May All-Star Event Comes With A Certain Amount Of Flair

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 events

To 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.

It will be clear who's side I'm on in a minute

Last night I watched the Nationwide race at Lowe's and the most exciting part was the brawl at the end of the race. Today I've read email after email in my inbox that blames Denny for being the aggressor and the one who's wrong.

Of course, because Keselowski's car is owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., D Ham is now public enemy #1. Well, Denny's crew didn't rush Brad's car..it was the other way around. Don't send an army (or the NAVY) to defend you because you're a punk ass who can't fight his own battles. The picture at left clearly shows which car they're in front of.

Brad said that Denny gets mad when people race him too hard. It's not a matter of racing too hard...it's a matter of racing dirty. Not clearing someone in a turn is dirty to me. Hitting someone from behind during a caution is dirty to me. If you can get around the car in front of you because you're faster....then do it. If you can't back off until you can so you don't wipe out both of you. Keselowski is writing checks that his ass can't cash. Denny did hit Brad back on the caution lap but why was Brad up next to him in the first place? He had no business being there at all and if he'd stayed in 3rd place where he belonged that never would have happened.

It all boils down to JGR versus Junior Nation and the Ky Bu Junior battle from a few weeks ago. JGR is winning EVERYTHING and Junior hasn't won ANYTHING in over 2 years. That makes Junior Nation mad. Well Jr Nation makes me sick to my stomach. Brad Keselowski was WRONG and that's the bottom line! It's the first time that he's not had a DNF and he goes crazy and it comes back to slap him in the face. Like Denny should have done to Tony Eury Sr. when he got in his grill. People blame Denny for that but the crews from both Brad and Dale Jr's teams went rushing over to the 20 crew to start trouble. Shows the lack of class at Jr Motorsports if you ask me.

D Ham has the right to say how he feels and I agree with him 1000%.

I'm a proud Denny Hamlin fan...bottom line. It's not whining, it's telling it like it is. Don't like what you hear turn off the TV. I do! I am not a Jr fan and childish incidents like what happened last night, which was low class and uncalled for, I never will be. There is a lot of animosity because Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports aren't winning and JGR is. I happen to be a fan of the winning side of this battle and have a different opinion than most. Oh well... I'm on my driver's side whether he's right or wrong. I just don't think Denny's wrong. He has the right to want to be raced a certain way and truth be told EVERY driver feels that way. I've heard Jr. pissed off after a race for things other guys have done to him.

But the kicker for me is the hit from behind under caution. That is WRONG! Yes, Denny hit Brad under caution and that does not make me happy. But the retaliation would not have happened without the initial action by the # 88. As an owner Dale Jr needs to jump his drivers case for that.

Say what you will....NASCAR asked for more emotion and the post-race scuffles are awesome to see. It's good for the sport and the guys to express their feelings and work things out. As long as punches aren't thrown words don't hurt. I don't like seeing Denny in fights but I will put my money on him ANY day. He was ready to rumble and I think the winner would have been D Ham by a KO.

Coca-Cola 600 Review

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

This week: Hamlin has no wins, no top-five finishes and three top-10s in five starts at Lowe's. He was ninth in last year's 600 and 20th in the October race. "This is a fast track that has been made faster over the past couple of years, so there are no laps off, no taking it easy," Hamlin said. "You can get into trouble in a hurry if you lose concentration here, so in that sense 600 miles can be pretty grueling. In the same way, that 600 miles takes a lot out of you physically. I noticed a huge change last year in this race when I came into it in much better shape. I feel even better this year, so I don't expect it to be an issue. The biggest challenge of going 600 miles is on the crew to prepare a car that can last the duration while dealing with the change in conditions over the course of the race. You have to build a lot of adjustability into the car or you'll end up chasing the track, and that can make a long day even that much longer. This FedEx team has always been really good at making sure we have room to work on the car, and that's the way you need to approach this race — maybe more so than any other race during the season."

Last week: Hamlin was 23rd in the All-Star race, so it's a good thing for him it doesn't count in the Cup standings. "This is definitely experimental 'All-Star only' racing," Hamlin said. "We came out here with our guns loaded, and unfortunately our gun went off a little bit before the end of the race. It just wasn't enough. We knew this engine wasn't going to go 500 miles. It was built for just a few more laps past 100 and it just didn't make it. This is the race to try some things like this, to let the guys in the engine shop pull out some new stuff and see how it runs. They are the best in the business, and we've seen how good the engines have been this season. I know we'll be fine next weekend."

Etc.: Hamlin said the All-Star Race was merely a warmup for the 600. "It is kind of like the prelude, I guess you can say, to the big race next weekend," he said. "It's exciting for us because we haven't had much success in the All-Star Race the last couple of years we've been in it. ... We usually race well in the 600. It seems like we learn more this weekend than what a lot of guys do."

