Nascar SCS Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway May Sun. 24 on FOX at 7:00 PM ET

Nascar ^

[mabarker1]

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Notebook:
· There have been 30 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Races.
· The first NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race was in 1985.
· 29 have been held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In 1986, the event was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and won by Bill Elliott. That season was also the first year for what is now known as the Sprint Showdown.
· 92 drivers have run in at least one NASCAR Sprint All-Star race, with 76 competing in more than one.
· Mark Martin has participated in 24 races, more than any other driver. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in Sprint All-Star starts with 21, followed by Tony Stewart with 16.
· There have been 20 different winners of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race.
· Jimmie Johnson (2003, 2006, 2012 and 2013) leads the series with the most NASCAR Sprint All-Star race wins with four.
· Dale Earnhardt (1987, 1990 and 1993) and Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997 and 2001) are the only three-time winners of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip won the inaugural NASCAR Sprint All-Star race in 1985 at an average speed of 161.184 mph.
· The race has featured a field that ranged from 10 drivers in 1986 to 27 in 2002. Last season's field had 22 participants.
· Davey Allison (1991 and 1992), Terry Labonte (1988 and 1999) and Mark Martin (1998 and 2005) are the only other drivers to post multiple victories in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race.
· Davey Allison (1991, 1992) and Jimmie Johnson (2012, 2013) are the only drivers to ever win consecutive NASCAR Sprint All-Star races.
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000) and Ryan Newman (2002) are the only drivers to win the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race in their rookie season.
· Jeff Gordon is the youngest winner of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at 23 years, 9 months and 18 days (1995).
· Mark Martin is the oldest NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winner at 46 years, 4 months and 12 days (2005).
· Jimmie Johnson leads the series among active drivers in average finish in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race with a 6.154; followed by Matt Kenseth with a 6.214.
· Seven active drivers have an average finish in the top 10 for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race: Jimmie Johnson (6.1), Matt Kenseth (6.2), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8.0), Tony Stewart (8.4), Joey Logano (8.7) Kevin Harvick (9.9) and Jeff Gordon (10.0).
· The record for lead changes in a NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is 10 in 2004. Last season's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race had nine lead changes.
· The record for different leaders in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is nine in 2002. Last season's race had six different leaders.
(NASCAR)

[mabarker1]

I bet he didn't have to tell dad twice to get them chores done. #RalphLeeEarnhardt

[mabarker1]

NASCAR requires pit crews wear fire-retardant gear: NASCAR will mandate all pit crew members who service the car on pit road to wear fire-retardant head socks, underwear, socks and gloves beginning in June. NASCAR sent an email to the teams this week detailing the new rules, a NASCAR spokesman confirmed. Previously, only the fuel man had to wear a fire-retardant head sock, which protects much of the face and neck. Now all the over-the-wall crewmen will have to wear the head socks as well as fire-retardant underwear, gloves and socks.(ESPN)(5-15-2015)

[mabarker1]

Latest Top Five in Fan Vote: per a tweet by Miss Sprint Cup, the top-five drivers in the Sprint Fan Vote to be voted into the Sprint All-Star Race (not already in the race) are (alphabetical order as of May 13th at 6pm/et): #15-Clint Bowyer, #42-Kyle Larson, #10-Danica Patrick, #78-Martin Truex Jr. and #98-Josh Wise. See the 32 drivers eligible (only 22 are entered, 8 drivers entered are not eligible for the vote) for the Sprint Fan Vote on Jayski.com's 2015 All-Star Race page and the link to vote.

[mabarker1]

Entry Lists for the Sprint Showdown and the Sprint All-Star Sprint Cup series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway is posted, 30 teams/drivers are listed for the Showdown, including: #25-Elliott, #30-Green, #32-Bliss, #33-Kennedy, #39-Kvapil and #95-McDowell. #21-Blaney and #34-Moffitt are not entered.
There are 17 drivers entered for the Sprint All-Star race including the return of #18-Kyle Busch.
See the full entry lists on Jayski.com's 2015 Sprint All-Star Race & Showdown Race Info page

[mabarker1]

