ALL STAR RACE 101

In 2011, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is being held for the 27th time. The annual non-points event, set for Saturday, May 21, brings together NASCAR’s best under the lights at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., as a prelude to the following week’s Coca-Cola 600 that is annually held on Memorial Day weekend.

The race includes race-winning drivers and car owners from the 2010 and 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions from the past 10 years (2001-2010) who are active drivers and have compet- ed in at least one series event during the 2010 or 2011 season, and past winners of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Additionally, two drivers can qualify for the premier event by finishing first and second, respectively, after two 20-lap segments in the Sprint Showdown. Finally, one driver joins the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race field by winning the NASCAR Sprint Fan Vote.

AUDIO PODCAST: The Final Lap #157 – All Star Race 101

For the third consecutive year, the 2011 race features an exciting 10-lap “shootout” as its final segment. Here is a look at the format:

• Segment 1: 50 laps with a mandatory green-flag pit stop on Lap 25 at which time teams must pit and take on four tires. Following the end of Segment 1, the caution flag will be displayed for an optional pit stop.

• Segment 2: 20 laps with the caution flag displayed at the end of Segment 2 for an optional pit stop.

• Segment 3: 20 laps with a 10-minute break at the end of Segment 3. Teams may make normal adjustments to their cars during this break. The finishing order after the third segment determines the final starting positions for the fourth and final segment.

• Segment 4: 10-lap shootout with only green-flag laps counting.

The NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman, slated for Thursday, May 19 at 7 p.m. ET at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., and will air on SPEED at 8 p.m. ET that evening. The event directly linked to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, as the finishing order in the pit-crew competition determines the selection order of pit stalls for the race.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
2010 – Kurt Busch
2009 – Tony Stewart
2008 – Kasey Kahne
2007 – Kevin Harvick
2006 – Jimmie Johnson
2005 – Mark Martin
2004 – Matt Kenseth
2003 – Jimmie Johnson
2002 – Ryan Newman
2001 – Jeff Gordon
2000 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
1999 – Terry Labonte
1998 – Mark Martin
1997 – Jeff Gordon
1996 – Michael Waltrip
1995 – Jeff Gordon
1994 – Geoffrey Bodine
1993 – Dale Earnhardt
1992 – Davey Allison
1991 – Davey Allison
1990 – Dale Earnhardt
1989 – Rusty Wallace
1988 – Terry Labonte
1987 – Dale Earnhardt
1986 – Bill Elliott
1985 – Darrell Waltrip

FIVE TIME CONSECUTIVE NASCAR CHAMPION JIMMIE JOHNSON was named as Forbes Magazine’s Most Influential Athlete for 2011
(also on the Top 10 list are teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. #3 and Jeff Gordon #8)

Full Article
http://www.forbes.com/2011/05/09/most-influential-athletes.html

Full List
1 Jimmie Johnson
2 Tom Brady
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4 Shaquille O’Neal
5 Michael Phelps
6 Troy Polamalu
7 Peyton Manning
8 Jeff Gordon
9 LeBron James
10 Tim Tebow

Why Important
Forbes is a respected magazine, it means NASCAR is not only on their radar, but Jimmie topped the list, and proves mainstream media believe that NASCAR drivers are indeed athletes.

By Dwight Drum at Racetake.com

Teams used simple math near final laps in Dover while trying to add a top finish to their points quest for the 2011 NASCAR season.

The top three race cars to take the checkered flag at Dover International Speedway Sunday got there on a two tire stop or less.

Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards dominated the lead in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks for many of the total laps, but it was the last 17 laps after the final pit stop that made the race exciting for mid-pack drivers. Both Johnson and Edwards took four tires to complete the race and relinquished their leading ways.

Many other teams took only two tires on the final pit stop.

Matt Kenseth came out quickly with a two tire pit stop and never gave up the lead to win for Roush Fenway. Mark Martin took no tires and claimed his second place finish for Hendrick Motorsports. Marcos Ambrose parlayed a two tire pit stop into a season best third place for Richard Petty Motorsports.

The finishing order of these top three drivers may have surprised some NASCAR fans, but their words before and after the race might offer explanations.

Photo credit: Dwight Drum at Racetake.com

FYI WIRZ is the select presentation of motorsports topics by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com. Quotes derived from team and sanction press releases.

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Ford) Finished first.

Before the green flag: “I have always really liked this track,” Kenseth said. “We have done fairly well here, although it has been sort of feast or famine. It is a track that I enjoy. You have to have fast cars.”

After the checkered flag: “Obviously it was a great day for us and exciting for me to win here at Dover, especially the way we did it,” Kenseth said. “It seems like we have lost more that way than we have won. It really turned out good and I was happy we were able to pull it off.

