Sprint All-Star Race Race Preview

Lowe's Motor Speedway Charlotte -- 05/16/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Tuesday May 12 2009 10:24pm

One thing you’ll hear NASCAR fans complain about frequently is ‘points racing’ –the idea that teams will settle for a good points night rather than taking aggressive chances to win a race and risk wrecking in the process.

This week, the Sprint Cup Series casts points racing aside for Saturday night’s exhibition race, the Sprint All-Star Challenge, and it should be a night of checkers or wreckers.

The lack of points is not to say that the drivers will lack motivation to race hard. With the winner guaranteed at least $1 million and no points on the line, the race is likely to bring out the true competitiveness in everyone.

Additionally, the four-segment All-Star race format could be enough to jumble the positions on the track so that we don’t have the typical COT pattern in which the car that gets clean air on the nose stays in the lead with most of the passing occurring in the pits.

The four parts of the race will consist of a 50-lap segment with a mandatory green-flag pit stop on Lap 25 for tires, a 20-lap segment, another 20-lap segment with a 10-minute break at the end, and a 10-lap shootout for segment 4.

The All-Star race will be preceded by the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap preliminary heat involving drivers not otherwise eligible for the main event. The top two finishers in the Showdown will join the field for the All-Star Race, along with one driver voted in by fans.

The total field for the All-Star race is expected to be about 22 drivers, including the three open spots mentioned above. The remainder will consist of drivers who have won a race in the preceding calendar year, won a Cup title or All-Star race in the past 10 years, and a few other eligibility criteria.

The entry list currently includes the following: Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte, Kevin Harvick, Terry Labonte, and the three drivers yet to be named.

Qualifying for the All-Star race is also an unusual affair involving three laps on the track and a complete pit stop included in the overall qualifying time.

`To be a part of the All-Star race and that group of drivers is always cool, and to do it at Charlotte is a lot of fun,” said Matt Kenseth, one of the All-Star contenders. “The race pays a lot of money and it’s a short race with no points, so it’s always really exciting. There is really nothing on the line - you just race for fun and the money. I also really like the All-Star race because it involves the crew so much. There’s the pit crew competition during the week and then they do a pit stop for qualifying, so they have a lot to do with the qualifying position, and they have a green-flag pit stops in the race. So, it really focuses on the team a lot and I really like that.`

Winners of the All-Star Race in the past five years have been Matt Kenseth (2004), Mark Martin (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2006), Kevin Harvick (2007), and Kasey Kahne (2008) – the latter winning the fan vote last year and going on to win the big race and the million-dollar purse.

Fan voting for the All-Star race will continue until some time Saturday, The top-10 drivers in votes at present, in alphabetical order, are: AJ Allmendinger, Bill Elliott, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Elliott Sadler, Martin Truex Jr. and Michael Waltrip.

The last time drivers raced at Lowe’s Motor Speedway was in 2008, with Kasey Kahne winning the Coca Cola 600 in May and Jeff Burton winning the Bank of America 500 in October. Kahne has won three of the last six Charlotte races, including the sweep in 2006, while Jimmie Johnson won four straight in 2004-2005.

Johnson and Jeff Gordon are tied for five Lowe’s wins a piece overall, while Mark Martin has four, and Kahne and Jeff Burton each have three.

Lowes Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile quad-shaped oval with 24 degrees of banking in the turns. The weekend weather forecast is calling for a 30-40 percent chance of rain throughout All-Star weekend, which could be a factor in the on-track activities planned.

It’s also worth noting that next on the Cup schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s on Memorial Day weekend. Some teams will use the All-Star race to prepare their set-ups for the upcoming points-paying race.

Current odds for select drivers for the Sprint Cup All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway:

Kyle Busch +600

Jimmie Johnson +700

Jeff Gordon +800

Mark Martin +900

Kurt Busch +900

Carl Edwards +1000

Greg Biffle +1000

Tony Stewart +1000

Denny Hamlin +1200

Matt Kenseth +1200

Dale Earnhardt Jr. +1200

Ryan Newman +1400

Kasey Kahne +1400

Please check back before the race for our practice and qualifying update.

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