1 1 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite / Vortex Dodge
2 19 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
3 2 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
4 12 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
5 11 14 Tony Stewart Burger King Chevrolet
6 13 29 Kevin Harvick Pennzoil Ultra Chevrolet
7 3 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge
8 14 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Black Ford
9 20 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
10 17 71 Bobby Labonte TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
11 10 39 Ryan Newman Tornados Chevrolet
12 18 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. DaleJrFndtn/National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet
13 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
14 5 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Pretzel Toyota
15 16 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford
16 9 83 Casey Mears Red Bull Toyota
17 15 5 Mark Martin Delphi / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
18 4 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops / Natl. Wild Turkey Fed. Chevrolet
19 6 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
20 8 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
21 21 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(May 22, 2010)

CONCORD, N.C.— After storming from fifth place to the lead when teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch tangled on Lap 93 of 100, Kurt Busch survived two late cautions and held off Martin Truex Jr. to win the Sprint All-Star Race for the first time.

Busch’s win made the evening extra special for team owner Roger Penske, whose IndyCar drivers Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Ryan Briscoe finished first, second and fourth, respectively, in pole qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day.

Most of the action in the Saturday night extravaganza was packed into the final 10-lap segment, in which only green flag laps counted toward the total.

Joey Logano ran third, followed by Hamlin and Tony Stewart. Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Bobby Labonte completed the top 10 in the non-points NASCAR Sprint Cup race that paid $1,028,309 to the winner.

Kurt Busch was well on his way to victory after completing Lap 98 of 100, but Kyle Busch bounced off the wall at the end of the tri-oval and clipped Kasey Kahne’s Ford to cause the fifth caution of the night.

On the restart with two laps to go, Kurt Busch picked the outside lane and took the green flag with Jimmie Johnson beside him, followed by Logano and Hamlin. Busch pulled away again, but before the cars got back to the finish line, Johnson spun across the infield grass to put the race under yellow for the sixth time.

Busch then put the race away in the final two-lap dash.

“Way to go boys!” Busch exulted on the radio after taking the checkered flag. “A million cool one—whoo!”

Minutes later, he savored the win in victory lane.

“Man, this car was a rocket ship at the end,” said Busch, who had scraped the wall in the third segment of the race. “This is huge. This is one of the big marquee events. We were able to dodge the wrecks and, ultimately, we had the fastest car when it counted.”

Hamlin and Kyle Busch were battling on Lap 93, with Busch getting a strong run to the outside of the No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin moved up the track in front of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, and Busch hit the outside wall after running out of room.

After a blown tire sent Kyle Busch into the wall and then into Kahne, he drove to the garage, telling his crew on the radio that they needed to keep him away from Hamlin. After the race, Hamlin, Busch and team owner Joe Gibbs were closeted in the No. 11 transporter, according to a Twitter post from SceneDaily.com’s Bob Pockrass.

After a 10-minute break between the third and final segments—during which crews could work on the cars but were not allowed to change tires—Johnson led the field back on the track and then to the pits for mandatory four-tire pit stops.

Hamlin was first off pit road, followed by Kyle Busch and Johnson. Mark Martin, Logano and Jamie McMurray followed in the next three positions when the field took the green flag for the final 10-lap shootout.

A wreck in the first corner, however, damaged eight cars and eliminated Martin, McMurray, David Reutimann, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards.

Truex and Biffle transferred into the main event by claiming the top two spots, respectively, in Saturday evening’s Sprint Showdown. On Lap 33 of 40, Truex took the lead from Biffle, who had stayed out on old tires (as did David Ragan), when the rest of the field stopped for fresh rubber on Lap 18—two laps short of the end of the first segment.

Nevertheless, Biffle was able to hold off third-place finisher Jeff Burton for the second transfer position. Edwards, who finished 10th in the Showdown, completed the 21-driver field as the winner of the Sprint Fan Vote.

