This article is part of our Weekly Preview series.
This exhibition race is divided into several racing segments which ultimately culminate in the final segment in which a winner is crowned. The racing begins Friday night with the Sprint Showdown, a 50-lap sprint divided into two 20-lap segments and a final 10-lap dash to the finish. As many as four Showdown drivers can transfer into the All-Star Race, three by winning each segment of the Showdown, and the potential fourth by winning an internet fan vote. To qualify for the Showdown, a driver must have finished in the Top 50 of the 2015 Sprint Cup standings, attempted to qualify for the 2016 Daytona 500 or competed in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event during the 2016 season. This is an exciting heat race, for the winners of the segments are usually drivers that are not normally contenders for the victory on most Sprint Cup race weekends.
Saturday night is the Sprint Cup All-Star Race. This is the weekend's main feature. It is a 113-lap event divided into two segments of 50 laps, and a 13-lap shootout. The drivers who transfer from the Showdown join the drivers who are race winners from the previous and current
This exhibition race is divided into several racing segments which ultimately culminate in the final segment in which a winner is crowned. The racing begins Friday night with the Sprint Showdown, a 50-lap sprint divided into two 20-lap segments and a final 10-lap dash to the finish. As many as four Showdown drivers can transfer into the All-Star Race, three by winning each segment of the Showdown, and the potential fourth by winning an internet fan vote. To qualify for the Showdown, a driver must have finished in the Top 50 of the 2015 Sprint Cup standings, attempted to qualify for the 2016 Daytona 500 or competed in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event during the 2016 season. This is an exciting heat race, for the winners of the segments are usually drivers that are not normally contenders for the victory on most Sprint Cup race weekends.
Saturday night is the Sprint Cup All-Star Race. This is the weekend's main feature. It is a 113-lap event divided into two segments of 50 laps, and a 13-lap shootout. The drivers who transfer from the Showdown join the drivers who are race winners from the previous and current Sprint Cup seasons, past All-Star event champions and Sprint Cup Series champions who are active drivers and have competed in at least one series event during the 2015 or 2016 season. Once the field is set, racing begins in the first segment of 50 laps. After the first 50-lap segment a break of approximately 5 minutes and mandatory pit stops are performed. After the second 50-lap segment there is a random drawing to determine if the Top 9, 10 or 11 cars must pit for a four-tire pit stop, and giving the rest of the field the option to stay out. The final segment lineup is based on the order that the teams come off pit road, with the cars having pitted lining up behind the ones that did not. The 13-lap shootout that follows will only count green flag laps. Caution laps will not shorten this exciting, final segment, and NASCAR overtime rules apply. The winner earns a hefty $1 million purse.
Since this is an exhibition racing event and a departure from NASCAR's normal racing format, we have to put the historical track statistics in proper perspective this week. The stats can be skewed since most teams come to the All-Star race with "disposable cars" and are looking to hit the big payday even at the expense of wrecking the team's car. However, we can rely to the loop stats to a certain degree when evaluating our contenders this week. The loop stats in the table below cover the last 11 years or 11 All-Star Races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
| DRIVER | AVG FINISH | QUALITY PASSES | FASTEST LAPS | LAPS LED | LAPS IN TOP 15 | RATING |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Busch | 11.7 | 198 | 95 | 212 | 735 | 104.3 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 6.5 | 308 | 148 | 172 | 935 | 100.1 |
| Kurt Busch | 10.2 | 295 | 66 | 74 | 856 | 87.6 |
| Matt Kenseth | 6.2 | 309 | 48 | 44 | 883 | 87.4 |
| Kevin Harvick | 7.5 | 295 | 58 | 48 | 769 | 84.9 |
| Kasey Kahne | 11.7 | 297 | 66 | 69 | 786 | 83.5 |
| Carl Edwards | 11.1 | 216 | 62 | 59 | 733 | 80.7 |
| Joey Logano | 8.6 | 135 | 12 | 0 | 396 | 78.6 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 8.9 | 326 | 24 | 32 | 865 | 77.2 |
| Brian Vickers | 8.0 | 73 | 7 | 0 | 198 | 76.9 |
| Denny Hamlin | 10.1 | 217 | 20 | 56 | 721 | 74.2 |
| Ryan Newman | 11.5 | 297 | 21 | 45 | 808 | 71.6 |
| Greg Biffle | 13.5 | 207 | 36 | 57 | 639 | 71.4 |
| Tony Stewart | 10.1 | 222 | 13 | 4 | 666 | 68.3 |
| Jamie McMurray | 13.3 | 202 | 7 | 31 | 568 | 67.9 |
| Brad Keselowski | 12.1 | 124 | 20 | 69 | 356 | 63.2 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 13.6 | 82 | 1 | 0 | 218 | 59.2 |
| Paul Menard | 16.0 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 58.1 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 14.8 | 77 | 2 | 0 | 228 | 57.4 |
| Clint Bowyer | 13.9 | 148 | 7 | 11 | 423 | 55.7 |
This weekend's race is unlike any of the normal Sprint Cup events, so we'll handle the prognostications a bit different as well. We'll give you our picks for who'll contend for the win in the Sprint Showdown, and then our picks for who'll contend for winning the third and final segment of the Sprint Cup All-Star Race.
