Can You Hear It?

The roar of the engines is getting louder as we gear up for another season of stock car racing. Thanks to a change in scheduling, The Toyota All Star Showdown begins the season tonight, with qualifying and the Toyota Open from Irwindale Speedway. The All Star Showdown features the best of NASCAR's weekly and touring series, including the Camping World East/West, and the new Whelen All American Series, formerly the Dodge Weekly Series. Here we will see the up and comers and the grizzled veterans of the stock car beat and bang in some of the most exciting short track racing there is. Watching the action tonight and tomorrow at 10 PM ET on Speed TV will certainly get us fired up for the 2009 racing season.

The true harbinger of the new season, for most of us, is the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona Grand Am race. This is one of the most grueling closed circuit races in the world, and there is never a lack of determination on the part of any driver or team to be in the lead. That means hard racing on the Daytona Road Course for the entire 24 hours. There will be carnage. The coverage begins Saturday, at 3 PM ET. on Fox, and continues at 4:30 PM ET on Speed TV.

David Donohue, the son of the Late and Great Mark Donohue, has taken the pole for the Rolex 24, setting a new track record while doing it. Other notables in the race include Danica Patrick, and Casey Mears, driving the Richard Childress Racing entry, and three time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson.

With the Daytona 500 still weeks away, it is refreshing to interrupt our sado-masochistic obsession for football with some good old fashioned racing. I am looking forward to this weekend, when the roar of engines will once again fill my living room. Not only do we hear it, we feel it! Happy 2009 racing season, everyone!

The NASCAR All-Stars: Part 4

Continuing the overview of the drivers locked into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge, Saturday, May 17, at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Driver: Mark Martin
How did he get in? Two-time event winner, 1998 and 2005.
All-Star History: Martin's first All-Star event was The Winston in 1991 where he finished thirteenth. His first All-Star win came in 1998, when he led twenty-four laps and beat Bobby Labonte by .424 seconds. His second win was in 2005, when he beat Elliott Saddler by .582 seconds. His worst finish was in 1995, when he finished eighteenth after being involved in a crash with Todd Bodine and Dale Jarrett. He also finished eighteenth in 2002 when his engine gave out on lap 51. He has participated in every All Star main event since 1991.

Driver: Casey Mears
How did he get in? NASCAR Cup race winner at Lowe's Motor Speedway, in May 2007
All-Star History: Casey Mears' first All-Star race was in 2007, as the new driver of a qualifying race winning car, the #25 of Hendrick MotorSports. He finished eighteenth, being involved in a crash with Denny Hamlin on lap 63.

Driver: Juan Montoya
How did he get in? Montoya was a race winner last year at Infineon Raceway (Sears Point).
All Star History: This will be Montoya's first All Star Race.

Driver: Ryan Newman
How did he get in? Former event winner (2002), winner of the 2008 Daytona 500.
All Star History: In 2002 Newman won the second qualifying round, the "No Bull Sprint" last chance qualifier, and went on to win The Winston, becoming the only racer in history to win the main event after winning the last chance qualifier. He led seventeen laps and barely held off a hard-charging Dale Earnhardt, Jr. by .158 seconds at the finish line.
His worst finish was in 2003, when he finished nineteenth, but his most disappointing All Star run had to be in 2005, when he got tangled with team mate Rusty Wallace as the final segment began. He had led 45 laps, and the incident began a long feud between the team mates.

Driver: Tony Stewart
How did he get in? NASCAR Cup Champion in 2002 and 2005. Three time Cup Series race winner in 2007.
All Star History: Stewart's first All Star Race was in his Rookie year in 1999 when he won the Winston Open to transfer in to The Winston. He finished second to Terry Labonte. In 2000, Joe Nemechek tried to retaliate against Steve Park on lap 62, wrecking them both and catching Stewart and Jeff Gordon in the wreck as well.
Stewart's worst finish was in 2005, when Nemechek tangled with another driver, Kevin Harvick, also causing a multiple car accident on lap 35, involving Stewart, Terry Labonte, Michael Waltrip, and Martin Truex, Jr.
In 2006, Stewart and Matt Kenseth crashed after seventy-two laps. They had some harsh words for each other after the incident, but, in spite of talks of a rivalry, Stewart's and Kenseth's friendship continued, and Stewart went forward with his plans to participate in a charity event at a track owned by Kenseth's father later in the year.
Tony Stewart has yet to win an All Star main event.

