All About The All Star Race

Many will race, one will rise above

On April 14, voting started for the 2009 All Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. NASCAR's All Star event is by far more exciting that most major sports' All Star games by a mile because the drivers ACTUALLY CARE!

Here are some key points that should be noted before voting your favorite driver into the event...

Home Is Where The Car Is
Most of the NASCAR shops are located within a ten mile radius of Lowe's Motor Speedway, so it's a home game.

Every NASCAR driver wants to be in this race. They bring almost the entire crew from the race shop to the event (which rarely happens for other events) and they want a good showing because everyone is watching.

No Points, No Problem
There are absolutely NO POINTS awarded at this event. It's all about pride and glory, and of course the fat paycheck at the end. Winning is all that matters because coming in second nets a driver virtually NILL! Drivers often make crazy and reckless moves not seen in other races, and crashes are frequent—it is not uncommon to see less than half the starting grid finishing at the end.

600? REALLY?
Drivers DON'T save the cars. It's all or nothing. Teams have a separate car for the Coca Cola 600 race even thought it is race a week later at the same track. The idea of most owners is, "I don't care if it's in one piece, just race your butt off!"

Say What?
Fans get a say in who races. It's one driver the fans vote in. Don't think that's no big deal either. In 2008, the fans voted in Kasey Kahne and he went on to win the race. It was the first time in NASCAR history the fan-vote driver had won the race. Fans want to see it happen again. NASCAR wants to give fans their say in the event.

Gentlemen, Start The Festivities
Since 2005, NASCAR Day has been held the day before this race. NASCAR Day is a charity event that benefits the NASCAR Foundation. The foundation in turn funnels money to charities supported by drivers and team owners.

The new NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held as part of Sprint All-Star Race XXVI week, which will take place shortly after the opening of the Hall.

Race of a Different Color
The Sprint All Star race is unlike any other racing event at the Cup Level. It always provides some exciting racing. The event format changes frequently here's the 2009 model:

100 Laps: 50 Laps, 20 Laps, 20 Laps, 10 Green Flag Laps (2009)


For the 25th anniversary of the race, two of the more popular elements of the classic format return for this special edition.

The first segment will now be a 50-lap race, with a mandatory pit stop taking place in the mid-point of the segment. The pit stop must be a 4-tire stop and take place during a green flag condition. Following the first two segments, cars will have the option of pitting, but they will lose track position should they do so.

The second and third segments will be 20 laps each, returning to the 2007 format.

Following the end of the third segment, a 10 minute break will take place, allowing for adjustment of cars.

Segment 1 will have a mandatory green flag pit stop on lap 25. There
will be a 10 minute break after segment 3. The final segment will be a
10 green flag lap shootout.

Making The Show
* Race winners (either as a driver or a car owner) from the previous season as well as the current season.
* Past ten All Star event winners
* Past decade's Cup Series champions. Drivers are also eligible if they are one of top two finishers in the Sprint Showdown qualifying race (a 40-lap race in two 20-lap segments for drivers not qualified for the main event)
* Remain on the lead lap in the Sprint Showdown and get the most votes.

Uncle France Wants YOU!
So now that you know the basics, it's time for you to get in the action. You know how important this event is for your driver. It's time for you to do your part to make sure they don't miss the party

So go to NASCAR.com and do it...and for you guys that have Sprint phones (like me), use your Sprint Cup Mobile for voting and your votes count DOUBLE!

You can also text "NASCAR 7777" from ANY Sprint phone to vote...the DOUBLE count also applies here.

FAN VOTE NOTES:
PAST WINNERS OF THE RACE ARE IN ALREADY
PAST CHAMPIONS ARE ALSO
DRIVERS THAT HAVE WON A RACE IN 2008 AND 2009 ARE IN TOO

So, if your driver doesn't fit the above criteria, I suggest you get to voting to make sure he gets in the show!!

I am personally going to vote my butt off for Joey Logano...HAHA because I think he is rad! So, there ya have it. Go get yer votes on!!!

DRIVERS NOT IN SHOW THAT CAN GET THE FAN VOTE:

David Reutimann
David Ragan
Robby Gordon
Aric Almirola
David Stremme
Elliott Sadler
Bill Elliott
Brad Keselowski
Kirk Shelmerdine
John Andretti
Tony Raines
Juan Montoya
A.J. Allmendinger
Marcos Ambrose
Michael Waltrip
Todd Bodine
David Gilliland
Sam Hornish Jr.
Scott Speed
Joe Nemechek
Carl Long
David Starr
Geoffrey Bodine
Kelly Bires
Kyle Petty
Mike Wallace
Sterling Marlin
Martin Truex Jr.
Casey Mears
Boris Said
Mike Bliss
Max Papis
Joey Logano
Mike Skinner
Jamie McMurray
Travis Kvapil
Scott Riggs
Jeremy Mayfield
Reed Sorenson
Dennis Setzer
Dexter Bean
Norm Benning
Dave Blaney
Mike Garvey
Regan Smith
Brian Vickers
Paul Menard
Dario Franchitti
Derrike Cope
J.J. Yeley
Ken Schrader
Michael McDowell
Patrick Carpentier