Author: Tammyrae Benscoter

[media-credit name=”Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Charlotte NC – CMA Male Vocalist of the Year, Blake Shelton may have started the party at Charlotte Motor Speedway with his recent remake of ‘Footloose,’ but the drivers were ready to do a little dancing of their own on Saturday night, showing off some unique, door-to-door dance moves. ‘Footloose’ and fancy free, drivers laid it all on the line for forty laps.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. told the media on Friday that he wanted to win the Sprint Showdown. He took the lead on lap one and paced the field for both 20-lap segments without caution, staying true to his word. Earnhardt, sporting the colors of black and orange for his foundation, opened his lead over former teammate and two-time Sprint Showdown winner Martin Truex Jr. on lap one.

Strategically in preparation for the second 20-lap segment, the race leaders of Earnhardt and Truex stayed out on the track for position. The two restarted side by side. As the laps were beginning to wind down, three-wide racing had cars bumping and grinding on the front stretch. The Showdown drivers were hungry to advance.

AJ Allmendinger, who sat on the pole suffered a flat tire prior to the start of the race and was regulated to the back of the field. After the pit stop between segments, Allmendinger did some fast line dancing as he manhandled his Dodge through the field. With two laps left in the second segment, the ‘Dinger’ had moved into place position, securing a transfer spot.

Earnhardt’s return to victory lane had race fans twisting in their seats, while his team was jumping and jiving on pit road on their way to victory lane. “These are good race teams that we are going to be racing with in the All-Star Race,” Earnhardt said. “It is going to be difficult starting in the back in the dirty air,” he commented when asked how he felt his No. 88 Chevrolet would react starting in the rear of the field. “I am fortunate to drive my way into the All-Star Race,” said Earnhardt, “Fan support is a gift and I never wanted to take it for granted.” Earnhardt hopes his fans appreciate his efforts in the Showdown.

The third driver to transfer into the All-Star Race was fan vote Bobby Labonte. He finished the Showdown in twelfth position. Flattered by the fans vote, the former two-time Sprint Cup Champion, Labonte discussed the lack of budget funds and the concept that his No. 47 team had discussed not even competing in the Showdown.

“This is awesome,” said Labonte who was humbled and honored by being the fans choice. He noted that there are many great drivers in the field that could have been chosen, and was flattered he can compete.

Unofficial Race Results : Sprint Showdown
Sprint Showdown – May 19, 2012 – Exhibition

[media-credit name=”Credit: Scott Halleran/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The winner of the 2012 Pennzoil Burnout Competition was Clint Bowyer, earning $10,000 for the Employee Community Foundation in his hometown of Emporia, Kansas. “It’s the Employee Community Foundation. They just built a community center, so that money will go towards that building in my hometown that we are very proud of. Just thanks to Pennzoil for making that happen. Ten thousand dollars is very hard to raise for a foundation or charity. So, I’m thankful we had this opportunity. That was probably the easiest $10,000 I have ever raised.”

Cars were equally prepared by the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Participants in the burnout included Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Bowyer, AJ Allmendinger and Brad Keselowski. Judges included Actor and three-time ‘Survivor’ competitor Colby Donaldson, ‘Survivor One World’ winner Kim Spradlin and Miss Sprint Cup. Fans were also encouraged to participate by texting their vote.

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An onsite presentation of a seven foot Turkey Statue was made to Tony Stewart on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Stewart was named the official spokesperson for National Hunting and Fishing Day 2012 which will be held on Saturday, September 29. Joining Stewart for the presentation was Founder of Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris and CEO of the National Wild Turkey Federation George Thornton. Both Thornton and Morris praised Stewart for being a great ambassador to the outdoors. Stewart shares a genuine passion for conserving hunting and fishing sports. “This is a huge honor,” said Stewart, “It is something very close to my heart.” Stewart has dedicated use of his Indiana property to the Catch a Dream Program which promotes hunting and fishing to children with life threatening illnesses.