The Showdown Contenders - Drivers in the hunt to win the Sprint Showdown
Chase Elliott - The Hendrick Motorsports rookie has been incredible to the one-third point in the season. Elliott has four Top-5 and eight Top-10 finishes through 12 events. He's also penetrated the Top 10 of the driver point standings. This will be the young driver's first All-Star weekend. However, his seasoned No. 24 team has been on the big stage for a long time with former driver Jeff Gordon. They should help Elliott to settle down and focus for this exhibition race. He's displayed good speed on the intermediate ovals during this rookie season. Elliott has Top-10 finishes at Atlanta, Texas and Kansas. In a field of drivers lacking star power, this driver and teams stands pretty tall.
Austin Dillon - Dillon will be making his third start in the Sprint Showdown. He won the pole for this event in 2014, and he's finished in the Top 10 of both starts in this All-Star heat race. The No. 3 Chevrolet team has displayed speed beyond what Dillon had in his first two seasons in NASCAR's top division. He's on pace to post a career-best 18 Top-10 finishes this season and Dillon resides inside the Top 10 of the driver standings. His Top-10 finishes on the intermediate ovals of Las Vegas and Kansas indicate that the Richard Childress Racing driver is dialed-in on these cookie cutter ovals. Dillon will be a top contender to win Friday night's Sprint Showdown.
Kyle Larson - The young Ganassi Racing driver will be making his third-career start in the Sprint Showdown. Larson had a good outing in this exhibition race during his rookie season two years ago. He started third and finished sixth after 40 laps of All-Star action at the Charlotte oval. Now with that experience and last season's start behind him, and the jitters of racing in his first All-Star weekend now gone it will be interesting to see how Larson responds. He's been an up-and-down performer so far in 2016, but in this thinner field of NASCAR talent, Larson is a clear standout. If Elliott or Dillon stumbles and CGR gives this young driver a good car, it could be a night for Larson to shine on the All-Star stage.
Ryan Blaney - The Wood Brothers Racing rookie is the "best of the rest" in this pool of light Sprint Cup Series talent. Blaney will be making his debut in All-Star weekend activities. However, his 29 starts of Sprint Cup Series experience make him a rather "seasoned" rookie driver. The No. 21 Ford team has been pretty impressive this season. In their return to full-time action in NASCAR's top division, after nearly a decade of part-time participation, Blaney has led them to five Top-10 finishes through the first 12 races of 2016. A big part of that success has come on cookie cutter ovals. Sixth- and fifth-place finishes at Las Vegas and Kansas show the potential of Blaney this weekend. He grabbed a Top-15 finish at the Charlotte oval in last October's Bank of America 500. Blaney will be a standout in this exhibition event.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - The absolute wild card of the field, but with the best chance to upset the favored teams, has to easily be Roush Fenway Racing's Stenhouse and the No. 17 team. This will be his fourth appearance in All Star weekend festivities. Those include three starts in the Sprint Showdown and one start in the All-Star Race itself. His debut in the Showdown yielded a strong runner-up finish in 2013, and he followed that up with a seventh-place finish in 2014. Last season's Showdown was a "throw away", but the others have been good starts. Among the young drivers in this field, Stenhouse possesses the most experience in All-Star action. That should come in handy this Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
A.J. Allmendinger - This veteran driver has a pretty long All-Star resume. The Dinger won this event in 2008 and transferred into the All-Star Race later that night as a result. He also finished runner-up in this event in 2012 and that was good enough with the rules at the time to transfer into the All-Star Race as well. So the JTG Daugherty Racing driver has raced his way into the "big race" twice in seven starts. In addition, Allmendinger has four Top-5 finishes in Showdown starts. He's always racing around the front and challenging for the win in these heat races on All-Star weekend. Considering that he just finished eighth at the similar oval in Kansas two weeks ago, the No. 47 Chevrolet should be fast enough to compete.
The All-Star Race Contenders - Drivers in the hunt for the win
Kyle Busch - This will be Busch's 11th appearance in the All-Star Race. He has never won this prestigious exhibition event, but now may finally be the time for the Joe Gibbs Racing star. He's coming off his first Sprint Cup Series championship in 2015, and he's been ticking a lot of "firsts" of his career list the last year or so. Busch has three-career poles and over 200 laps led in these exciting exhibition races, so he's used to racing up front at Charlotte on the big stage. It's just that his luck has never been good and never yielded the victory and million dollar prize. This may simply be a matter of timing and Busch finally breaking through to win this colorful NASCAR event. His wins at the similar ovals in Fort Worth and Kansas already this season are good indicators of what could happen.
