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CONCORD — The longest spectacle in motorsports began late Friday afternoon when several thousand people stood outside the entrance to the Ford Grandstand nine abreast as thunder boomed overhead and lightning crashed in the distance.

The rain came in squalls, drenching race fans dressed in brand-emblazoned Dale Earnhardt Jr. shirts and jackets and hats. They looked like miserable hunters on the first day of decal season.

They'll run the 25th all-star race here tonight in front of a few thousand fans and a few empty seating sections and a few empty corporate boxes as The Two Weeks of Charlotte begin. Gas prices have crept higher in recent days, and ticket prices have crept lower, and television ratings have fallen, and Junior's as confused as Brian France as to what's about to happen.

There's a feeling in the air that something's not right with the sport, and the worried looks and knowing glances in the garage suggest it's not going to get better any time soon. The looks on the faces of those filing in Friday to watch a bunch of events get rained out suggested they don't really care.

Racing, more than ever, needs its core fans. And this week, more than ever, will prove once again that all the core fans live right here. The big problems are threefold, at least this week, and weather has nothing to do with it. For the first time in recent memory, there's a drug situation here that everyone wants to know about and no one wants to talk about. For the first time in a generation, the future of a car manufacturer is in question. For the first time since he joined the sport, Junior can't win.

The answers to these issues are as confusing to the fans as they are to those with all the answers. But the people filing in these next two weekends really only want to know two things: Who's on the pole? and What time's the green flag?

Jimmie Johnson is on the pole for tonight's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. The green flag will fall at about nine o'clock. That's right. Nine o'clock, p.m. No one expects any of NASCAR's problems will be fixed until they leave here next Sunday night, much less by the time all the regulars find their seats tonight.

France, the NASCAR chairman, tried to defuse as much as he could the issues facing the sport, but he admitted he didn't know much and was willing to say even less. Once again, he refused to say just what Jeremy Mayfield was suspended for, something the drivers are up in arms about. And once again, he refused to divulge what the policy even is.

"Last weekend, we had a serious violation of our substance abuse policy, which gets you an automatic and indefinite suspension, and that's where we stand with Jeremy today," he said.

He was much more forthcoming on Chrysler's bankruptcy proceedings.

"We know what everyone else knows, that Chrysler is in bankruptcy proceedings ... ;" he said.

To his credit, he seemed to be right on top of the drop in television ratings. He said the rain-shortened Daytona 500 and the Academy Awards show early in the season messed up NASCAR's momentum. He didn't mention the main thing, though.

Junior hasn't won a race in almost a year and has won only once in his last 97 races. Somebody asked Junior if his skid has made him stronger. No, he said. Not him or anyone else.

"I don't think it does anybody any good," he said. "Not really. If anything, running like this and being frustrated and running poorly is a challenge on your character. It can make you into a real jerk."

No one really believes that. He's a legacy here, and no one believes any of stock-car racing's problems will be fixed until Junior wins again. Those standing in line Friday joked that it would be fitting if he won tonight in a race that doesn't count.

This race has always favored those willing to push the unwritten policies to the edge, always favored those willing to buy in to the odd gimmicks dreamed up by NASCAR. Junior won this race in 2000, back in the days when it seemed possible he could win them all, back when his dad was still paying him an allowance and Junior suggested his dad was being a jerk.

They seemed like the good ol' days, and they probably were. The fans would file into this place with no regard for gas or ticket prices. They came because they always came, and it didn't matter what the weather was, and they pulled for Ironhead.

Friday evening, when it looked as if there would either be a truck race or a tornado, nobody went home. They waited for the rain and waited for the sport to work out its own problems. And they'll be here tonight, at about 9 p.m., and next week, too, waiting for Little E to win again.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com