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The eighth annual Prelude to a Dream Race will be held on Wednesday, June 6. Live from Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio Tony Stewart and his accompaniment of drivers will raise money for the Feed the Children Program by driving 2,300 pound Dirt Late Models with over 800 horsepower on dirt. Stewart’s goal for the 2012 event is to raise $1 million for the program which will provide a food truck to the hometown or city of choice for each of the top ten finishers. Participants include Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, The Busch Brothers and the Dillon Brothers.

The Prelude to the Dream event will broadcast live on HBO PPV at 8 pm EST.

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NASCAR announced their commitment to join Beyond the Sport to broaden the global sports landscape. Beyond the Sport is an organization promoting sports to create positive social change. ‘The idea is that teams, leagues and athletes come together to share best practices of what they’re doing,” said NASCAR CEO Brian France. “It puts us on a big stage, which we’re excited about. And frankly, it matches perfectly with directionally where we are going. We’re investing a lot with kids.”

Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and fellow Chevrolet driver Juan Pablo Montoya attended the announcement as supporters of the partnership. “Pretty much every driver has a foundation or does something to support other charities and other drivers’ foundations,” said Johnson who operates the Jimmie Johnson Foundation which helps children and their families. “I look forward to sharing our best practices and just trying to give back,” said Johnson.

“The kids are the future,” said Montoya who stands behind his foundation Formula Smiles.

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Presbyterian Healthcare will appear on the No. 98 for Fusion of Michael McDowell starting with Coca-Cola 600 weekend at Charlotte. Presbyterian Healthcare is using this partnership to promote regular health screenings. A formal announcement is scheduled to unveil the paint scheme on May 21 at Presbyterian Hospital. Following the conference, McDowell will meet children at Presbyterian’s Hemby Children’s Hospital.

As fireworks illuminate the sky, Carl Edwards destroyed the No. 99 while spinning through the infield grass in pure excitement. His back flip and jubilant celebration landed a perfect 10. As Edwards is the eighth different driver to win the All-Star race in recent years. To celebrate the win, Edwards climbed into the grandstands to celebrate as his Aflac Ford Fusion sat idle in the grass. It was officially a checkers or wreckers moment for Edwards who couldn’t contain his excitement.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Edwards’s machine struck a man-hole in the front-lawn destroying the machine. This is Edwards’s first win in the All-Star race. In an impromptu victory lane due to the car’s post-race condition, Edwards exclaimed ‘We just won a million dollars! It’s unbelievable!” And while the team celebrates Jack Roush offered Edwards a chance to work on the car, after all “anytime you have grass on the windshield after the race it’s not good.” Edwards said. He will also be declining Roush’s offer as he heads to Iowa to compete in Sunday’s Nationwide race.

Kyle Busch came home in second place and flat out admits the team just got beat. “There at the end, we just ran out of time,” he said with grin. When asked how frustrating second place would be, he reminded the media that this high-powered weapon will be his back-up arsenal in next week’s 600 mile gunfight.

David Reutimann finished third, after his pit crew performed extraordinarily well on that final stop. Smiling from ear to ear, in post race interviews Reutimann said “We didn’t start very good, we just kept plugging away on it. The deciding factor was that last pitstop.” Credit was given to the Toyota team for their strong performance.

Ford dominated the All-Star event, and became the only winning manufacture racing under the lights Saturday night.

In the first 50-lap segment, Greg Biffle took the lead from resident Bad Boy and polesitter Kyle Busch on lap four. Biffle’s Roush Fenway Ford was joined at the front of the field with teammate Carl Edwards. Following lap 25, teams were required to make a green-flag pitstop vetting the pit crews against each other once again. A few adjustments, a change of tires and some gasoline and just as quickly the cars returned to the track in an almost identical order.

The remainder of the first segment went without incident. Biffle led 46 laps and earned $25,000 at the segments conclusion. Kurt Busch, while complaining about his cars handling earned the lucky dog position. Pit strategy under caution placed Carl Edwards at the front of the field with Kasey Kahne to the outside.

On the move was RFR teammate David Ragan, who transferred in from the Showdown. The first caution for an on-track incident flew when Kasey Kahne struck the wall in turn one. Another round of pit stops saw only the back half of the field hit pit road.

