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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
ALL-STAR: Sprint Showdown Showcases Strongest Field In Years With 13 Past Winners
Most everyone agrees this year's 30-car field is the strongest ever in the last-chance qualifier preceding the All-Star Race (7 p.m. ET live on SPEED)...
Megan Englehart  |  Posted May 17, 2010   Charlotte, NC
The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will be carried live on SPEED. (Photo: Getty Images)
NASCAR SPRINT SHOWDOWN SHOWCASES STRONGEST FIELD IN YEARS

13 PAST WINNERS TO DUKE IT OUT IN

NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE LAST-CHANCE QUALIFIER LIVE ON SPEED™

Joy: ‘I think this should be the most competitive one we’ve had in a long time … some drivers realize they don’t have to bring anything back but the steering wheel and they’ll drive accordingly.’

McReynolds: ‘As a crew chief trying to race my way into the All-Star Race in my last couple of years, it was very disappointing and embarrassing and I think some of these drivers feel the same emotions.’

Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, Bill Elliott …

No, that’s not part of the starting line-up for Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (7 p.m. ET live on SPEED) at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s just six of the 13 past winners who aren’t eligible for the All-Star Race but instead will battle it out in the Sprint Showdown in hopes of finishing first or second and transferring to the big show.

And most everyone agrees this 30-car field is the strongest ever to take the green flag in the last-chance qualifier preceding the All-Star Race. After all, 13 of the line-up’s drivers have combined for 116 Cup wins.

“This is the best group of current stars not already qualified for the big race in a long, long time,” said Mike Joy, play-by-play announcer for SPEED’s coverage of the All-Star Race. “Hearing drivers in their interviews last week, two things stood out - they’re all really humbled by the fact that they’re not in the All-Star Race, and they all want to earn their way in rather than being voted in. I think this should be the most competitive one we’ve had in a long time … some drivers realize they don’t have to bring anything back but the steering wheel and they’ll drive accordingly.”

“This is the best field I’ve ever seen for the Sprint Showdown,” said Larry McReynolds, SPEED analyst for the All-Star Race and two-time All-Star Race winning crew chief. “Some guys who have always been in the All-Star Race and probably haven’t ever run the Showdown now have to race their way in. It’s a pretty stacked deck. With that stout of a field in the Showdown, there’s no question the winner of the All-Star Race could come from that group.”
Watch the Sprint All-Star Race live on SPEED from Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 22 at 7 p.m. ET. (Image: NASCAR)

Like it or not, the Sprint Showdown is where these guys find themselves after going winless in 2009 and 2010 to-date. Some have chosen to proactively campaign for the Fan Vote in unique ways. Others, like Burton and Bowyer, have expressed embarrassment at not being locked in and their ensuing desire to race their way into the All-Star Race by finishing first or second in the Showdown versus winning the Fan Vote.

McReynolds, who led Davey Allison to consecutive All-Star victories in 1991 and ‘92, says he can relate to these drivers’ emotions regarding failure to qualify for the All-Star Race after being a part of it for so many years.

“I speak from experience as a crew chief who participated in almost every single All-Star Race from 1988 through 1998 and then had to sit on the sidelines,” McReynolds said. “That was a big deal for me to not be locked in with Mike Skinner and I was pretty dejected. When you look at guys like Burton and Biffle, who have raced in so many of the All-Star Races and now are not in it, it’s pretty embarrassing. I can’t speak for the drivers, but as a crew chief trying to race my way into the All-Star Race in my last couple of years, it was very disappointing and embarrassing and I think some of these drivers feel the same emotions.”

After all, omission from the All-Star Race serves as yet another reminder of a goose egg in the win column, but it also can provide additional motivation for that breakthrough victory.

“When you’re used to winning, failing to win is just that – it’s failure to achieve.” Joy said. “So, the opportunity to grab a checkered flag has to be very appealing for someone who hasn’t been to Victory Lane in a long time. As a result, fenders may fly in the Showdown because people will take chances in this race that they wouldn’t take in any other.”

That hunger and desire to win often provides the perfect recipe for a thrilling race under the lights.

“The theme for whole night has always been to expect the unexpected,” Joy related. “There have been more surprises coming out of the All-Star Race, whether it was the thrilling finish of the first night race with Davey Allison crashing to the win and neither he nor the car being able to go to Victory Lane, to (crew chief) Frankie Stoddard carefully reading the rules and figuring out he could make a pit stop and hop over the line to complete the requirement, outsmarting the officials and everybody, there’s always something unexpected in this race.”

And given the depth of the field, the biggest surprise this year could come in the Sprint Showdown.

SPEED™, anchored by its popular and wide-ranging coverage of NASCAR, is the nation’s first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle. Now available in more than 79 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the industry leaders in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit SPEEDtv.com, the online motor sports authority.

2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Week • The Stars Come Out. The Gloves Come Off. • Saturday, May 22nd at 7 pm ET
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