SPEED™ is the exclusive television home for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race from Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, NC, with live race coverage beginning May 16th at 7 pm ET.

THIS YEAR THEY HAVE ONE MANDATORY STOP IN THE FIRST SEGMENT AND THEN OPTIONAL AFTER THAT. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
“I like the optional stuff. I kind of like a pit stop with an option of what to do for the last 10 laps. During that break everybody is gonna put four tires on and all that, but I think it mixes up the pack a little more when some people have two and some have none and some have four. That kind of gives you a better chance to pass, but it’ll always be exciting.”

WILL NO TESTING THERE THIS YEAR BE AN ISSUE?
“Not anymore with this car. This car has so many rules and templates that they’re all about the same. There’s really not much you can do compared to what you used to be able to do a few years back, so that’s not really a big deal. I think we tested there four times in the last year-and-a-half with the tire test and all the rest of the stuff we did, so I don’t see that being a big deal.”

WILL THERE BE MORE PRESSURE IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT?
“It’s the same as any other race, I think. You want to win every race.”

WHAT ABOUT THE DOUBLE-FILE RESTARTS ON ALL THE SEGMENTS AND HAVING ONLY GREEN-FLAG LAPS COUNT IN THE FINAL SEGMENT? DO YOU THINK THAT WILL BE MORE EXCITING FROM YOUR SEAT?
“It can be. There are times where it can work both ways. You could have a pretty fast car and be in a row right behind a slow car and might get stuck, and it could be the other way around, so it mixes things up a little bit. I think it’s fun and the fans like it.”

HOW DO YOU LIKE SLEEPING IN YOUR OWN BED AND BEING AT HOME?
“The two weeks during Charlotte is always kind of fun for everybody. A lot of the wives and families with the team get to come out and watch the pit stop contest and the races, so being close to home and close to the shop is always nice.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE PIT CREW COMPETITION?
“It’s really cool. To be honest with you, I liked the old format. I like how it used to be at Rockingham, where you came and did a real pit stop. You came down pit road and the car slid in there. You had to do your job to get in the stall and stop and take off and the crew guys went out and did a real stop like they would really do on the track. This is a little bit different with having to push a car and do things they wouldn’t usually have to do. I would rather have it the other way, but anytime you can do that and put the spotlight on the crew guys is great.”

2008 All-Star Highlights

DO YOU LIKE HOW THEY QUALIFY FOR THE ALL-STAR RACE?
“Yeah. That’s always fun. It’s more about the stop and getting on and off pit road than it is about the race track, so that’s always a lot of fun. There’s always some pressure out there to make sure you do your job getting on and off pit road and the laps on the track to not mess up a good stop.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to