This Week in Auto Racing May 15 - 17

This Week in Auto Racing May 15 - 17

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - It's an "all-star" weekend in Charlotte as Sprint Cup Series drivers dash for cash at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series will also be in Charlotte, while qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 wrap up in Indy.

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race - Lowe's Motor Speedway - Concord, NC

The 25th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race will run under the lights at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night. No points are at stake, just a lot of cash awaits the winner.

NASCAR's annual all-star event ran in four 25-lap segments in 2008, but in celebration of its silver anniversary, this year's format will be divided into four different segments.

For the first time since 2001, the all-star race will feature a 10-lap shootout as its final segment.

The opening segment will be 50 laps with a mandatory green-flag pit stop on lap 25, at which time teams must pit and take on four tires. The caution flag will be displayed for an additional pit stop following the end of the first segment.

Segment two is 20 laps with the caution flag displayed at the of the second portion for an additional pit stop.

After running 20 laps in segment three, teams will have a 10-minute break when they may make normal adjustments to their cars.

The finishing order after the third segment determines the final starting positions for the final segment.

Only green-flag laps will count in the 10-lap shootout, with a $1 million pay- day to the driver who crosses the finish line first.

Some of the most exciting finishes in the all-star race have come with a final 10-lap segment. Dale Earnhardt's infamous "pass in the grass" in 1987, Rusty Wallace spinning out Darrell Waltrip for the win in 1989 and Davey Allison and Kyle Petty battling to the finish, with Allison crashing as he took the checkered flag in 1992 all came in a 10-lap shootout.

The eligibility standards for this year's event remain the same. Race winners from either the 2008 or 2009 season through May 9 or any past series champions or all-star winners (over the previous 10 years) are eligible.

Eighteen drivers are eligible for this year's race so far.

The top-two finishers in the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap preliminary race, and the winner of the Sprint Fan Vote on Saturday will advance into the main event to complete the 21-car field.

Kasey Kahne won last year's race after the fans voted him into the lineup. Kahne, who started last in the 24-car field, took the lead with 17 laps to go, and then held off Greg Biffle by 1.327 seconds to win the caution-free event.

"Winning the Sprint Fan Vote and going on to win the Sprint All-Star Race was an unforgettable moment for me," Kahne said. "I'll never be able to repay the fans for that win."

Kahne also scored the victory in the Coca-Cola 600 the following week, joining Darrell Waltrip (1985), Davey Allison (1991), Dale Earnhardt (1993), Jeff Gordon (1997) and Jimmie Johnson (2003) as winners of both the all-star race and the 600-mile event at Lowe's in the same season.

After winning two of the last four races, including last Saturday's Southern 500 at Darlington, Mark Martin enters the all-star event as a favorite. Martin is a two-time all-star winner.

Martin won it for the first time in 1998 when he worked his way through the pack over the final 10 laps and then grabbed the lead from Jeff Gordon after Gordon ran out of fuel entering the final turn.

"The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is always wild, and that is what's so exciting about it," Martin said. "This race is all about winning. There are no points on the line and second doesn't really mean anything. It's all about pride and celebrating with your team. I've been fortunate to win the all-star race twice in my career and would love to make it three times, especially driving for Rick Hendrick."

Martin's second win came in 2005. He will compete in his 20th event this year, tying Terry Labonte for most all-star starts.

Camping World Truck Series

North Carolina Education Lottery 200 - Lowe's Motor Speedway - Concord, NC

After a two-week break, the Camping World Truck Series returns to action with the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Lowe's.

Mike Skinner won the April 27 rain-shortened race at Kansas and grabbed the lead in the series standings for the first time since November 2007 at Phoenix. Skinner currently holds a 25-point advantage over Ron Hornaday Jr.

Skinner has started on the pole three times at Lowe's (2005-07), but has yet to win at the 1.5-mile oval. His best finish in five races there is eighth, which came two years ago.

"Lowe's actually isn't one of my favorite tracks," Skinner said. I've raced there a lot in the Coca-Cola 600 Cup race and then the Truck Series races and have had some success there."

Hornaday won at Lowe's in '07 for his first victory of the season. He went on to capture his third Truck Series title that year.

Matt Crafton is the defending race winner. Crafton grabbed the lead with seven laps to go and then held off Chad McCumbee by 0.184 seconds at the finish for his first career truck victory in his 178th start.

"Last year's win was awesome," Crafton said. "It was nice to look at everyone and say we did it and to finally quiet all those asking if I was capable of winning."

Crafton has finished in the top-10 in four of the first five races this season. He is currently fourth in points (-94).

Kyle Busch will be back in the No.51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota this weekend. Busch is the only driver with multiple victories in seven truck races at Lowe's.

"Kyle has done a great job for us at Lowe's, team owner Billy Ballew said. "His first start for the team, he won the race in 2005 and returned to win again in 2006."

Ryan Newman and David Gilliland will join Busch as those Sprint Cup Series regulars competing in the truck race at Lowe's.

Newman will make just his second truck start. Last October, he passed Hornaday on the final lap at Atlanta to win in his series debut.

"Winning the race last year in Atlanta in my first and only truck start was pretty cool," Newman said. "In my opinion, winning my first race doesn't put any additional pressure on me as the driver, and it doesn't give me any preconceived notions about what's going to happen this week in Charlotte."

Newman is taking over for series newcomer Ricky Carmichael in the No.4 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet. Carmichael is expected to be back in the seat next month at Texas.

INDYCARS

Indianapolis 500 Qualifying - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Indianapolis, IN

Track activities at Indianapolis Motor Speedway resume this week with IndyCar practice on Thursday and Friday, followed by third-day qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Saturday, and "Bump Day," slated for Sunday.

Twenty two drivers have already locked in their starting positions for this year's Indy 500.

Positions 23-33 are available on day three of qualifications. Once those spots are full, bumping will occur only in those spots for the remainder of the six- hour session to determine the fastest 11 qualifiers for that day.

On Bump Day, any qualifying attempt that is faster than an entrant already in the 33-car field will bump the slowest qualifier from the field, regardless of his or her qualification day. The "bumped" entrant will be removed from the grid, while the new qualifier will take the 33rd position or higher, depending on that driver's four-lap time and speed.

Last Saturday, Helio Castroneves won the pole for the 93rd running of the Indy 500 with a lap average of 224.864 m.p.h. Castroneves' Penske Racing teammate, Ryan Briscoe, will start in the middle of row one, while Dario Franchitti from Chip Ganassi Racing will roll off from the outside of the front row.