“The other guys that got two were all running behind us and I felt like we had a better car than most of the guys that got two if I could just get a clean restart. That helped.

“There were times we ran good and times we didn’t. At the end we made good adjustments to get it better again.

“I knew one of the front three cars on the restart was going to win the race because the rubber builds up and makes it almost impossible to pass, at least for me compared to early in the race. The last few races here you have seen that track position was really important at the end of the race.”

Mark Martin (No. 5 Chevrolet) Finished second.

Before the green flag: “I loved it the first time I went there,” Martin said. “A lot of things have changed there, but one thing that’s stayed the same is it’s a wonderful place to race. Wonderful racetrack, one of my favorite places to go. It’s the only concrete track that I really love. And I loved it even more when it was asphalt, but I still love it. It’s one of my top-of-the-list favorites.”

After the checkered flag: “It was another great race at Dover,” Martin said. “Golly, I love this place. I always get excited about coming here to race. You know, we had a really fast racecar. Today we finally got a finish.

“This is the era of NASCAR racing that we have today. Twenty years ago, there weren’t so many cars the same speed and passing and overtaking was easy. Not so easy now because you have the world’s greatest drivers, 40 deep, 40 darn good racecars out there, too. That’s to be expected.”

Marcos Ambrose (No. 9 Ford) Finished third.

Before the green flag: “Dover is a great track. I really enjoy going there and it’s one of my favorite tracks of the year. It’s always a tough race and a long race with 400 laps around the one-mile concrete oval. Physically it’s demanding and mentally it’s challenging. It’s a different style of race track with high banking and it’s a place where there is no such thing as a small crash. I really feel like this is the weekend my luck is going to change at Dover.”

After the checkered flag: “On concrete I think it is the steeper banking that helps me feel the tires,” Ambrose said. “Today was a tough day though. The track was changing every run throughout the run. The car was getting really slick on that rubber. It wasn’t much you could do. You couldn’t ask for much change on the car because you knew it would be that way all day. You just had to change your line and keep searching.

“I am learning how these cars work. This result today I am really excited about because I think it is going to lead to a great Charlotte, Pocono, Indy, Kansas, all those tracks coming up I feel like we are suited to those tracks and I am excited about it.”

All Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup Races to Feature Second Half Split-Screen Breaks

ESPN’s telecasts of the final 10 races of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season will have a new look with the introduction of “NASCAR NonStop,” a commercial format designed to bring more racing action to viewers while also providing value to advertisers. The new format will be in effect for the races that make up the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship and will debut with the event at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 2 p.m. ET.

In NASCAR NonStop, ESPN’s commercial breaks will feature a split-screen format showing the advertisement on the left side of the screen and a continuation of racing action on the right side. In addition, ESPN’s scoring ticker will continue to move across the top of the screen, allowing NASCAR fans to follow the running order of the race during the breaks.

When going to break during NASCAR NonStop, ESPN will utilize a screen wipe tied to an advertiser, with that advertiser occupying the wipe for the rest of the race. NASCAR NonStop will take effect at or near the halfway point of the race, with the first half of the race presented in the traditional commercial break format.

“Since we returned to NASCAR racing in 2007, one of the most common questions from our fans has been ‘why don’t you do the commercials side-by-side?’” said John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president, content. “We’re very pleased to be able to do it now with NASCAR NonStop and showcase the advertiser while still showcasing the race. ESPN’s mission is to serve sports fans and this is a way to give the fans more racing action during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.”

Skipper said that ESPN worked with NASCAR to create the format for NASCAR NonStop.

“NASCAR has the most dedicated and loyal fans in the world, and we are constantly trying to enhance how those fans consume this great sport,” said Paul Brooks, president of NASCAR Media Group. “ESPN’s ‘NonStop’ format will ensure our fans maximize their viewing experience during the most intense and thrilling time of the season – the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.”

The final 17 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be televised on ESPN Networks, with 14 airing on ESPN and three Saturday night races airing on ABC. ESPN’s NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage begins with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 31, at 1 p.m.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. failed to win a race in either 2010 or thus far in 2011, and this season can no longer fall back on this event-champion provisional. He won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in 2000, but that achievement only locks a driver into the field for the following 10 years. His time is up.

But there’s two other means to the all-star end for Earnhardt. One, he could race his way in. If Earnhardt wins or finishes second in the Sprint Showdown – which precedes the all-star race – he’ll earn a spot in the field. Or if he wins the Sprint Fan Vote, he’ll get in – but only if he finishes on the lead lap in the Sprint Showdown.

VOTE HERE