Gene Haas isn't ruling out Danica Patrick for F1 team: NASCAR team co-owner Gene Haas has no desire to fuel speculation but neither will he rule out entirely the possibility of Danica Patrick racing for his new Formula One team next year. "If the right sponsor came along, then anything is possible," the California-based businessman told Reuters when asked whether the world's best-known female racer might make a sensational switch from ovals. Even as he spoke, on a visit to the grand prix paddock in Spain last weekend, his F1 team principal Guenther Steiner grimaced. "Don't put anything in that Danica is coming to F1," laughed the Austrian, mindful of all the stories written since Haas Formula One confirmed they would be making their grand prix debut in 2016. "We've been down that path last year," agreed Haas, who nonetheless left no doubt that his Stewart-Haas NASCAR driver would be given serious consideration if the deal was right and she wanted to do it. Formula One has not had a woman driver start a race in nearly 40 years and Patrick, who nearly tested for Honda in 2008, has been through the rumor mill many times already. "We don't want to sit there and say no to anything but the probabilities... obviously when she's in NASCAR, it's very difficult to participate in F1," said Haas of the 33-year-old who in 2013 became the first woman to take pole position for the season-opening Daytona 500. Patrick's long-term backer, internet domain name service GoDaddy Inc, announced last month they were leaving NASCAR at the end of the year and that has left her future in doubt although Haas sounded positive on that score. "Danica Patrick is highly marketable and if anything we're very lucky that GoDaddy is giving us enough time to find a sponsor that she'll fit with, because she can sell anything," he said. "She has as much attention at the race track as any of the drivers so she's a very valuable person." Haas F1 will be the first American-based team in Formula One since 1986 and will compete with Ferrari engines in a close tie-up with the Italian team.(Reuters)(5-15-2015)

[happydogx2]

Hard to believe Danica wouldn’t get a major sponsor for NASCAR’s 2016 but what do I know.

Here’s a link to the rules for the All Star race format:

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2015/4/8/nascar-sprint-all-star-race-format-announced-charlotte-motor-speedway.html

[rabidralph]

Danica won the fan vote and will be running in the all-star race.

[tubebender]

I hope you all got to see the wild finish to the Truck Rack>KK won by 00.01

[happydogx2]

Missed it. Hellava week for Mrs. Happydog so it was take-out Mexican and catching up on some recorded shows.

[happydogx2]

KK’s truck failed inspection. Oops. Penalties next week.

[tubebender]

Oh darn! I hate it when that happens ~

[mabarker1]

Dick Trickle Memorial emerging: The beginnings of the Dick Trickle Memorial at the Rudolph Community Park (Wisconsin) are slowly beginning to emerge from the grassy field, thanks to the hard work of those dedicated to preserving the racing legend's memory. Trickle, a central Wisconsin resident and stock car racer, died by suicide May 16, 2013, in Iron Station, NC at the age of 71. His former central Wisconsin racing buddies choose to focus on Trickle's life and contributions to the racing community. Less than a year after Trickle's death, friends joined together to build a memorial in Trickle's boyhood home of Rudolph. This weekend not only marks the second anniversary of Trickle's death, but also the second annual Dick Trickle Memorial Celebration at the Rudolph Community Park, the site where the building of the memorial is underway. Sunday's event also kicks off a summer of 12 race event appearances by committee members to raise awareness and funds for the memorial. More information at dicktricklememorialproject.com.(Wisconsin Rapids Tribune)(5-16-2015)

[mabarker1]

Sponsorship All-Stars in NASCAR: With a quarter of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season in the books and ahead of this weekend's Sprint All-Star Race, certain drivers and brands are emerging as sponsorship all-stars. The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion #4-Kevin Harvick is leading the way. Not only has he led the most laps, but Harvick tops all drivers in providing his team's sponsors the most time-on-screen during 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race broadcasts. With nearly 7 ½ hours of television time in the first quarter of the season, Harvick's sponsors combined to receive 10% more exposure time than the next closest competitor. Harvick's primary car sponsor, Jimmy John's, has acquired the most media value among primary car sponsors through the first quarter of the season, followed by Lowe's, Shell-Pennzoil, Nationwide, Haas Automation, Target, FedEx, Dollar General, Furniture Row and Miller Lite. Repucom Executive Vice President Peter Laatz said, "Performance is one of the more prominent indicators for car sponsor exposure in NASCAR as evidenced by the brands you see with the highest media value to date. Eight of the top 10 cars have made at least one trip to victory lane."
Furniture Row is a newcomer to the top 10 primary car sponsor list tracked by Repucom. Due to outstanding performance this season by Martin Truex, Jr. and the No. 78 team, Furniture Row has received more media value to date than it did in the entire 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Truex is the only driver besides Harvick to have 10 top-10 finishes this season. The top overall brands in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during live-race broadcasts are Sprint, Chevrolet, Toyota, Ford and Nationwide. Nationwide moved from a NASCAR series entitlement sponsor to become the primary car sponsor of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2015. Nationwide has also received extensive brand exposure through broadcast sponsorship segments and on-air graphics during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.(Repucom)(5-16-2015)