FedEx Racing Express Facts - Coca-Cola 600

RACE INFO:

Event: Coca-Cola 600

Date/Time: May 25, 2008/ 5 p.m. EST

Length: 1.5 miles

Shape: Quad-OvalBanking: 24 degrees

Distance: 400 laps/600 miles

2007 winner: Casey Mears

2007 pole winner: Scott Riggs

EXPRESS NOTES:

All-Star Race Ends in Engine Failure for Hamlin, FedEx Racing:

Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team suffered a blown engine on lap 86 of the 100-lap Sprint All-Star race on Saturday night and were forced to join their teammate Kyle Busch, who experienced a similar failure, in the garage before the checkered flag flew. Both of the Gibbs teams led the race at different points before being struck by engine trouble, but both were also quick to point to the decision to run an "experimental" engine package as the culprit.

Hamlin was anything but concerned following his premature exit from the All-Star event:

“This is definitely experimental ‘All-Star only’ racing. We came out here with our guns loaded and unfortunately our gun went off a little bit before the end of the race. It just wasn’t enough. We knew this engine wasn’t going to go 500 miles. It was built for just a few more laps past 100 and it just didn’t make it. This is the race to try some things like this, to let the guys in the engine shop pull out some new stuff and see how it runs. They are the best in the business and we've seen how good the engines have been this season. I know we'll be fine next weekend and I look forward to it."

Hamlin at Charlotte:

The Coca-Cola 600 will mark Hamlin's sixth Cup start at Lowe's Motor Speedway and 91st career Cup start. In two previous Coca-Cola 600 starts, Hamlin has qualified and finished in the top-ten on both occasions and led at least one lap in each race. Hamlin debuted at Lowe's at the end of the 2005 season during one of his limited starts that season and recorded an eighth-place finish.

Coca-Cola 600 Chassis 208 & 204:

This will be the first start of the season for chassis JGR 208. It took part in the Charlotte test earlier this month but has yet to start a competitive race. JGR 204 also will be on the truck this weekend. It finished ninth at Las Vegas earlier this season.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION - COCA-COLA 600:

600 Miles at LMS is the longest race of the season. Is it more challenging physically or mentally?:

“It's a combination of both, really. This is a fast track that has been made faster over the past couple of years so there are no laps off - no taking it easy. You can get into trouble in a hurry if you lose concentration here so in that sense 600 miles can be pretty grueling. In the same way that 600 miles takes a lot out of you physically. I noticed a huge change last year in this race when I came into it in much better shape. I feel even better this year so I don't expect it to be an issue. The biggest challenge of going 600 miles is on the crew to prepare a car that can last the duration while dealing with the change in conditions over the course of the race. You have to build a lot of adjustability into the car or you’ll end up chasing the track and that can make a long day even that much longer. This FedEx team has always been really good at making sure we have room to work on the car and that’s the way you need to approach this race maybe more so than any other race during the season."

Over the past month you've had a good amount of time on this track. Has it helped to prepare you for this race?:

"It always helps to get track time and I feel like I have spent a ton of time at this track lately. Between the Cup test, the Nationwide test and then All-Star practice I would like to think I have a pretty good feel for the place but it's not the same as race experience. To be honest, after being out there in the All-Star race and seeing just how hard it was to pass it's going to be interesting to see how 600 miles goes on Sunday."

The FedEx Racing "Slow Things" Charity Auction" keeps rolling along - What's up for auction this week?:

"This week it's an autographed jar of molasses and bids are already coming in. I am not sure it can beat the rocking chair that sold recently for over $300 though. This auction has been a great way to play off the FedEx Racing commercials and raise some money for a great cause in St. Jude. Each week we are putting up a "slow" item and throwing in a die-cast model of the #11, too. All of the money raised goes to the St. Jude and the fans get to collect some pretty unique items. There are more really cool items coming up over the course of the season so be sure to check the site (www.fedexracing.com) for the latest auctions."

2008 All Star Race Info

The 2008 All Star Race is scheduled for Saturday May 17,2008 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The drivers eligible for this year's event are:
29 Kevin Harvick
17 Matt Kenseth
48 Jimmie Johnson
18 Kyle Busch
31 Jeff Burton
24 Jeff Gordon
5 Casey Mears
1 Martin Truex Jr.
99 Carl Edwards
42 Juan Montoya
11 Denny Hamlin
26 Jamie McMurray
20 Tony Stewart
2 Kurt Busch
07 Clint Bowyer
16 Greg Biffle
12 Ryan Newman
43 Bobby Labonte
44 Dale Jarrett
8 Mark Martin
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr
08 Showdown Winner
08 Showdown 2nd Place Finisher
Fan Vote Winner

This year's event also features a Burnout Competition and the race has been lengthened to 100 laps. The entire event can be seen on SPEED. For more information visit www.lowesmotorspeedway.com