Driver: Martin Truex, Jr
How did he get in? 2007 race winner (Dover)
All Star History: In 2005, Truex became the second driver to be voted in to the NASCAR Nextel All Star Challenge (Ken Schrader was the first in 2004), and he finished twenty second after being involved in the grudge-match wreck between Harvick and Nemechek. In 2007 he won the Nextel Open and finished tenth in the Nextel All Star Challenge.
2005 brought much criticism to the fairly new practice of the fan vote selecting the final starter for the main event, as Truex had only four Cup Series races to his credit at the time, and was voted in because of his association with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. But, in winning the 2007 Nextel Open, he proved himself, and had a respectable finish in the main event that year. Later, in 2007, he won his first Cup Series points race at Dover.

These are the twenty one drivers who will start in the top twenty one positions for Saturday Night's shootout. My memory is not that great, so if anyone wishes to correct me on, or add to, anything I have written in any of the four parts of this overview, please feel free to do so in the comment section. Corrections are very welcome and will not make me feel bad.

The NASCAR All Stars: Part 3

Continuing the rundown of the 21 drivers locked in to the NASCAR Sprint All Star Challenge, May 17, at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Driver: Dale Jarrett
How did he get in? Being the 1999 NASCAR Cup Series Champion is what qualifies Jarrett for this particular race. This race will be Jarrett's final run in a Cup Series car as he retires.
All Star History: Dale Jarrett's first All Star Race was The Winston, in 1992, in which he finished eighteenth. He has participated in every All Star Race since then. His worst finish was 26th, in 2002, after a lap 15 crash that included Rusty Wallace, Bobby Hamilton, and Sterling Marlin. His best finish has been second place, where he finished in both 2000 and 2001. He ran with Joe Gibbs Racing in the All Star races from 1992 until 1995, when he began driving a Ford for Robert Yates Racing. In 2007, he drove a Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Driver: Jimmie Johnson
How did he get in? Two time Series champion, in 2006 and 2007, All Star event winner in 2003 and 2006, and winner of 10 Cup races in 2007 and one in 2008.
All Star History: Johnson's first All Star race was The Winston in 2002, after winning at California Speedway that year. He finished fifth, then and in every All Star race since then, with the exception of 2004, Johnson has finished in the top five, including last year's, when he was barely beaten by Kevin Harvick by .141 seconds. In 2004 he was involved in a crash on lap 53 and finished seventeenth.

Driver: Matt Kenseth
How did he get in? 2003 NASCAR Cup Champion (he was the last Winston Cup Champion), won two races in 2007 (California and Homestead)
All Star History: Kenseth's first All Star Race was The Winston in 2001, where he finished fourteenth, his worst finish in the event. He was the first Nextel All Star Challenge winner in 2004, when he beat Ryan Newman by .571 seconds. In 2006, he finished eleventh after being involved in a wreck with Tony Stewart. Since this was before Kyle Busch became the new most hated driver, the wreck was Tony Stewart's fault, as he was the most hated driver at the time.

Driver: Bobby Labonte
How did he get in? 2000 NASCAR Cup Champion.
All Star History: Labonte's first All Star race was The Winston in 1996, where he finished 13th. His best finish was in second place the next year, and was repeated in 1998, when Mark Martin beat him by a slim margin of .424 seconds. His worst finish was in 2007, in the 21st position after he crashed on lap 41. In 1999, his brother Terry won the main event, but Bobby was involved in a lap eleven crash that took out many of the favorites and front-runners, including Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Ernie Irvan, Jeff Burton, and Ricky Rudd.


Driver: Jamie McMurray
How did he get in? Winner of the July race at Daytona in 2007.
All Star History: McMurray earned his way into the last running of The Winston in 2003, after stepping in for the injured Sterling Marlin in 2002, and winning at Lowe's in the fall. He finished 22nd in 2003, when the format of the feature race included eliminations in rounds one and two. He finished 18th in his second All Star race in 2005, qualified by virtue of an eligible owner's championship for the #96 car, for which the number was changed to 26 because of bad feelings between owner Jack Roush and former driver Kurt Busch. He was involved in the lap 48 crash that year that included Kasey Kahne Jeremy Mayfield, Mark Martin, and Kyle Busch.

The NASCAR All-Stars: Part 2

Continuing an overview of the drivers qualified to race in the NASCAR Sprint All Star Race, Saturday, May 17, 2008.