Jimmie Johnson - The six-time Sprint Cup Series champion is a four-time All-Star Race winner, and he's a seven-time winner of points-paying events at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has a real knack for dominating at this particular intermediate oval. Johnson has won one and finished inside the Top 5 in three of the four of this season's intermediate oval races to-date, so Johnson has to be seen as one of the top drivers to beat this Saturday night. This driver and team just comes to life when the lights come on at the Charlotte oval. Johnson had a bit of a letdown in this exhibition race one year ago, so he'll be hungry coming into this installment of the All-Star Race.
Kevin Harvick - Harvick enters All-Star weekend first in the championship standings with one victory to his credit after 12 races. That could be a big factor heading to Charlotte this Saturday night. The Stewart Haas Racing veteran is fresh off a strong performance at Kansas Speedway, a similar intermediate oval, where he finished runner-up to Kyle Busch. Harvick is a one-time winner of the All-Star Race, in 2007, and he's also finished runner-up each of the last two years in this exhibition event. It's been a long while between drinks, but Harvick may visit the fountain of victory lane this Saturday night.
Kurt Busch - Busch is a one-time winner of the All-Star Race, and that victory came in 2010 while he was racing for Roger Penske. The Stewart Haas Racing veteran has over 80 laps led and six-career Top-5 finishes in this exhibition event. It's easy to see that the 37-year-old driver has tons of experience performing on this big stage. Busch has been coming on strong on the intermediate ovals this season. He won the pole positions at Las Vegas and Texas and led 93 combined laps in those two races. He also finished a strong third-place a couple weeks ago at Kansas. The No. 41 team is just a tick off the speed needed to win one of these intermediate oval events, and it could wind up Busch's night in the All-Star Race at Charlotte.
Martin Truex Jr. - This will be Truex's sixth appearance in the Sprint All-Star Race. He is a two-time winner of the opening heat race (Sprint Showdown), so he knows all too well the pressure and performance required to race his way into the All-Star Race. The strong No. 78 team of Furniture Row Racing has been on an absolute tear the last few races. Truex has had race winning cars the last two weeks, but bad luck has prevented the veteran driver from taking home any trophies. He's led a combined 219 laps between Dover and Kansas, so the team is turning out some great cars right now. The last time we saw Truex in action on an intermediate oval, he was totally dominating the Kansas race before a mechanical issue took him out of contention. He'll be fast this Saturday night.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet has a checkered history in the All-Star weekend classics. If we go all the way back to Earnhardt's rookie 2000 season we see that he won his first All Star Race, then named The Winston. Fast forward 12 years and the last time he enjoyed victory on All-Star weekend was his win in 2012's Sprint Showdown. The mix in-between and since has generally been a collection of very positive Top-5 and Top-10 finishes. Earnhardt has recently been pretty steady, although not a major threat to win, with a pair of Top 5s and four Top 10s in the last four years. The way he's been racing on intermediate ovals this season, there might be an outside chance he could sneak into victory lane this Saturday night.
Brad Keselowski - The Penske Racing star is due some close examination before this All-Star Race. Keselowski is a one-time winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway in points-paying events, and he boasts a pretty solid but small resume in the All-Star exhibition events. The veteran driver has been a top performer on the 1.5-mile tracks this season, and he has one win and three Top 10s at these style ovals to prove it. Keselowski owns a pair of runner-up finishes in this exhibition event in 2011 and 2012, so he knows what it is to race up front and taste a near-brush with that million dollar purse. We should see a motivated driver and No. 2 Ford team this weekend in one of NASCAR's most prestigious prime-time events.
Joey Logano - The rising star of the Sprint Cup Series ranks can hardly wait to race this Saturday night at Charlotte. Logano is surprisingly still looking for his first win of 2016, and he's coming to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend looking to reset and regroup for the remainder of the season. The Penske Racing driver finished runner-up in this exhibition race three years ago to Jimmie Johnson, and that was his second Top 5 in his five-career starts in the All-Star Race. When the lights flip on each season for this event in Charlotte, the best tends to come out in Logano. We're certain that an all-out effort will be turned in to get Logano that million dollar purse and his first victory in this thrilling and coveted event.
Carl Edwards - The good start to the season for the No. 19 Toyota team has carried over to the intermediate ovals. Edwards has one pole, 124 laps led and a pair of Top-10 finishes on the cookie cutter oval circuit so far. The Joe Gibbs Racing star is a two-time pole winner and one-time event winner in this exhibition race. Edwards' victory came in the 2011 All-Star Race, so you know he's eager to win this event again. For the first time in a long time he may finally have the cars and the speed to do it. JGR has been very strong this season, and Edwards has benefitted greatly as a result. The veteran driver will look to win his third event of the season in Saturday night's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
