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When brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch got together in the 2007 All-Star Challenge, both drivers were done for the night. (Photo: Getty Images) ยป More Photos
The best thing about NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV is that there are no points on the line for the drivers and team owners. And with only the winner’s purse of more than $1 million to worry about, the drivers will bring extra measures of aggression and risk-taking to the race, which will be televised live on SPEED Saturday night at 7 p.m.
The way NASCAR structures its points during the regular season, drivers have much more to lose by a bad finish than they do to gain by a good one. Thus, you’ll rarely see drivers take risks to pick up a position or two late in a normal Sprint Cup race. But in the All-Star event, with no points on the line, they will be willing to pull out all the stops and be willing to gamble.
In other words, there’s a reason that over the years the race’s unofficial motto has become “checkers or wreckers.”
Asked if he’s take chances Saturday night that he wouldn’t in a points race, two-time All-Star race winner Jimmie Johnson said, “If you are in the right position, absolutely. If you’re running around seventh or eighth, there is no need to take chances and tear up a race car. But if you’re up there racing for a million bucks, absolutely.”
Johnson is not alone in that sentiment. In last year’s All-Star tilt, brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch showed just how fierce their wills to win were when they collided with each other going for the victory. And this year’s All-Star race likely will provide similar drama as drivers let it all hang out.
“The mindset going into it is that you don’t have to worry about points and you know that everybody is going to be on the edge a little more,” said two-time Sprint Cup Series champ Tony Stewart, who is still looking for his first All-Star victory. “I’m not going to say it’s acceptable to crash cars, but I think a lot of people go into that race knowing that there’s a good possibility that you can get wrecked because guys are going to take more chances than they normally would.”
For Jamie McMurray of Roush Fenway Racing, one of the plusses of this race is that there will be no inter-team niceties for the drivers to have to concern themselves about. “It will be fun to get to race your teammates and everybody else for no points because no one is really gonna get mad about ‘Why didn’t you let me go?’ or ‘Why didn’t you do this?’” said McMurray. “That race is notorious for producing mad race-car drivers after it’s over.”
McMurray’s teammate, Carl Edwards, likes the format because the drivers all understand that wrecks are part of the deal when you’re racing for $1 million. “Everybody knows that once that checkered flag falls it’s over,” said Edwards. “There are no repercussions competitively after that.”
But expect to see plenty of furious action on track and on SPEED during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV.
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor 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 numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. 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
SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates on the history of the event and all the details about this year’s action.
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