[mabarker1]

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Stats- Poles:
· Terry Labonte won the inaugural Coors Light pole for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race in 1985.
· 16 drivers have won Coors Light poles for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race, led by Bill Elliott with four. Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with three. Carl Edwards has won the last two consecutive poles for the Sprint All-Star Race (2013, 2014).
· Four drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race: Davey Allison (1991, 1992) Bill Elliott (1997, 1998), Kyle Busch (2011, 2012) and Carl Edwards (2013, 2014).
· The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race has been won from the pole position four times; the first three came in consecutive years: Dale Earnhardt (1990) and Davey Allison (1991 and 1992). Kurt Busch posted the fourth win from the pole in 2010.
· The front row starting positions and fourth-place are the three most proficient starting positions in the field, producing more winners (four each) than any other starting positions in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
· Eight of the 30 (26.7%) NASCAR Sprint All-Star races have been won from the front row: four from the pole and four from second-place.
· 17 of the 30 (56.7%) NASCAR Sprint All-Star races have been won from a top-five starting position.
· 21 of the 30 (70%) NASCAR Sprint All-Star races have been won from a top-10 starting position.
· Two of the 30 (6.7%) NASCAR Sprint All-Star races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
· The deepest in the field a NASCAR Sprint All-Star race winner has started was 27th, by Ryan Newman in 2002.
(NASCAR)

[mabarker1]

Fans, Hornish and SHOP.COM Send 10 Campers to Victory Junction: Sam Hornish Jr. and the #9 SHOP.COM/Victory Junction Ford team put in a great effort during Friday night's Sprint Showdown with a 14th-place finish in the first 20-lap segment and a fourth-place finish in the second 20-lap segment. Hornish was one of the fastest cars in the second segement. Although Hornish and the #9 SHOP.COM/Victory Junction Ford team did not find Victory Lane, they still leave Charlotte Motor Speedway as winners. Earlier this month, Richard Petty Motorsports partner SHOP.COM announced a campaign surrounding the Sprint Fan Vote and Hornish. For every Sprint Fan Vote that Hornish received, SHOP.COM donated $5 to Victory Junction and $10 for every shared vote on Facebook and Twitter up to $25,000. Through the support of SHOP.COM and the NASCAR community, Hornish received enough fan votes to reach the $25,000 goal to send 10 campers to Victory Junction.(RPM)(5-16-2015)

[mabarker1]

France defends NASCAR decision about waiver for Kyle Busch: NASCAR CEO and Chairman Brian France defended NASCAR's decision to waive the 26-race rule on Wednesday and allow Kyle Busch to be eligible for the Chase. Although the sanctioning body granted the waiver, it doesn't mean the Joe Gibbs racer will automatically qualify for the playoff. That's where France says the challenge lies. "The real beauty in the way the championship is now decided, you have a little bit of flexibility to crown your champion," France said. "As opposed to the old days, when it was an accumulation of all the points. Now, you're resetting it any way. You still have to get into the Chase with a win. Once you get there, that's when the real work begins - those final 10 races and to survive that. I think the flexibility the format adds we're still rewarding the best driver in a given year is helpful for us and allows us when things like Kyle Busch happens or something else that are out of a driver's control we at least have a tool left in our tool kit so we can put them back in." Although France acknowledged that Busch's absence for nearly one-third of the Sprint Cup season played into NASCAR's decision-making process, with the new Chase format, the main emphasis is qualifying for and performing in the playoffs.
"What we determined in this case is you still have to finish strong in the remaining events leading up to the Chase, you have to win a race and you have to perform in the final 10 when it matters the most any way," France added. "There is plenty of merit if Kyle, in this case, is able to accomplish all that, then he will be a fine champion."(Motorsport / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)(5-16-2015)

[mabarker1]

