NASCAR Racing Player Stories

On Saturday night in the Sprint Showdown, Casey Mears and the GEICO Racing team not only looked to transfer to the big show (Sprint All-Star race), but also to build their data notebook before next week's points race, The Coca-Cola 600. Mears brought home a top-10 finish in the Showdown. While the end result was not what the team had hoped for, they gained crucial information leading into the Coca-Cola 600. Mears (the 2007 winner) and the GEICO Racing team will now turn their attention to the longest race of the season, The Coca-Cola 600.-Player Management International

Jamie McMurray won the Sprint Showdown race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night. McMurray led all 40 laps of the preliminary event staged for drivers not already locked into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Only the top two finishers (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the other) transferred into the main event. McMurray finished eighth among the 22 drivers starting the All-Star Race.

Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, his record-breaking fourth victory in 12 starts in the annual non-points race. He broke a tie for the all-time all-star race wins lead with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. Johnson also won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in 2003, 2006 and 2012. He becomes the second driver to win back-to-back all-star races. The first was Davey Allison in 1991-92. This is Johnson's eighth top-five finish in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Brendan Gaughan won the Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race award at Charlotte. The award is given to the winner of the race or the next-highest finishing driver displaying the Mobil 1 decal. He earned the award for his second place finish in the N.C. Education Lottery 200 after leading 15 laps. The driver of the No. 62 Chevrolet Silverado moved up three spots to fourth in the 2013 NCWTS point standings.

Sprint Cup regular (No. 18) Kyle Busch won the 11th Annual North Carolina Education Lottery 200, his 31st victory in 107 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. This is the No. 51 Toyota Tundra driver's his first series victory and second top-10 finish in 2013. It was his first truck win since Sept. 24, 2011 at New Hampshire. This is Busch's fifth victory and seventh top-10 finish in eight NCWTS races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has more wins at Charlotte than any other track in the series.

Martin Truex Jr. is on the pole for Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Showdown race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 56 Toyota Camry driver will lead the field of 23 drivers attempting to race their way into the NASCAR non-points Sprint All-Star race which follows the Showdown. Only the top two finishers and one driver chosen by a fan vote will transfer from the Showdown to the All-Star main event.

Kurt Busch had the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in the final practice for the Sprint All-Star race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average speed of 185.133 mph in the No. 78 Chevrolet was best of the 12 cars that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 48 Jimmie Johnson, No. 2 Brad Keselowksi, No. 55 Mark Martin and No. 5 Kasey Kahne are the rest of the top five on this list.

Kyle Busch led the one and only practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch's lap of 190.127 mph in the No. 18 Toyota Camry was the quickest of the 19 cars out on the track for the final practice leading to Saturday night's non-points race. No. 78 Kurt Busch, No. 20 Matt Kenseth, No. 2 Brad Keselowski and No. 16 Greg Biffle were the rest of the top five on the speed chart. No. 34 David Ragan, at 182.359 mph, was the slowest in this session.

Norm Benning does not qualify for the Camping World Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. One of the `go-or-go-homers' required to qualify on speed, he ran a 37th fastest lap in the No. 57 truck. This was not good enough to make the 36-truck field.

Jamie McMurray had the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in the final practice for the Sprint Showdown race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average speed of 183.381 mph in the No. 1 Chevrolet was best of the three cars that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 47 Bobby Labonte (180.178 mph) and No. 93 Travis Kvapil (178.910 mph) were the other two drivers on this list.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the lone practice for the NASCAR Sprint Showdown race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Stenhouse's lap of 188.811 mph in the No. 17 Ford Fusion was the quickest of the 23 cars out on the track for the final practice leading to Saturday night's pre-All-Star race. No. 1 Jamie McMurray, No. 31 Jeff Burton, No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 19 Mike Bliss were the rest of the top five on the speed chart. No. 52 Brian Keselowski, at 174.735 mph, was the slowest.

Matt Crafton had the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in Happy Hour practice for the Camping World Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average speed of 177.277 mph in the No. 88 was best of the nine trucks that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 4 Jeb Burton, No. 18 Joey Coulter, No. 62 Brendan Gaughan and No. 92 Scott Riggs are the rest of the top five on this list.

