May 17, 2014

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

CONCORD, N.C.— Streaking away from an intense battle with polesitter Carl Edwards to open the final 10-lap segment Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jamie McMurray won the Sprint All-Star Race—and the million-dollar-plus prize that goes with the victory—for the first time in his career.

McMurray held off fast-closing Kevin Harvick, who crossed the finish line .696 seconds behind the race winner.

Matt Kenseth ran third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.

But before McMurray delivered the first victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series non-points race to team owner Chip Ganassi, fans at the 1.5-mile track saw an action-packed race with numerous twists and turns before McMurray took the checkered flag.

Halfway through the first 20-lap segment, Kyle Busch passed Edwards for the lead and held it until the first scheduled caution, but that was the end of the highlights for the driver of the No. 18 Toyota.

Six laps into the second segment, Busch tapped the rear bumper of Clint Bowyer’s Camry after Bowyer blocked Busch’s moved to the inside. Busch took evasive action, diving toward the apron, when Bowyer’s car got out of shape, but Bowyer’s Toyota clipped Busch’s and the No. 18 spun.

Joey Logano couldn’t avoid Busch and plowed into the spinning car, knocking both machines out of the race.

“We had a good run through (Turns) 1 and 2 and off (Turn) 2,” Busch explained after the accident. “Kurt (Busch) got real bottled up on the outside and slowed down, so I knew I was clear to go to the bottom and swoop down and try to get underneath Bowyer.

“And when I did, he blocked me, and I hit him, and he got squirrely, and then I was still under him, and it hit me and turned me around the wrong way on the backstretch and got in the outside wall.”

After the subsequent restart on Lap 31, AJ Allmendinger’s Chevrolet nosed into the inside wall on the backstretch after contact with Brian Vickers’ Toyota.

Kasey Kahne grabbed the lead for the first time on Lap 35 and pulled away to win the second segment. With four cars staying out between segments and two more changing just two tires, Kahne started eighth for segment No. 3, but on Lap 47 he passed Jamie McMurray (who had not changed tires) for the top spot.

By the time the third segment ended, Kahne was a comfortable 1.411 seconds ahead, with Harvick giving chase.

On the opening lap of the fourth segment, a mechanical failure in Jeff Gordon’s car sent the No. 24 Chevy into the outside wall in Turn 3, collecting the Chevrolet of Martin Truex Jr. and the Ford of Greg Biffle.

Kahne had two brushes with the wall in segment No. 4, ending his strong run with the sort of disappointment that has plagued him in points races all season long.

With the best average finish in the first four segments, Harvick entered pit road first for a mandatory four-time stop before the final 10-lap dash. McMurray, who made a huge track position gain by staying out between the third and fourth segments, was second onto pit road, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Edwards.

But Edwards used the No. 1 pit stall to advantage, winning the race off pit road over McMurray and Harvick. Kenseth started the final segment in the fourth spot, with Johnson and Earnhardt behind him in fifth and sixth.

Edwards, however, couldn’t keep McMurray behind him.