From Ric Flair to interactive participation in the burnout competition, fans will have plenty of incentive to come out for the 25th running of the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 16 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Speedway officials announced that one lucky fan will become a passenger during the second annual Pennzoil Victory Challenge in advance of the All-Star Race. The Pennzoil Victory Challenge pits drivers against one another to see who can deliver the best tire-smoking burnout.
"We're taking fan participation to the next level," said Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway. "With the help of Pennzoil, we're taking an event that was already a crowd-pleaser, making a few tweaks and placing an emphasis on creativity this year.
For one lucky fan, it's going to be a memorable experience that will last a lifetime. They'll never be able to get any closer to the action than this!"
The inaugural Victory Challenge was an instant hit with fans and this year's version promises to be even more exciting, with one fan in attendance to be randomly selected to ride "shotgun" with a Cup Series driver.
The new format will allow drivers a longer freestyle demonstration and a panel of judges will score each driver's creativity. The driver with the highest score from the panel will be declared the winner, with $10,000 awarded to their designated charity and a reserved spot in the 2010 Victory Challenge. Each driver will compete in stock cars identically prepared by the Richard Petty Driving Experience. More participants will be announced at a later date.
The driver lineup has been expanded from five drivers to seven, and the first official entry is Kevin Harvick, who finished fourth in the event last year. A separate Pennzoil consumer competition available through the Web site
www.pennzoilracefan.com will give fans the opportunity to ride shotgun with Harvick during the burnout competition. Sign-ups for the online promotion run through May 1.
In his duties as honorary race director, Flair will serve on the panel of judges for the Victory Challenge, which will be televised live during SPEED's pre-race coverage on May 16. The complete panel of judges will be announced at a later date.
Flair also will attend the drivers' meeting and assist SPEED personalities with driver introductions.
"I'm honored to be a part of the 25th running of the Sprint All-Star Race," Flair said. "I'm a longtime Charlotte resident and Lowe's Motor Speedway is an integral part of our city. It's one of the things that makes Charlotte a great place to live. There's nothing like NASCAR and the Nature Boy to get you pumped up! WoooOOOooo!"
Known for his flamboyant ring presence, Flair has enjoyed a 36-year professional wrestling career, winning 16 world heavyweight championships and in 2008 he became the first active wrestler ever inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame.
"We've had some great personalities serve as dignitaries at the speedway over the years, but I have to admit, none have been stylin' and profilin' like the Nature Boy will be at the 25th NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race," Smith said. "Growing up in this area and watching Ric perform through the years, it's going to be a treat for me and all of the fans at the speedway. I can't think of a better fit for NASCAR's All-Star Slugfest."
In addition to Flair's role on race day, he will be voicing the speedway's radio and television advertising campaign for the All-Star Race that will begin airing within the next 10 days.
The pre-race lineup for NASCAR's All-Star spectacular also will include a one-hour concert performed by country music award-winning duo Montgomery Gentry, and the Sprint Showdown.
Though no changes to the All-Star Race format were announced, Smith says some tweaks will be coming.
"We're talking about some different things that we'll be able to announce in a few weeks," Smith said. "I think, again, it's all about making it even more exciting for the fans.
"The All-Star Race has a tradition of having changes. If you remember back to the days of The Winston, we'd come out each year with a new format change. We've had great conversations and experience with the folks from Sprint and SPEED [which will televise the race live for the third consecutive year] and NASCAR to make the event better every year."
Tickets to the All-Star Race -- which start at $25 -- as well as all of the other great events in May, including the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24, can be obtained online at
www.lowesmotorspeedway.com or by calling the speedway ticket office at
1-800-455-FANS.Convenient payment plan options and multi-day ticket packages are available.
The main eventsTo allay any notion that the connection between the All-Star Race and professional wrestling might be peripheral or coincidental -- at least in terms of the promotion of the event -- Flair unveiled a gigantic poster formatted like a wrestling card, with the heads of Cup drivers melded with the bodies of pro wrestlers.
The poster invites fans to attend the "All-Star Slugfest: A Night of Fractured Fenders and Shattered Dreams." One of the featured events, according to the poster, will be a "Transmission Submission" match between Dale "The People's Champ" Earnhardt Jr. and Tony "Smoke" Stewart.
It was Stewart, you'll recall, who drew NASCAR's ire two years ago for drawing parallels between the sanctioning body's calling of debris cautions and the staging of a professional wrestling match. In the case of the All-Star Race hype, however, Smith sees the association as beneficial.
"We're all about having fun, and I think wrestling is a fun thing to watch," Smith said. "It's enjoyable, and they're all about the drama and the entertainment and the show. We've got the best of both worlds.
"With the Sprint All-Star Race, you've got competition that is going to be second to none. All the drivers are going to be on the track going for the win that night. It's as much about glory as it is the purse. You don't have to worry about any points that will go against you, if you take and extra chance or two on the track."
The Sporting News Wire Service contributed to this report.