Carl Edwards will make his eighth appearance in the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. In his previous starts he has one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes. Roush Fenway Racing has won four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star races. Mark Martin won the event in 1998 and 2005, Matt Kenseth took the checkered flag in 2004 and Carl Edwards in 2011.-Roush Fenway Racing

Matt Crafton has the best 10-lap consecutive average speed in the second practice for the Camping World Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His average of 175.124 mph in the No. 88 was best of the six trucks that ran 10 consecutive laps on the track for this session. No. 19 Ross Chastain (175.058 mph), No. 4 Jeb Burton (173.648), No. 2 Brad Keselowski (173.559), No. 01 Jake Crum (171.710) and No. 81 David Starr (171.388) are the others on this list.

Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway will mark the 12th appearance in the annual classic for Furniture Row Racing driver Kurt Busch. Busch's overall All-Star Race record is: 11 starts, one win, four top-fives, six top-10s, one pole and 30 laps led. His average start is 8.1 and average finish 10.8. He followed his 2010 All-Star Race win with a victory the following week at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600. He is one of four active drivers to have won the Charlotte double. The others are Jeff Gordon (1997), Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Kasey Kahne (2008). Busch qualified for this year's Sprint All-Star Race as both a former winner of the event and as a former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion (2004).-Furniture Row Racing

Saturday night at Charlotte, Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/National Wild Turkey Federation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing, joins the exclusive club of 15 by making his 15th appearance in an All-Star event - the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. The NBA has Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O'Neal on its list with 15 All-Star appearances. Baseball greats such as Brooks Robinson, Ozzie Smith and Yogi Berra each played in 15 All-Star Games. And proving how elusive 15 is, no NFL player has played in 15 Pro Bowls. The only one to come close is Merlin Olsen with 14. Along with the his 2009 win, Stewart has scored an impressive eight top-fives and earned an average finish of eighth in 14 career All-Star Race starts.-True Speed Communication

Todd Bodine's won more than half of his 22 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' victories on 1.5-mile tracks, but never at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Ironically, Bodine has owned Charlotte's sister track, Texas Motor Speedway, where he's won six times. So after a four-week break for the Truck Series and with Mattei Air Compressors' signage gracing his No. 13 ThorSport Racing Toyota for the second time this season, Bodine figures there's no time like the present to add to his 12 career victories on 1.5-mile tracks.-ThorSport Racing

In 11 starts in the All-Star Race, Jimmie Johnson has three wins (May 2012, 2006 and 2003), one pole (2009), seven top-five finishes (63.6 percent) and seven top-10s (63.6 percent). He has an average start of 9.1, an average finish of 6.6, one DNF (did not finish) - May 2004. He has completed 984 of 1,020 laps (96 percent) and has 209 laps led. He will drive the No. 48 Lowe's "Patriotic" Chevrolet SS in the All-Star Race. The car will be painted red, white and blue and ringed in stars.-True Speed Communication

Joey Logano qualified for his third start in the All-Star Race by winning his second-career Sprint Cup Series race last season at Pocono Raceway. He won the pole, led the most laps and passed his childhood idol, Mark Martin, to grab the victory. Of all drivers entered and eligible for this weekend's All-Star race, Logano has the best career average finish in the event. In his two previous starts, he owns finishes of eighth (2009) and third (2010), giving him a 5.5 average finish in the special event.-Penske Racing

Brad Keselowski locked himself into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race by winning the Quaker State 400 - his first victory after the 2012 All-Star event - at Kentucky Speedway last summer. In the closest finish of the night, Keselowski edged Kasey Kahne by inches to win the third segment of the 2012 All-Star Race. He parlayed that into a second-place finish in the final segment, marking his best-ever result in the event. In 2011, he raced his way into the All-Star Race by finishing second in the All-Star Showdown. Since his rookie season of 2009, Keselowski has not missed the All-Star Race.-Penske Racing

Juan Pablo Montoya has made four appearances in the preliminary event to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race. He has an average start and finish of 9.25 and 18.25, respectively. His best start was fifth in 2007, while his best finish was 12th in 2009. He has appeared in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race two times during his NSCS career (2008, 2011). He has an average start of 11.5 and an average finish of 13. His best start and finish came in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star race when he started eighth and finished 12th.-Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

