SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES – SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE, SATURDAY, MAY 18, 7:30 P.M. EDT ON SPEED

Parity Reigns In NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race

No surprise; five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has won three NASCAR Sprint All-Star Races, tied for most among active competitors with teammate Jeff Gordon. But he’s the only driver to have won more than once in the most recent 14 editions of Saturday night’s non-points event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It speaks to the depth of NASCAR’s premier series but also the quality of the All-Star’s winners – six NASCAR Sprint Cup champions claiming eight victories in the event beginning in 1999.

Gibbs Drivers ‘No Shows’ In Sprint All-Star Victory Lanes

Seven different organizations have won NASCAR Sprint All-Star Races since 1997. Amazingly enough, Joe Gibbs Racing is not among them. It’s a small sample – one game in 1987 – but Gibbs also is 0-for-1 as a National Football League Pro Bowl coach. This could be the week that JGR ends the drought based upon its performance this season to date. JGR drivers – led by 2004 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winner Matt Kenseth – have won five of the schedule’s first 11 races and led nearly 50% of the laps contested.

Hard-Charging Busch Still Chasing All-Star Victory

With more than $1 million to win and no points awarded, little wonder that most drivers approach the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race with a checkers or wreckers mentality. For Kyle Busch, the strategy leans heavily toward the latter result – four failures to finish in seven All-Star appearances, three of the DNFs due to accident. The race format, five segments ending with a 10-lap "trophy dash" would appear tailor-made for the hard-charging Busch – especially this year in which he’s won twice and led seven of 11 races for 740 laps.

Sprint All-Star Field Has 19 Qualifiers; Three More To Come

The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race field of 19 drivers is comprised of 2012-13 NASCAR Sprint Cup winners; the past 10 NASCAR Sprint All-Star winners; the past 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup champions; the top-two finishers from the Sprint Showdown and the winner of the Sprint Fan Vote. Among those attempting to race their way into the All-Star race are Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr., and rookie contenders Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sprint Fan Voting continues through 5 p.m. EDT, May 18 via NASCAR.com/SprintFanVote. Votes cast on NASCAR Mobile ’13 count twice.    

Being In It Means You’ve Got A Chance To Win It

Qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race via the Sprint Showdown or Fan Vote is akin to winning the lottery: You have a potential $1 million winning ticket but the odds against you are long. Still, being in it means you can win it. Three non-automatic qualifiers have won the big prize in the 28-year history of the event. Kasey Kahne was the most recent to defy the odds, punching his winning NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race ticket via the ballot box. Two "transfer" drivers went on to win – Ryan Newman in 2002 and Michael Waltrip in 1996.

Johnson Holds Standings Serve But Kenseth Closes

NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers take a one-week breather from the points wars but Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will provide crucial data for how their Gen-6 cars will perform in the season’s longest event – the May 25 Coca-Cola 600. Jimmie Johnson continues as the standings leader by 44 points over Carl Edwards. Darlington winner Matt Kenseth gained a spot, from fourth to third, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer completing the top five. Kenseth’s three victories – potentially worth nine Chase bonus points – lead all winners.