Back to green, Jimmie Johnson lined up to the inside of Edwards in his No. 5 machine celebrating the Lowe’s promotion of an everyday 5% discount for cardholder’s. And just like that, Johnson led the field at a track where he had great success. But Edwards wasn’t allowing Johnson to steal his thunder. He charged back to the front and reclaimed the top spot at the end of the second segment.

Ready for the third race segment, another 20-laps, Edwards, who did not pit will lead the field to the green with Kyle Busch to his outside. ‘Big Daddy’ Jeff Gordon was in third while Biffle held down fourth.

Kyle ‘Rowdy’ Busch jumped out front, while Edwards fell to third. Gordon claimed second place temporarily. Reagan Smith delivered a crowd pleasing spin to bring out the caution. His No. 78 machine went high on the track, and spun downward. He did not collect any others cars, but kissed the inside wall ever so slightly. This was Smith’s first appearance in the All-Star event.

With $125,000 to the winner of the third segment on the table, Busch lined up with three-time All-Star winner Jeff Gordon to his outside. With only 12 laps remaining in the third segment, Busch pulled away from the field while Gordon backed up. Tony Stewart brought his Burger King Chevrolet into the top 5.

Carl Edwards powered his way to the inside of Busch and took the lead without question. Edwards would lead Busch through the end of the third segment. After a 10-minute break, the final segment showcased the pit crew talents. A mandatory four-tire stop determined the final line-up for a 10-lap dash to the cash. Out of the pits, Edwards retained the top spot, followed by Busch, Biffle, Matt Kenseth and David Reutimann. With three Fords in the top five, it is important to note that the Showdown winner, David Ragan held court and restarted 11th.

The final ten laps were run caution-free. As a win continues to elude Joe Gibbs Racing in this event, Kyle Busch brought home a respectable runner-up finish. David Reutimann driving for Michael Waltrip Racing found himself in third. Tony Stewart finishes fourth and lap leader Greg Biffle finished out the top-five.

Finishing inside the top-ten were Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Showdown winner David Ragan, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman.

Unofficial Race Results
All-Star Race
May 21, 2011 | Exhibition
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Pos. Driver
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1 Carl Edwards
2 Kyle Busch
3 David Reutimann
4 Tony Stewart
5 Greg Biffle
6 Matt Kenseth
7 Denny Hamlin
8 David Ragan
9 Kevin Harvick
10 Ryan Newman
11 Jimmie Johnson
12 Juan Montoya
13 Kurt Busch
14 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
15 Jeff Gordon
16 Clint Bowyer
17 Jamie McMurray
18 Brad Keselowski
19 Mark Martin
20 Regan Smith
21 Kasey Kahne

Saturday nights preliminary action kicked off the evening with a big bang. In the early laps of the Sprint Showdown a caution flew to end any chances that Landon Cassill and Derrike Cope would have of advancing into the main event. Cassill’s Chevrolet had tire issues and threw his machine into the outside line collecting Cope. Cassill’s car took a hard hit to the driver’s door area, but due to great safety strides, both drivers walked away unscathed.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Two Ford drivers that have never been in an All-Star event, David Ragan and Paul Menard lead the pack at the mid-point of the All-Star Showdown. And while some teams decided to pit and service the cars, a few notable drivers stayed out, including race leaders Ragan and Menard as well as the hometown kid Dale Earnhardt Jr.

On the start of the second segment, Brad Keselowski made it three wide on the front stretch jumping to the inside of Ragan to steal the front position.

The second caution flew for the No. 30 car of David Stremme after hitting the wall in turn 1. Stremme was running in the 17th position at the time of his incident. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was among the drivers taking the time to pit under this caution.

The second restart in the final showdown segment saw Joey Lagano push his way through the middle, when the frontrunners dud bit get on the gas fast enough. The field behind the leaders stacked up. Brian Vickers in the silver Red Bull machine became the lone victim of the back up as he spun out in traffic. Because caution laps do not count in this segment, the restart order was reverted to the previous lap.

Green flags laps concluded the second segment as David Ragan brought Brad Keselowski to the checkered flag, both drivers advanced into the main event. This is the third appearance for Keselowski.

