FYI WIRZ: NASCAR's Top 3 All-Stars Talk Charlotte's Dash for Big Cash

The 2011 National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Sprint All-Star race continued to be a fan-favorite even with its complicated eligibility and race format this weekend.  The first two stock cars across the finish line were piloted by familiar winning names, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch, but David Reutimann raced to third in his No. 00 Toyota. 

Edwards snared the $1 million first-place prize, plus the bragging rights in the city that is home to most NASCAR teams. 

Although not a sell-out, more tickets were sold this year compared to last year. Fans were treated to another huge addition to the venerated track: the world’s largest 80’ x 200’ HD video board built on the backstretch and lit with over nine million LED lamps.  Many fans got to see their images on the crisp and gigantic screen as TV cameras panned the excited crowd.
 
Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost his eligibility owing to a 10 year limit on his All-Star win and a 104 race winless streak, but was voted into the race by fans.  Popularity counts, but Earnhardt was only able to respond with a 14th place finish.

Edwards tore up his winning car when an infield spin meant for fun after the race caught sod with the splitter and chewed up the front end as a result.   
 
The sprint segments for the All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C are over for another year, but the data and experience can transfer to next week’s race at the same 1.5-mile quad-oval track with 24 degree banking. The Coca-Cola 600 revs up Sunday, May 29, at 6 p.m. on FOX. 

Edwards, Busch and Reutimann commented before and after they dashed for cash. 

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

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford) Finished first.

Before the green flag: “We’re pulling out all the stops for the All Star race and have some really neat stuff car-wise that I’m excited about,” Edwards said. “We’ll see if we can finally break through and win this race. I’m excited to be able to go compete for a million dollars and not have points on the line. It’s just a fun weekend and I’m looking forward to it more than I have any other All Star race. We’re running well enough that I think we have a real shot at this thing.”

After the checkered flag: “You have to remember, you're not always going to have side-by-side, three-wide finishes,” Edwards said. “I think that tonight our car was superior. It ended up being a race that we were able to pull away from.

“As much as we ended up winning the race by, I think that's a rarity in this event. I think with a 10-lap shootout at the end, four fresh tires, nine out of ten times it's going to be a much closer finish.

“I did not feel like we had it in the bag by any means. So it just so happened to turn out that way.”

About his infield grass scrape: “I think some people would like to think that I'm smart enough and savvy enough, all of us are, to come up with some trick and destroy it like that and make it look like an accident. We're not that smart. I really did just tear up the race car.

“They have to look at it, like they might have tried to gain an advantage, which we didn't. I'm sure that the conspiracy theorists will ponder that for a while. But that's okay. It's what happened.

“It was definitely unfortunate that I tore up that race car. Like Bob said, we got another one at the shop. It might be the difference in winning the race at the Coke 600. I'm going to have confidence that something good will come out of it.

“Everyone raced so cleanly. I truly believe we're at a point in the sport right now where guys are getting better and better all the time, the car setups are getting better, people are understanding how the air works on the cars so well that the guys are able to do some amazing things. I think you saw that tonight.”

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota) Finished second.

Before the green flag: “The All-Star Race is a different atmosphere for me, since it’s a different way of racing for everybody,” Busch said. “It’s just that it’s a non-points race, and the pure fact you’re going after a race just for bragging rights and a million bucks. That’s what it’s all about. Our pit crew is really solid, so I hope we can earn the pole again like we did in 2008 with the combination of speed and what those guys do on pit road.”

After the checkered flag: “For what we had, it was a really good night,” Busch said. “I can't thank the guys enough. Gave me a great piece from off the truck. Thought we had a winning car. We got beat tonight on speed and unfortunately were second best.”

David Reutimann (No.00 Toyota) Finished third.

Before the green flag: “Just go like heck, you know,” Reutimann said. “That’s all you can do.”

After the checkered flag: "Ended up being pretty good,” Reutimann said. “Didn't start really good. We just didn't start very good. That being said, we kept plugging away at it. We had a really good car, but we were back in traffic. Hard to tell how good you were. The deciding factor was that last pit stop. My guys did a good job. We got out fifth. That gave us the track position.

“It came down to the pit stop. The guys did a good job. If they hadn't gotten me that pit stop, we would have run seventh or eighth probably. My pit crew gets the credit for tonight.”

Photo credit: David Yeazell