Motorsports grid: NASCAR All-Star Race is the headliner
This week’s Sprint Cup event
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
8 p.m. Saturday, Charlotte Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval in Concord, N.C.
Distance: 110 laps (segments of 25, 25, 25, 25 and 10 laps)
TV: FS1 (Friday, Race practice, 12:45 p.m.; Saturday, Qualifying, 6 p.m.; Race, 8 p.m.)
Worth mentioning: Two drivers who win a segment of the Sprint Showdown on Friday will advance to Saturday night’s All-Star Race, as well as at least one driver voted in by the fans.
Other races
▪ North Carolina Education Lottery 200, Camping World Truck Series, Charlotte Motor Speedway; 7:30 p.m. Friday
▪ 3M 250, Xfinity Series, Newton, Iowa; 1 p.m. Sunday, FS1
▪ Menards 200, ARCA Series, Toledo Speedway, 1 p.m. Sunday, CBS Sports Network
▪ Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals; NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing; Atlanta Dragway; final eliminations, 8 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2
Who’s Hot/Who’s Not
HOT
Jimmie Johnson: Wasn’t in the victory picture at Kansas until a late race caution and pit road gamble.
Kevin Harvick: Has finished first or second in the last seven races run on intermediate tracks.
Joey Logano: Seemed to spend more time going back than forward and still managed to finish fifth.
Erik Jones: Ran out of gas in the Truck race and spun late in the Cup race, but in between he put on a superb racing exhibition.
Matt Crafton: Two-time truck champion suddenly looks in excellent position to pick up a third.
Chase Elliott: Will run the Sprint Showdown and try to make the All-Star Race as well as run Sunday’s Xfinity race at Iowa.
NOT
Joe Gibbs Racing: Started the weekend with such promise and ended it with just one driver in the top 10.
Tony Stewart: It wasn’t of his doing, but another bad weekend must be wearing thin on Stewart.
David Ragan: Wrecked the SpongeBob SquarePants car and ended up stuck in the SpongeBob SquarePants logo on the frontstretch.
— Jim Utter
Points Standings
Cup
1. Kevin Harvick, 437.
2. Martin Truex Jr., 391.
3. Jimmie Johnson, 389.
4. Joey Logano, 375.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 360.
6. Brad Keselowski, 343.
7. Matt Kenseth, 331.
8. Jamie McMurray, 328.
9. Jeff Gordon, 317.
10. Kasey Kahne, 313.
11. Aric Almirola, 312.
12. Paul Menard, 306.
13. Ryan Newman, 305.
14. Kurt Busch, 292.
15. Denny Hamlin, 284.
16. Clint Bowyer, 272.
17. Danica Patrick, 270.
18. Carl Edwards, 265.
19. AJ Allmendinger, 259.
20. Casey Mears, 242.
21. Greg Biffle, 242.
22. Kyle Larson, 237.
23. David Ragan, 235.
24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 227.
25. Austin Dillon, 225.
26. David Gilliland, 212.
27. Sam Hornish Jr., 210.
28. Justin Allgaier, 207.
29. Trevor Bayne, 190.
30. Tony Stewart, 179.
31. Cole Whitt, 177.
32. Brett Moffitt, 161.
33. Michael Annett, 137.
34. Alex Bowman, 132.
35. Josh Wise, 116.
36. Matt DiBenedetto, 109.
37. Michael McDowell, 87.
38. Jeb Burton, 53.
39. Alex Kennedy, 40.
40. Bobby Labonte, 38.
41. Brian Vickers, 32.
42. Michael Waltrip, 26.
43. Reed Sorenson, 22.
44. Mike Wallace, 8.
45. Ron Hornaday Jr., 2.
Xfinity
1. Ty Dillon, 330.
2. Chris Buescher, 321.
3. Chase Elliott, 293.
4. Darrell Wallace Jr., 293.
5. Regan Smith, 287.
6. Brian Scott, 286.
7. Elliott Sadler, 282.
8. Ryan Reed, 255.
9. Daniel Suarez, 254.
10. Brendan Gaughan, 249.
Trucks
1. Matt Crafton, 175.
2. Tyler Reddick, 158.
3. Erik Jones, 157.
4. Johnny Sauter, 153.
5. Cameron Hayley, 123.
6. John Wes Townley, 122.
7. Timothy Peters, 121.
8. Justin Boston, 114.
9. Ray Black Jr., 112.
10. Spencer Gallagher, 111.
This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Motorsports grid: NASCAR All-Star Race is the headliner."