“Everything is a lot easier if you’ve got a fast race car, so I just tried not to make any mistakes those last few runs,” said Ragan. “It’ll give us some extra confidence to be out here in this All-Star Race.” Not only did Ragan score his first non-points win, but with the win he will make his first appearance in the All-Star event.

Brad Keselowski transferred the second Penske machine into the main race. “Our goal was to transfer,” Keselowski said, “But we wanted to win the Showdown too. We just need a little more speed and we can win these things.”

And while Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t take the Sprint Fan Vote for granted, he was given the final transfer spot. The fan favorite of many, Earnhardt solely believes there was no guarantee. “My fans worked really hard. They deserve all the credit, they do the work, “ Earnhardt added.

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The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to the famed Charlotte Motor Speedway for the prestigious 600 mile Memorial Day Weekend Event. The winner of the Sprint All-Star has won the longest Sprint Cup race on the schedule seven times. The most recent driver to accomplish this feat was Kurt Busch in 2010. The other men who have swept the May events at CMS include the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., the late Davey Allison, veteran driver Darrell Waltrip, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne.

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The NASCAR Nationwide Series is live from Iowa Speedway on Sunday May 22. Two historic moments to note include the first time that three women will compete in a Nationwide race. Sisters Angela and Amber Cope will join Jennifer Jo Cobb in the record books. The second big event at Iowa is the celebration of Kenny Wallace’s 500th career start. Wallace will start the race in the 14th starting position. The field was set on Owner points after rain washed out qualifying.

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The All-Star event kicks off Saturday with a pre-race concert from Country Music Artist Dierks Bentley, presented by Budweiser. Bentley is best known for his song ’Sideways,’ which has been featured as NASCAR’s theme song on FOX. All ticket holders are treated to the pre-race entertainment.

[media-credit name=”cms.com” align=”alignright” width=”234″][/media-credit]A few of the biggest names in NASCAR will display their burnout talents and take center stage in the Pennzoil Ultra Victory Challenge. Defending champion Joey Logano will be joined by Clint Bowyer, Regan Smith, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski and the Busch brothers. After the top three contenders have been announced, fans will vote for the winner via text messaging.

Race fans will witness the largest high definition television unveiling when the 200 ft by 80 ft tall screen created by Panasonic lights up on the backstretch. The new addition to Charlotte Motor Speedway is the world’s largest HD-TV. The screen will present fans seated along the front stretch with clear viewing and instant replays. The structure weighs in at 332-and-a half tons and will be illuminated by nine million LED lamps.

Prior to the main event, Country Music Male Vocalist of the Year Brad Paisley will kick off the All-Star Cast of driver introductions and premiere his video ‘Old Alabama,’ which was shot at the Hendrick Motorsports Complex near the Speedway. The video features NASCAR legends Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick as well as the iconic country group Alabama.

And before the green flag falls, race fans will ’Light Up the Night.’ With some help from Charlotte Motor Speedway and Energizer, race fans will shine flashlights simultaneously in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record. Representatives from the prestigious record holding company will be on-hand to confirm the record. This event is a spin-off from Energizers relationship with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates that has lasted 16 years. ’I can’t wait for this ’Light Up the Night’ promotion,” said Juan Pablo Montoya, “I think it is going to be so cool to see 80,000 people all flashing their brights.”

Under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway, men race for bragging rights as a field of past winners and champions battle for a $1,000,000 payday. This year’s event will feature new blood as Trevor Bayne and Regan Smith take the green as first time winners in the Sprint Cup Series. Locked into Saturday night’s main event are past champions and race winners from 2010 and 2011.

The slugfest begins with 28 wheelers vying for two-top finishing positions in the Sprint Showdown. Included in this field is fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Australian Wheeler Marcos Ambrose and the happiest NASCAR driver Joey Logano. Following the checkered flag, the fan vote will be announced. Only those three men will advance to the main event.

The All-Star race features 22 drivers in an all-out dash for the cash. The race is broken down into four-segments. The first 50-lap dash requires a four-tire green flag stop. The second segment is 20 laps, as well as the third. Following the third segment teams must perform a four-tire stop to position themselves for the final 10-laps of no holds barred action.