Jamie McMurray returns to the site of his first NSCS victory this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has made six starts in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. In his six starts, McMurray has an average starting position of 12.8 and an average finishing position of 17.1. His best start of fourth came in 2010, and his best finish of ninth occurred in the 2009 edition of the race. In 2009, a second place finish in the preliminary event earned McMurray a spot in the All-Star Race.-Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

Twenty-two drivers are already locked in the 90-lap Sprint All-Star race by virtue of either a Sprint Cup race win in 2012 or 2013, an All-Star Race win or a Sprint Cup championship in the last decade. Danica Patrick does not meet those requirements but has two other ways she can lock herself and the GoDaddy Cares Chevrolet team into the Sprint All-Star Race. She can finish first or second in the 40-lap Sprint Showdown, which takes place right before the Sprint All-Star Race, or win the Sprint Fan Vote. Fans can vote for Patrick until 5 p.m. EDT Saturday at NASCAR.com or on the NASCAR Mobile '13 app, where votes count twice.-True Speed Communication

Kyle Busch locked in his spot for this year's All-Star event via his one series win in 2012 and two wins in NASCAR's top series thus far in 2013. This year's wins came at Auto Club Speedway in March and Texas Motor Speedway in April. The Las Vegas native not only has earned the title of All-Star, he's become one of the dominant forces in the elite Sprint Cup Series. His win at Texas last month was the 26th of his Sprint Cup career, and Busch now has 112 career wins in NASCAR's top three divisions - Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck.-True Speed Communication

Clint Bowyer will make his fifth career All-Star start at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night. In four previous starts, his best finish is 12th in 2009. Last year he started 12th and finished 14th. His averages a 10th place start and 15th place finish. Bowyer gained entry to the Sprint All-Star race by winning three races in 2012 (Sonoma, fall Richmond, fall Charlotte).-Michael Waltrip Racing

David Ragan will line up for a shot at winning $1 million Saturday night in NASCAR's Sprint All-Star Race, and he's bringing partner CSX with him. Ragan earned his spot in the All-Star starting line-up with his dramatic win at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on May 5 - the first victory in Front Row Motorsports history. The All-Star race will feature all of the race winners from 2012 and 2013 to date.-Breaking Limits

Ryan Newman's win in the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in April 2012 secured his place in this year's edition of NASCAR's annual All-Star race. In 11 starts in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Newman has one win (2002), one pole (2005), three top-five finishes and seven top-10s. Newman also attempted to race his way into the 2001 All-Star Race but he was sidelined early due to an expired engine.-True Speed Communication

David Gilliland has never raced in NASCAR's Sprint All-Star Race, but he feels like his chances of earning a spot in that line-up this weekend are better than ever. The top two finishers of the Showdown will transfer to the All-Star race immediately following the Showdown. The winner of a fan vote will also transfer. Gilliland has two top-10 finishes in six Showdown starts.-Breaking Limits

The Friday night North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will mark Brendan Gaughan's eighth Truck Series start at the 1.5-mile track dating back to 2003. Throughout the years, the Las Vegas native has collected two top-five and three top-10 finishes and completed 82.9 percent (786 of 948) of the laps contested. Gaughan holds a 20.3 average starting position paired with a 14.9 average finishing position.-Richard Childress Racing

Jeff Burton has made eight appearances in the Sprint Showdown and qualified 12 times for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race during his 19-year career. Burton won the 2003 Sprint Showdown and finished eighth in last year's event. His best qualifying effort of fourth-place for the two-segment, 40-lap event came in 1995. Fans have the opportunity to vote Burton into the Sprint All-Star Race this weekend with the Sprint Fan Vote.-Richard Childress Racing

Saturday night's All-Star Race marks Kevin Harvick's 13th appearance in the NASCAR exhibition race, dating back to 2001. In 2007, the RCR veteran visited Victory Lane following the marquee event. Harvick has collected a total of two top-five and seven top-10 finishes throughout the years, and is credited with 62 lap led. Harvick and the No. 29 team captured a sixth-place finish during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, after battling a tight-handling condition throughout the non-points event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.-Richard Childress Racing

