pretty cool, because it gets the crew involved). I would then suggest three 10-lap shootouts, with each one paying $500,000 to win, but also with teams getting eliminated along the way. My thought would be to have the two or three cars in the back at the end of each segment eliminated. Of course, some of those guys will probably eliminate themselves anyway, but you get my drift.

Let me tell you folks something: Those last 10 laps Saturday night were as good as it gets. From the drop of the green flag, it was instant action. It started with Kyle Busch trying to get to the outside, and then wedging himself between Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth for the lead. Gordon fought back — and then out of nowhere, here comes Ryan Newman, like he'd been shot out of a cannon, coming back from one lap down. Then you had the three of them going three wide coming out of Turn 4, and you just can't do that! So the end result was Newman hitting the wall hard, Busch hitting Ryan pretty hard and Jeff ending up sliding through the grass.

The action didn't stop when they cleaned up that mess, though. At the restart, Kenseth was out front — but then here comes Tony Stewart, who really hadn't been in the picture all night. His crew made that car come alive when it counted most, and the No. 14 was the only car all night that could make the pass off the bottom of Turn 2. Stewart's car was just so good in those last 10 laps that once he got the lead, he simply drove away to the checkered flag.

So it was a great night for Tony, who pocketed a cool million-plus bucks. He also gained a whole lot of momentum. You are talking about a cat that is second in the points and is off to the best start he has ever had in any season.

That was a big race he won. Think about it: $1 million for 100 laps of work. You don't get chances like that very often.

A hard day's night

So now we look forward to the Coca-Cola 600.

With the start time the way it is now, you have to look at the race broken down into two segments. First, you need a car that's pretty decent when the sun is still out and the track is still pretty warm, but then the car also has to have adjustability in it. When the sun goes down and the track cools off, you pick up a ton of grip so you need a car that will work well in the nighttime.

Around the track

Follow the action:

• Michigan schedule
• Michigan practices

Watch:

• Video Central

Picture perfect:

• Action at Watkins Glen

Read all about it:

• Dale Jr: Changes needed in NASCAR
• Vickers edges Martin for Cup pole

Analysis:

• White: Chasers feel the heat
• Spencer: Drivers to watch at Michigan

Basically, you have to have a daytime car and a nighttime car all rolled into one.

There will be some long green flag runs, so there will be some pit stops and your crew has to be on their best all race long. You've got to try and get that car up front in the clean air — because when you do, it just seems that with this car model, you can drive off and leave people in your dust.

Here are some things to ponder:

Jeff Gordon has finished on the lead lap at Lowe's in 18 of his 32 races there. Of those 32 races, he has only six DNFs. So when you are looking for guys that can win a 600-mile race, you first have to find guys who are smart enough to finish that distance. I'd put Jeff in that category.

Tony Stewart is the same way, finishing on the lead lap in 12 of his 20 races at Lowe's. What's pretty amazing about Stewart's record there is that he has only one DNF.

Jimmie Johnson has finished on the lead lap in 13 of his 15 races at Lowe's. He has led 1,236 laps there ...

The reason I am stating these statistics is because these are the guys who know how to finish races at Lowe's Motor Speedway, so you better keep your eyes on them Sunday night.

During our NASCAR on FOX broadcasts, you frequently hear us talk about the consistency of Jeff Burton. Here's a great example of why: At Lowe's Motor Speedway, Jeff has been running at the end of 26 of his 30 races there. He has 18 lead-lap finishes, plus he has led 428 laps there. It's one of Jeff's best tracks, because you have to be a thinking man and contemplate how to run this 600-mile race. You cannot run flat out all night long and expect to be there at the end.

Another guy that's really good at Lowe's is Matt Kenseth. In his 19 races there, he has finished on the lead lap 11 times and has five DNFs. Matt also has led 253 laps. Kenseth's one of those guys who knows how to finish this race, and he's one of those guys we may not talk about until later in the night. I guarantee you that Matt, in that No. 17 car, is someone to keep your eye on Sunday night.

If you remember last year at this time, Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser team got hot. They won the All-Star Race and then came back the next week and won the 600. Kahne has finished on the lead lap in 7 of his 10 races at Lowe's and led 616 laps. He's also been running at the end of 9 out of those 10 races he has run there — so again, he is another one that knows how to finish races.

Now I know they didn't run very well the other night, but when it comes to Lowe's Motor Speedway and an Earnhardt, you've got to take a look at Dale Jr. He has finished on the lead lap in 12 of his 19 races there. He has only three DNFs. Obviously, he likes Lowe's. It's his home track, and he's motivated to have a good finish come Sunday.

Here's the cat-daddy: He's the oldest winning driver in the field, so obviously I am talking about Mark Martin. He has finished on the lead lap in 25 out of his 48 races at Lowe's. That ranks him first among all drivers. On top of that, he has led 1,168 laps. Because of those numbers, Martin is probably a real strong favorite for Sunday night, just based on his experience and his success there. We know he has the car and the team around him capable of winning, as he has already shown twice this year.

If I had to pick the favorite for Sunday night, I would say Mark Martin.

Oh, by the way

During these two weeks at Lowe's Motor Speedway, I swear the drivers are busier than they are anywhere else. Be it an appearance, a golf tourney, a sponsor dinner or a PR deal, drivers are constantly on the move.

While the crew members probably enjoy sleeping in their own beds for these two weeks, I would wager you will find these drivers are pulled in so many more directions here when they are here at home than when they are on the road.

Oh, by the way too

Now hear me, because I am not trying to make light of NASCAR's drug-policy because I applaud them for having one, but there are some confusing things to me about this Jeremy Mayfield deal. Why wait until 6 p.m. the night of the race to announce his suspension? Seems a little odd to me why they chose that time to do it, considering Mayfield wasn't even there or in the race. Tuesdays are normally when they announce penalties and things like that.

I was thinking about fuel tests, too, and I might add I have been involved in a few of those. In the past, NASCAR took a fuel sample out of the cars after qualifying and sent it off to be tested. Then, they started field testing fuel in the NASCAR hauler. They had these sticks they would place in your fuel sample, and as long as the stick didn't turn purple, then you were fine. If it did turn purple, well, it meant there was something wrong with your fuel. Most of the time they never analyzed it to tell you what was wrong with it, they simply told you something was wrong with it. I am not quite sure what a drug test looks like, but I am sure it's much more sophisticated than that.