Juan Pablo Montoya had one of the fastest cars in the Showdown, but his progress through the field was halted abruptly when he turned across the nose of Regan Smith’s Chevrolet and crashed into the outside wall as the cars entered Turn 1 on Lap 17.

RCR and Harvick Sign Contract Extension

CONCORD, N.C. (May 22, 2010) — Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick have signed a multi-year contract extension for the 2007 Daytona 500 winner to continue his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driving career with the 12-time NASCAR championship-winning organization.

The announcement was made today in the infield media center at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Harvick, 34, began his RCR driving career in 1999. All of his 334 Sprint Cup Series starts, beginning with the second race of the 2001 season, have been in RCR’s No. 29 Chevrolet. The 12-time race winner in NASCAR’s elite series has also been part of three NASCAR Nationwide Series championships with RCR, winning the title outright in 2001 and 2006 and co-driving for the owners-only championship in 2003.

“I’m happy to be able to continue my relationship with Richard and RCR because, over the last 10 years, we’ve been through a lot together,” said Harvick. “Being able to put this piece of the puzzle in place couldn’t have come at a better time for me and this team because we can focus solely on winning this championship.”

Harvick leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings after 12 of 36 races. The winner of the April 2010 race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway leads second-place Kyle Busch by 69 points. RCR teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer are eighth and 15th, respectively.

“Kevin has been a big part of RCR for more than a decade now so it’s good to know our relationship will continue for years to come,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “The No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team is leading the points and really working very well together this season. This new contract should only help build on their momentum.”

CONCORD, N.C. — Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, said Friday that he will miss the remainder of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season while he continues to recover from blood clots discovered in his lungs and left leg.

The 26-year-old Vickers, with Dr. Steven A. Limentani and Red Bull Racing Team vice president and general manager Jay Frye at his side, addressed the media for the first time at Charlotte Motor Speedway since being diagnosed with the condition May 12. And he didn’t hold back.

“It sucks. This is what I love to do,” Vickers said. “I’ve never, throughout my entire career, been on the sidelines. That’s what hurts the most. This is my life, and I fully intend on being able to do it again.”

Vickers and Limentani refused to speculate on what caused the blood clots, and both noted that the testing process is “lengthy and involved” and may take a number of weeks to come to any conclusions. Because Vickers is on blood thinners — including Coumadin — Limentani said driving the No. 83 is impossible for fear that Vickers might be injured in a crash. He recommended that Vickers sit out a minimum of six months.

“It is not advisable for him to race while on blood thinners,” said Limentani, a Charlotte, N.C.-based hematologist and oncologist.

Vickers’ close friend, Casey Mears, will continue to drive the No. 83. Mears, who will participate in Saturday night’s All-Star event, replaced Vickers in Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway and finished 22nd.

“Casey is doing a great job,” Frye said. “We don’t anticipate any changes. We’re very comfortable with Casey.”

Vickers, during a sight-seeing visit to Washington, D.C., was hospitalized May 12 after experiencing chest pains. Testing revealed the blood clots, and he was released Friday and returned to Charlotte. But the pains resurfaced the next day, and Vickers was admitted to Carolinas Medical Center, where he spent another two days.

Upon his release, it was determined that driving a race car was not a good idea for the foreseeable future.

“I didn’t want to go to the doctor. They were going to take me out of the car,” Vickers admitted. “You think you’re bulletproof. You’re 26. You’re a race car driver. You skydive. You think it’ll just go away. I want nothing more than to be back in the car, but I don’t focus on the negative. I’ll deal with the cards I’ve been dealt.

“My friends and family have constantly reminded me, ‘At least you’re still with us.’ I’m lucky. Very fortunate.”

Vickers expressed his sincere thanks for all of the support and well wishes from family, friends and fellow drivers. He plans on “being in the best shape of my life” by the time he returns to the car.

By winning the pit crew challenge, Hamlin’s team will get the first choice of pit selection for the Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford agreed they would take the pit closest to the end of pit road. Drivers will be required to make a pit stop just prior to the final 10-lap segment of the all-star race.

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Photo Credit: NASCAR Media