Originally Posted on May 17, 2006 on foxsports.com
This Saturday is Nascar's version of the All-Star game: The Nextel All-Star Challenge. The annual event takes place at Lowe's Motor Speedway. It is a non-points race - meaning that not everyone gets to race for the trophy and $1 million pay-out for the win, and the drivers get to RACE for the win without concerning themselves with how they finish.
Second Place is truly First Loser in this event.
Why Watch? This is possibly the wildest and most memorable race of the year. Doubt me? The Darrell Waltrip-Rusty Wallace feud started here; Dale Earnhardt made his famous "pass in the grass" during the All-Star Race; Jeff Gordon's car T-Rex dominated a race and promptly was banned by Nascar; Dale Earnhardt Jr. won this race during his rookie year as did Ryan Newman; Kyle Petty and Davey Allison had their famous run-in at this race.
Why all the action? Did I mention the winner gets $1,005,000?
How does it Work?
The field for the All-Star Challenge is comprised of :
#1: Winning drivers from this year and last year: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Jeremy Mayfield, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin
#2: Winning owners from this year and last year: Jamie McMurray (as his owner, Jack Roush won with the car as the #97).
#3: Past Cup Champions of the last 10 years: Bobby LaBonte, Terry LaBonte (not racing this year)
#4: Past All-Star Race winners within the last 10 years: Michael Waltrip
#5: Nextel Open Winner: To Be Determined Saturday (explained below).
#6: Fan Vote: To Be Announced Saturday (voting continues at nascar.com for the next few days).
If there are not 20 eligible drivers by this formula, then there are additional ways to get a full field (which I won't go into as we have met the number needed so this won't apply).
In theory, any team can get into the All-Star Challenge: by either winning the Nextel Open or winning the fan vote.
Race Specifics Or When Did Nascar Add Time-Outs?
The Nextel Open is a 2 segment race run prior to the Challenge. The first segment is 20 laps long, and the second segment is 10 laps long. Between the segments, there will be a yellow flag in which teams can elect to pit and make changes to the cars. However, if teams elect to pit, they lose their track position and re-enter the field in the order they come off the pit lane. The winner of the second segment transfers to the Challenge. Everyone else goes home, except for the driver voted in by the fans. The last couple laps of this race is usually spectacular. Last year, Brian Vickers bumped Mike Bliss out of the way to win.
The Nextel All-Star Challenge is composed of 3 segments. Qualifying for the challenge requires a timed three lap run with a four-tire pit stop. The quickest team starts on the pole, and collects $50,000.
The 1st segment is 40 laps long and teams are required to pit on either lap 15 or 16. This is a green-flag stop. Teams can pit during caution flags, but they do not count toward this requirement. There is a break between the 1st segment and the 2nd segment. During this "break" The Red Hot Chili Peppers will perform and a drawing will be held to determine how many cars will be inverted at the start of the 2nd segment. As few as 6 cars or as many as 12 may be inverted. The winner of the segment collects $75,000.
The 2nd segment is 30 laps long. At the end of this segment, the teams may elect to pit during the yellow flag. However, they again lose track position and restart at the end of the field in the order in which they leave pit road. The winner of the 2nd segment collects $20,000.
The 3rd segment is 20 laps long. However, only green flag laps count toward the total in this segment. Any restarts are double-file, but lapped cars start out at the rear of the field.
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