When the checkered flag falls, the sky will illuminate with a fireworks show. A post race concert will feature Country music star Julie Roberts. She will perform a 30-minute concert debuting her new song ‘NASCAR Party.’ Fans will have the opportunity to step-out onto the front-stretch and join the celebration. “I didn’t think we could pack any more special events for our fans into the schedule on Saturday, but we did with this post-race concert,” said Marcus Smith, President and General Manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway.

With a $1,000,000 on the line, drivers are ready to rumble, All-Star style. Brian France, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR recognizes that this particular event will bring out a more aggressive side of drivers.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]“You can be a lot more aggressive,” Kyle Busch commented on Friday. “That probably may be the reason why I‘ve gotten myself in trouble here a little bit is just trying to push it as hard as you can push it to try to win the race,” Busch added.

“The All-Star race is a different atmosphere for me, since it’s a different way of racing for everybody. It’s just that it’s a non-points race, and the pure fact you’re going after a race just for bragging rights and a million bucks,’ Kyle Busch said, ‘That’s what it is all about.” Busch, currently on probation for a post-race altercation with Kevin Hayrick at Darlington Speedway will be under the watchful eye of NASCAR during Saturday‘s main event.

When questioned about his current feelings and position with Harvick, Busch had this response. “My priorities are to go out on the race track and race everybody as hard as I can, as clean as I can and do my job to try to win races. The things that happen on the race track sometimes when you get into somebody and wrinkle some sheet metal and hurt some feelings,” he continued. “It’s a part of NASCAR racing and has been for years. Unfortunately, there seems to be a following between Kevin (Harvick) and I and what’s going to happen next. To me it’s just another competitor out there on the race track. I race them all the same and give them all the same room that they give me. I don’t foresee any further incidences, but that’s from my side. I’ve forgiven and forgotten.”

Best known for his exciting style of driving, Busch finds it hard to define his type of driving style. “A lot of guys would say that they’re patiently aggressive. That’s the best way to look at it,’ Busch said. ‘I guess that’s the way I thought I was a few years ago, even though there wasn’t a lot of patience involved.” While his patience has improved, Busch still remains aggressive. His winning ways irk race fans, but in his own words, ‘it makes it exciting for fans.’

For NASCAR’s newest bad boy Ryan Newman, this race will be a gunfight worth winning. “The win in the All-Star Race was my greatest win, I thought, as a person and as a team.” Newman continued, “What we did and what we achieved that night, it’s all for the glory. In an All-Star race, it’s much more than pride.” Newman, the 2002 All-Star Race winner has recently been called out for an exchange with Juan Pablo Montoya.

“The All-Star weekend, it has changed what it looks like over the last several years.” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after questions arose that he did not care if he made the All-Star field. Earnhardt tried to explain his position and felt misinterpreted. “It’s a different race than what it was in the mid-80’s but it is still our All-Star event. Looking at other sports it’s a celebration of the sport, celebration of what the sport is about, celebration of the characters in the sport past and present.”

While the money and prestige is on the line, Earnhardt believes that this race is all in fun. No pressure and no points were his message. And while many drivers consider this track to be in their backyard because of the race shop location, for Earnhardt it is truly a hometown track. The Kannapolis native believes in the history of the racetrack and has enjoyed coming to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for many years.

Earnhardt won the All-Star event in 2000. His memories coming to the checkered flag was that of pure panic. “You start hearing all the noises in the car and wondering what’s going to fall off and what you broke and what’s breaking now and what’s going to break,” Earnhardt added. “I don’t know. It was just panic mode the whole time, just really frantic inside the car.”

Earnhardt, a historian in the garage, would rather see the fans treated to a more relaxed day of racing. He recalls a time when this particular event was more of a circus than a celebration and a fun time to boot. “Now that I’m in the event and working and trying to race and trying to win it,” Earnhardt said,“ it’s a lot more pressure, lot more intense but maybe it’s still fun from the other side of the fence to experience.”