Paul Menard has five-career Sprint Showdown starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His best start of third came in 2011 and best finish of fourth came in 2010. In his last appearance in the Sprint Showdown, Menard started the No. 27 Chevrolet from the third position and was involved in an on-track incident causing damage to the car. Ultimately, Menard finished 11th in the 40-lap event. Fans have the opportunity to vote Menard into the Sprint All-Star Race with the Sprint Fan Vote.-Richard Childress Racing

In 23 All-Star Races, Mark Martin owns two victories (1998 & 2005) and six top-five finishes. Martin has led 66 laps and has never started on the pole. He ran in the Winston Open in 1988 &'89. His 24th All-Star Race will be the most of any driver.-Michael Waltrip Racing

Marcos Ambrose earned a spot in this weekend's Sprint All-Star Race with his dramatic win at Watkins Glen International last season. He passed Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski in the final turns to capture his second consecutive win at the New York road course. In his eight starts at Charlotte, the Australian native has collected one top-five and two top-10 finishes, all with the No. 9 team. He posted his best start of second last spring and best finish of fifth in the fall of 2011.-Breaking Limits

After sitting out the last two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) events, Scott Riggs is excited about his return behind the wheel of the Ricky Benton Racing (RBR) Enterprises No. 92 BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors/Goodyear fleetHQ/QMI Chevrolet at Charlotte in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Engine woes at Daytona and Martinsville derailed good runs for Riggs in the truck. Clay Rogers filled in for Riggs at Rockingham and saw a good start to the race negated by an untimely caution. The team did not make the trip to Kansas Speedway for the NCWTS event last month.-Red Flag Communications

To qualify for the All-Star Race, Aric Almirola and the No. 43 Smithfield Ford team will have to finish first or second in the Sprint Showdown 40-lap qualifier race. He can also be voted in by the Sprint Fan Vote. Fans can go to www.nascar.com/SprintFanVote or NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile '13, where votes count twice, until May 18. Almirola has made two starts in his Sprint Cup career at Charlotte. He won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 last May. In the fall event, he started 17th and finished 12th. Almirola also has seven Nationwide starts at the 1.5-mile track with an average finish of 13th and two truck starts with an average finish of eighth.-Breaking Limits

Matt Crafton won his first career Truck race at Charlotte in 2008, about a year before he took the series' lead for the first time in his career. In 151 races since the start of the 2007 season, Crafton's been in the top 10 in the championship standings after 144 of them. He's currently riding a string of 21 consecutive races in the top 10 in the standings and Charlotte, considering it's a high-speed 1.5-mile oval similar to Kansas -- the series' most recent race where he won on April 20 -- has Crafton quivering with anticipation.-ThorSport Racing

With the help of a fast pit stop by his 3M Pit Bulls, Greg Biffle started last year's All-Star race in fourth place. Unfortunately a mechanical issue ended his night early, resulting in a 22nd-place finish. This year's car: Chassis RK-817 last raced at Kansas and earned a 19th-place finish. RK-817 is the same car that Biffle won Michigan with in the fall of 2012.-Roush Fenway Racing

Brad Keselowski will make his inaugural season start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) this Friday night. The Penske Racing driver will pilot the No. 2 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford F-Series in only his third career NCWTS start at Charlotte. He had engine trouble in his 2010 NCWTS start at Charlotte. Last year, he started ninth in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 and finished 2nd after leading 32 laps. Keselowski will be pulling double duty, competing in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion on Saturday night in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star race.-Brad Keselowski Racing

Jeff Gordon, a three-time All-Star race winner (1995, 1997 and 2001) of this annual event, believes aggression is key in the race split into four segments of 20 laps and one final 10-lap sprint to the checkered flag. "The All-Star race is kind of a 'win-or-nothing' scenario, and that's not the case on other race weekends," said the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion who captured his 300th top-five finish in his 700th career start last weekend. "I've always approached it being as aggressive as I possibly can. We push hard trying to win every race, and this weekend is no different. The only difference is there are no points on the line."-Performance PR Plus

