Tune in for
all the action!

Track Facts:
Banking/Turns: 24
Distance: 1.5 miles
Shape: Quad-oval

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge
Saturday, May 17
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Concord, NC

7:00 p.m. NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman (Time Warner Arena) May 15
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. EST, Nextel Open
Saturday, 9:00 p.m. EST, Nextel All-Star Challenge

Schedule
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. NSCS Final Practice for Sprint Showdown, May 16
1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. NSCS Final Practice for the Sprint All-Star Race, May 16

Qualifying
5:10 p.m. Qualifying for Sprint Showdown (two laps – all positions) Friday, May 16
6:15 p.m. NSCS Qualifying for Sprint All-Star Race (three laps with a four-tire pit stop) May 16

Race Day Saturday, May 17
7:00 p.m. NSCS Driver Introductions (no parade lap)
7:46 p.m. NSCS NASCAR Sprint Showdown (two 20-lap segments)
8:30 p.m. NSCS Driver and Team Introductions (parade lap with trucks)
9:00 p.m. NSCS NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (four 25-lap segments) TV: FOX 7:00 p.m.
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN), XM Radio

Check the SPEED Channel schedule (speedtv.com) for various programs on the race this weekend.

Race Preview

Quotes from Chad McCumbee:
 “I just want to thank everyone at Petty Enterprises and BAM Racing for giving me the opportunity to race in the Sprint All-Star Showdown.  Hopefully we can have a good run and race our way into the all-star race.  That would be a dream come true.  Being one of the few drivers from North Carolina, I know how big that race has become.  Lowe’s Motor Speedway is our backyard and the race is for bragging rights as much as anything else.”
 
“I like the 1.5-mile tracks, like Lowe’s, so I’m confident that we will be competitive on Saturday.  Billy (Wilburn, crew chief) and I have developed a great relationship over the last three races that I’ve run for Petty Enterprises.  We have a lot of confidence in each other and that’s important when you are racing for all or nothing.  That’s how we have to approach it.  It’s win or go home.”
 
“At the same time I’m going to go out there and do what I can to help my teammates.  Kyle and Bobby have bigger fish on the line with the Coca-Cola 600.  If there is something that I can try, something that may help them win next Sunday, then I am all for it.  They have helped me tremendously in my time at Petty.”
 
Chad McCumbee Fast Facts 

• The #49 entry in the Sprint All-Star Showdown will have a Petty Enterprises crew and Billy Wilburn will serve as crew chief.
  
  
• In 2007, McCumbee competed in two Cup Series races for Petty Enterprises with a high finish of 25th at Pocono.
  
  
• McCumbee is currently eighth in Craftsman Truck Series points.  He moved up five positions in the standings after scoring a seventh-place finish at Kansas.
  
  
• This is McCumbee’s third season of Truck Series competition; in 51 races he has scored one top-5 finish and seven top-10s, his average start is 21.4 and average finish is 20.
  
  
• The driver has run two Truck Series races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, resulting in a 15th-and 18th-place finish.
  
  
• Petty Enterprises announced this week that McCumbee will pilot the #45 Dodge for two races this summer while Kyle Petty works in the broadcast booth for TNT.

1. Elliot Sadler, Dodge
2. Brian Vickers, Toyota
3. David Ragan, Ford
4. A.J. Allmendinger, Toyota
5. Robby Gordon, Dodge
18. Chad McCumbee, No. 49 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge
22. Kyle Petty, No. 45 Coca-Cola Dodge

Elliot Sadler won the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Showdown, which is the qualifying race for the Sprint All-Star Race later in the evening. Brian Vickers, whose team won the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge on Thursday evening, will start alongside.

The winner of the Showdown , plus the second place finisher and the driver voted in by virtue of an online poll, will transfer into the prestigious all-star event.

Chad McCumbee and the No. 49 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge will start the Showdown from the 18th position. McCumbee, who is also competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, is competing in a third Petty Enterprises entry. The No. 49 is being borrowed from BAM Racing, who is taking a brief hiatus from the Sprint Cup Series.

“I’m really happy with the car,” said McCumbee. “It was fast in practice and I just drove it a little too hard in qualifying. I have to thank Petty Enterprises and BAM Racing for the opportunity to race on all-star weekend. I think we can have a good night tomorrow.”

Kyle Petty and the No. 45 Coca-Cola Dodge qualified 22nd for the Showdown. Petty is competing in his 12th all-star weekend. The veteran was involved in one of the most exciting finishes in the history of the all-star race. In the first event to be held under the lights, in 1992, Petty and Davey Allison both spun coming across the finish line. That race is often noted as one of the events that helped this become such a popular race.
“I’ve always loved this event because it’s all about the fans,” said Petty. “We don’t have to worry about points or anything. We can just go out and race like we are back on the local short tracks. The finished product ends up being one of the most exciting races of the season..

Race Results

1. A.J. Allmendinger, Toyota
2. Sam Hornish, Jr., Dodge
3. David Ragan, Ford
4. Brian Vickers, Toyota
5. Kasey Kahne, Dodge
13. Chad McCumbee, No. 49 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge
15. Kyle Petty, No. 45 Coca-Cola Dodge

A.J. Allmendinger and Sam Hornish Jr. finished first and second in the Sprint All-Star Showdown, which earned each driver a spot in the Sprint All-Star Race. By winning the online fan poll Kasey Kahne was voted into the all-star event, which began shortly after the showdown.

Chad McCumbee and the No. 49 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge finished 13th in the Showdown. After brushing the wall on the first lap, the No. 49 entered the pits to repair minor damage. McCumbee, who finished second in Friday night’s Craftsman Truck Series event, fought a tight race car through the first segment. The car had loosened by the second segment and was fast at the end but McCumbee ran out of laps before he could take more positions.

“We had a long-run set-up but we didn’t get long runs because there were too many cautions,” said McCumbee. “The car wouldn’t turn in the center, we made it better in the end though and I think we learned some stuff for Kyle and Bobby for the Coke 600.”

Kyle Petty, who was competing in his 12th all-star weekend, brought home a 15th-place finish on Saturday night. Early in the 40-lap race, Petty communicated that the No. 45 Coca-Cola Dodge was having trouble in the corners. The crew, under the direction of Stewart Cooper, made changes during each pit stop as they focused on finding the best set-up.

“The car was really free getting into the corners when we started out, especially in Turns 3 and 4,” said Petty. I was really proud of how the guys did tonight. They got us closer to knowing what we’ll need for the Coke 600. We would have been really fast on a long run so I think we’ve learned something for next week.”