Impact of unnecessary accidents
Sure, racing is racing and incidents happen. But incidents like the one involving Harrison Rhodes and Ryan Blaney at Bristol earlier this season are totally unnecessary and help no one, not even the other contenders who benefit from them. Drivers would much rather win races by earning them, not by having backmarkers take out contenders.
As much as everyone is aware that these types of accidents could involve anybody, not specifically part-time drivers driving for small and uncompetitive teams, and that they could potentially affect the outcome of a championship, there is every reason to believe that part-time drivers driving for small and uncompetitive teams are more prone to causing or at least being involved in these accidents than full-time drivers are, and there is no reason whatsoever to believe that they should affect the outcome of a championship, and certainly no one wants them to.
At the end of the day, yes, with all things considered, including the current state of NASCAR and especially the effect of reduced field sizes on unnecessary accidents, it would be nice if all races were like the Monster Energy All-Star Race as far as the field size and complexion go with the addition of maybe a handful of the other drivers who failed to qualify for the All-Star race in the Monster Energy Open competing in the races.
It would, of course, be even nicer if the field could be full with 40 competitive cars, but that isn’t going to happen anytime soon given the current state of the sport.