Kyle Busch Happy to Return, Waits on Baby Busch: #18-Kyle Busch was happy to return to the seat of his race car on Friday as practice was held for Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. It didn't take long for Busch to get back to form, but he was just as intently preparing for the birth of wife Samatha's first child. "I was optimistic about coming back and getting in some laps here at Charlotte Motor Speedway," said Busch. "Our car was fast. It was good to see all my guys, and just kind of get things to fall back in. You know, just trying to get a feel for the seat since I hadn't been behind the wheel in a while. As far as I was concerned, everything went according to plan. We made some adjustments to get in that mock qualifying run. We were able to put a fast time up, but I'm not sure everybody else made that kind of effort. I was definitely excited to see that seat."
Busch noted the biggest adjustment was getting acclimated back to the car. "I think the biggest thing was just getting back the feel of the race car," said Busch. "These race cars have been changing quite honestly. Just trying to get a feel for what all was going on there and what I had to drive. The seat was an adjustment for me. I'm not used to the carbon seat at all; I have never run one. We had to tinker with it a little bit there and tinker with it now to just try and make it a little bit better for me for the long haul, especially for next week."
Charlotte was also a goal for Busch to return to competition. "There were some nervous days in Daytona where I was counting the weeks," said Busch. "And I was like, 'I could probably come back at Talladega,' and that would definitely be pushing it. And then I thought that wouldn't be very smart of me to come back at Talladega. And then Kansas was the next one. And I thought, you know what, I don't know if I want that one either, so Charlotte looks really good. And so far it seems to be a good choice coming back here. I think it was always kind of a goal, just depended on how hard we pushed getting ready for it."
Busch also is excited about soon becoming a father. "Samantha and I got up together like we always do and had breakfast." said Busch, "I told her she better keep her legs crossed and do whatever she had to do today and tomorrow, so we could keep baby Busch inside for 48 more hours. Besides that, it was a nice moment as I was getting ready and what we had is all over with all the trials and tribulations, and learning how to walk again, it was all over. We could now get back to our normal routine."(CMS Pit Notes)(5-16-2015)

[mabarker1]

Sprint All-Star Race Top-Five Finish Prediction:
1) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (10/1)
2) #48 Jimmie Johnson (5/1)
3) #78 Martin Truex Jr. (18/1)
4) #4 Kevin Harvick (7/2)
5) #22 Joey Logano (7/1)
(Vegas Insider)(5-16-2015)

• The only practice for the Sprint All Star Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is over, after 100 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
  #18-Busch 188.884
  #1-McMurray 188.396
  #4-Harvick 188.258
  #41-Busch 188.121
  #11-Hamlin 187.696
  slowest: #24-Gordon 185.510 & #31-Newman 185.433
  See the practice speeds and link on Jayski.com's 2015 All-Star Race Page - Practice section.(5-15-2015)

[mabarker1]

Bowyer wins Sprint Showdown: #15-Clint Bowyer won the Sprint Showdown Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway to transfer to the Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night. It is Bowyers 2nd win in the Showdown and 2nd consecutive win. #27-Menard finished 2nd followed by #78-Truex Jr, #9-Hornish Jr. and #25-Chase Elliott.

#10-Danica Patrick won the Sprint Fan Vote to transfer into the Sprint All-Star Race.
See the results from both segments on Jayski.com's 2015 All-Star Race Page.(5-15-2015)

• Biffle wins Sprint Showdown Segment 1: #16-Greg Biffle won segment 1 of the Sprint Showdown Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway to transfer to the Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night. #15-Bowyer finished 2nd followed by #27-Menard, #3-Dillon and #55-Ragan.
  See the results from segment 1 on Jayski.com's 2015 All-Star Race Page.(5-15-2015)

• Sprint Showdown Fast Facts:
  Segment Winners: Greg Biffle & Clint Bowyer
  Sprint Fan Vote Winner: Danica Patrick
  Greg Biffle won the first segment of the Sprint Showdown and will make his 12th start in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. His best finish in the all-star race is second in 2008.
  Clint Bowyer won the second segment in the Sprint Showdown. He won the Sprint Showdown in 2014. This will be his seventh start in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. His best finish was seventh in 2014.
  Danica Patrick won the Sprint Fan Vote with the closest margin in the vote¡¦s history. She is the first repeat winner of the Sprint Fan Vote. Her first fan vote win came in 2013.(NASCAR)(5-15-2015)

• Top 10 All-Star Driver Ratings
  #18-Kyle Busch............................... 108.1
  #48-Jimmie Johnson........................ 104.2
  #20-Matt Kenseth.............................. 88.3
  #19-Carl Edwards.............................. 84.6
  #41-Kurt Busch.................................. 83.5
  #4-Kevin Harvick.............................. 82.4
  #24-Jeff Gordon................................ 82.1
  #5-Kasey Kahne.............................. 81.3
  #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr........................ 78.5
  #22-Joey Logano.............................. 78.2
  Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 NASCAR Sprint All-Star races (10 total).
  Formula combining the following categories: Win, Finish, Top-15 Finish, Average Running Position while on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
  See an explanation how the Driver Rating is calculated at NASCAR.com.(NASCAR)