Driver: Kurt Busch
How did he get in? 2004 NASCAR Cup Champion, plus he had two wins last year, at Pocono and Michigan.
All Star Race History: Kurt Busch ran his first All Star Race in 2002, where he finished in fourth place. He has raced in every All Star Race since then, and his best finish was the one in 2002. Last year, he and his brother Kyle wrecked each other on lap 62.

Driver: Kyle Busch
How did he get in? He won one race in 2007, at Bristol, and three in 2008, at Atlanta, Talladega, and Darlington.
All Star Race History: His first All Star race was in 2006, and he crashed on lap 48, along with Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Jeremy Mayfield, and Jamie McMurray. Last year he was involved in a wreck with his brother, Kurt, and has yet to finish an All Star race.

Driver: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
How did he get in? Past All Star Winner(The Winston, 2000)
All Star Race History: Jr won his first Cup race in 2000, his rookie year at Texas Motor Speedway, which made him eligable for the All Star Race. This was truly "The Battle of the Dales," as Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Dale Jarrett raced each other for the lead during the last ten laps of the race. Dale Jarrett lead the race for eight laps, then, with two laps to go, Dale Earnhardt, Jr took the lead. He beat Jarrett by 1.29 seconds. This was also one of the fastest races in the history of The Winston, with no cautions, although a retaliatory move by Joe Nemecheck on Steve Park, with eight laps to go, caused a four car accident, including Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Steve Park, and Joe Nemecheck. Jr's worst finish was in 2003, when he finished seventeenth.

Driver: Carl Edwards
How did he get in? He won three races in 2007, at Michigan, Bristol, and Dover, and three races this year at Las Vegas, California, and Texas.
All Star Race History: He missed the All Star Race last year because his wins did not come until after the date of the race. His first All Star race was in 2005, where he crashed by himself on lap 57, and his best finish was fourth in 2006

Driver: Jeff Gordon
How did he get in? He has won two of his four NASCAR Cup championships within the last ten years, won six races in 2007, and is a past winner of the All Star race.
All Star Race History: His first All Star Race was The Winston in 1994, where he finished fourteenth. The next year, he won the race, and continued winning it in 1996 and 1997. His last All Star win was in 2001, after the race was red flagged for a huge crash on lap one, because of rain. The drivers were allowed to go to back up cars, and the race was restarted from the beginning. Gordon beat Dale Jarrett by .701 seconds, in another caution free race that lasted only 34 minutes. Gordon has never missed an All Star race since 1994, and his worst finish was in 2000, when he finished sixteenth after crashing on lap sixty-two.

Driver: Denny Hamlin
How did he get in? Won both Pocono races last year and at Martinsville this year.
All Star Race History: 2007 was his first All Star Race, and he and Casey Mears got tangled on lap 63, ending his race in the seventeenth position.

Driver: Kevin Harvick
How did he get in? Past All Star Race winner, and winner of the Daytona 500 in 2007.
All Star Race History: His first All Star race was The Winston in 2001, where he finished twenty-first, due to brake failure. He has not missed an All Star race since then. He won the Nextel All-Star Challenge last year, barely edging Jimmie Johnson by .141 seconds.

Records from Racing Reference.info

The NASCAR All-Stars: Part 1

This coming weekend, NASCAR presents the much anticipated NASCAR Sprint All Star Race, at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, North Carolina. This is a non-points race that encourages all out racing in four 20 lap segments. The winner gets $1M and bragging rights.
There are five ways a driver can qualify for the All Star Race:
1. Win a race during the 2007 and 2008 seasons up to the last race before the All Star Race.
2. Be a NASCAR Cup Champion within the past ten years.
3. Be a previous winner of an All Star race within the past ten years.
4. Finish first or second in the Sprint Showdown qualifying race.
5. Be the driver with the most fan votes and be voted into the race for the final position.
Twenty one drivers are on the entry list due to meeting one or more of the first three criteria.

I will try to feature a few of the drivers every day through Friday, and hopefully I will get all 21 drivers who are qualified, by then.

Driver: Greg Biffle
How did he get in? He won at Kansas last year.
All Star Race History: Biffle's first All Star Race was in 2004, and he has been in every All Star Race since then. However, due to either being involved in crashes or having mechanical failure, he didn't run the entire event until last year, when he finished 15th.

Driver: Clint Bowyer
How did he get in? He won the second race at Loudon last year, and the Richmond race this year.
All Star Race History: Saturday will mark his first turn at the All Star Race.

Driver: Jeff Burton
How did he get in? He won at TMS last year and Bristol this year.
All Star History: Burton has run in nine All Star races since 1994. His best finish in the event was 4th, last year and in 1998.