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will try to race his way in to his first Sprint All-Star race. If he doesn't race his way in then he will rely on the fan vote to get in to the All-Star race. Best Buy and Roush Fenway Racing have teamed up to support Stenhouse in winning the fan vote. Fans are encouraged to go the BestBuy.com/Racing to vote the Sprint Cup rookie contender in to his first All-Star race. The Car: Chassis RK-811 is the same chassis that the No.99 team ran numerous times in 2012.-Roush Fenway Racing

NASCAR announced today that NASCAR Nationwide Series crew chief Adam Stevens (No. 54 team) has been fined $10,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. In addition, the team's car chief Christopher Landis has been placed on probation for the remainder of the year. The rules violations: 20A-2.1E (streamlining of the contours of the car, beyond what is approved by the series director will not be permitted.) The front lower bumper cover and rear bumper cover must be from an approved manufacturer and must be approved by NASCAR. The infractions were discovered during opening day inspection on May 9 at Darlington Raceway.

No. 81 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver David Starr will race the Build Your Future (BYF) Toyota Tundra in the N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After his successful fifteenth truck series season in 2012, BYF was eager to expand its support of Starr in its third consecutive year as a sponsor. Starr, a former Career and Technical Education (CTE) student from the Houston, Texas area, has been an ambassador for the BYF initiative since 2011. During that time, he has spoken to thousands of students about the value of hands-on learning and how CTE provided him the avenue to achieve his dream of becoming a professional driver.-SSRacingOnline PR

John Wes Townley and his No. 7 Zaxby's Toyota Tundra team are looking for redemption at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The team will utilize Chassis No. 001 which collected four consecutive top-five finishes on intermediate tracks in 2012 (Michigan, Atlanta, Kentucky and Texas). REARVIEW MIRROR-KANSAS: Townley's Toyota Tundra started the race in the 20th position and while his truck was a little tight early on, the team was up in the top-15 racing for position. Unfortunate circumstances on the race track collected Townley in an accident on lap 29 in turn four which ultimately ended their day.-Red Horse Racing

Kyle Busch's team won three race awards in the Sprint Cup Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Busch earned the 3M Lap Leader award (265 of 367 laps) and the American Ethanol Green Flag Restart award. Busch started the No. 18 Toyota third in the lineup and finished sixth. Toyota Racing Development won the Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race award. Busch moved up two spots to eighth in the 2013 NSCS point standings.

Matt Borland, crew chief on the No. 39 Chevrolet SS driven by Ryan Newman in the Sprint Cup Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway wins the Moog Problem Solver of the Race award. The award goes to the crew chief that improves the most from first half of the race to the second half utilizing the 40 best lap times (improved 0.124 seconds). Newman started the race in 21st place and finished in 10th. He is currently 17th in the 2013 Sprint Cup point standings.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the top rookie finisher in the Sprint Cup Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The No. 17 Ford Fusion driver started 14th and finished 18th. He was named the "Rookie of the Race" since his finish was best of the ROTY contenders in the event. Stenhouse is currently 16th in the 2013 point standings.

Besides winning the race, Sprint Cup driver Kyle Busch and his team won multiple race awards in the Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway. Busch won the Coors Light Pole award for his 172.584 mph qualifying lap in the No. 54 Toyota. He also won the 3M Lap Leader award for leading the most laps (107 of 147). Joe Gibbs Racing Engines won the Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race award. Busch is a Sprint Cup regular (No. 18) and is ineligible for driver points in this series.

Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch (No. 18) won the 31st Annual VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200, his 56th victory in 252 NASCAR Nationwide Series races. This is the No. 54 Toyota Camry driver's fifth NNS victory and seventh top-10 finish in 2013. It is his second victory and fifth top-10 finish in nine races at Darlington Raceway. This is the 13th NNS race to be won from the pole at Darlington. Busch was the last driver to accomplish this feat in May 2011.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the top rookie qualifier for the Sprint Cup Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. His lap speed of 179.514 mph in the No. 17 Ford was 14th fastest; best of the 2013 ROTY contenders attempting to qualify for Saturday night's race.