All-Star race only start of chaos

Racing is supposed to be so simple that even a moron could understand the sport.

Especially racing on oval tracks. Hit the gas, turn left four times.

But over the next 10 days, you will need a notebook of cheat sheets to comprehend how NASCAR Sprint Cup teams get to race for $1 million in Saturday's All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

It won't be any easier to digest how the 33-car field will be set for the May 30 Indianapolis 500. The traditional Month of May at Indy has been condensed to two weeks and has become more confusing.

Let's go from right to left, starting at Charlotte with the 26th annual All-Star race, which is more complicated than an Internal Revenue Service form.

There are six levels of criteria for how drivers get to work a couple of hours for a $1 million check: drivers who have won races this year and last; Cup season champions over the past 10 years; All-Star race winners over the past 10 years; winner and runner-up in Saturday's Sprint Showdown, where 29 are expected to race for the two spots; and a driver voted in by fans. Twenty-one will start the All-Star race.

Swallow some Goody's headache powder before we explain the All-Star race format.

The 100-lap, 150-mile race is split into four segments: 50, 20, 20 and 10 laps. Before the last segment, all cars must pit for a four-tire stop, and the order in which they leave pit road will set the starting order for the last sprint.

It will take longer to memorize the criteria and race format than it will to watch the race.

The Indy 500 folks also have changed their qualifying format and schedule for this year's event.

Last year's two weeks of practice have been condensed to four days, the last of which is today. Four qualifying days have been trimmed to two, and the process has been taken up more notches than even Emeril could handle.

On Saturday, traditional four-lap runs will lock in 24 of 33 starting spots, with each car getting up to three attempts. Later in the afternoon, the top nine cars then will have to reset their qualifying times in the new "Fast Nine" shoot. Each will make at least one more four-lap attempt to set the final order for the top nine spots on the starting grid.

Then on Sunday, the balance of the 37 entrants not in the top 24 will fight for the final nine spots in the field before bumping begins.

Racing drama -- and confusion -- will not be lacking this weekend.

"Honestly, it's hard, but we always want to change to make it better (and more) exciting for the fans," Helio Castroneves, a three-time Indy 500 champ and three-time pole winner, said of the format. "As long as they explain it well for the fans, I'm sure it's going to be really tough and fun."

Well, Helio, we've just done our part.

Excuse me while I pull out another packet of Goody's.

Jeff Wolf's motor sports column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247. Visit Wolf's motor sports blog at lvrj.com/blogs/heavypedal/ throughout the week.