2013 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race

The 2013 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 18, 2013, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 90 laps, the it was the second exhibition race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports took his record fourth All-Star Race victory,[3] while Joey Logano finished second. Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.

2013 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
Race details[1][2][3]
Date May 18, 2013 (2013-05-18)
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance Showdown:
40 laps, 60 mi (96.56 km)
All-Star Race:
90 laps, 135 mi (217.26 km)
Avg Speed Showdown:
138.196 miles per hour (222.405 km/h)
All-Star Race:
90.672 miles per hour (145.922 km/h)
Sprint Showdown
Pole position Martin Truex Jr. (Michael Waltrip Racing)
27.918 seconds
Winner Jamie McMurray (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing)
Sprint All-Star Race
Pole position Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing)
111.297 seconds
Showdown transfers Jamie McMurray (Showdown winner)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Showdown runner-up)
Danica Patrick (Fan vote)
Most laps led Kurt Busch (Furniture Row Racing)/
Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing)
29 laps
Winner Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports)
Television
Network Speed
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds
Logo for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
The 2013 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race program cover, with artwork by Sam Bass. "Saddle Up, Race Fans!"

Report

edit

Background

edit
 
Charlotte Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

The track, Charlotte Motor Speedway, is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also had a five degree banking.[4] The racetrack has seats for 134,000 spectators.[4]

A total of 23 drivers were entered for the Sprint Showdown, while 19 different drivers were eligible to participate in the All-Star Race,[5] including race winners from last season through the 2013 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and previous All-Star race winners from the past 10 years.[6] The drivers who finished first and second in the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap preliminary race, were also eligible to compete in the race, as well as the Sprint fan vote winner.[6] The race was 90 laps long, separated into five segments: four segments of 20 laps and a final segment of 10 laps.[6] Following the fourth segment, drivers were repositioned by their average finish in the previous four segments to determine what position they would enter pit road.[6] A mandatory four-tire pit stop was between the final two segments, while pitting between the 20 lap segments was optional.[6]

Practice and qualifying

edit

Sprint Showdown

edit

Martin Truex Jr. started on pole, but Jamie McMurray passed him in turn two on the first lap. McMurray led all 20 laps to win the first segment after holding off a mid-segment charge by Truex. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished the segment in third, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Paul Menard. During the competition caution between segments, Casey Mears stayed out as the rest of the field came to pit road. McMurray took two tires and restarted second. He quickly re-took the lead and pulled away from the field as Stenhouse and Truex (who took four tires) tried to catch up. Stenhouse slightly closed in on McMurray over the next few laps while Truex and Jeff Burton battled for third. McMurray once again led all 20 laps to win segment two and advance into the All-Star Race. Stenhouse finished in second to advance as well. Burton, Menard, Truex, and Montoya rounded out the top six.[2] Danica Patrick, who finished ninth, won the fan vote to advance to the All-Star Race.[7]

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race

edit

Carl Edwards started on pole and choose the outside lane, with Kurt Busch starting second. Busch took the lead from Edwards in turn three on lap one as Brad Keselowski had transmission failure at the end of lap two. The first caution flag waved on lap eight for a rain shower and 11 of the remaining 21 cars (including Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, and Jimmie Johnson) made pit stops. The field ran under caution for five laps, until the red flag came out on lap 13 and the jet dryers were called onto the track. After a 41-minute red flag, the field took the restart on lap 16. Kurt Busch continued to lead and won the first 20-lap segment. He was followed by Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, and Kasey Kahne.

Following the caution, Kurt Busch took the green flag with Kyle Busch on his outside. Kyle quickly moved around Kurt in turn two, but Kurt came back alongside Kyle in turn three. This allowed Clint Bowyer to pass them both and pull away with the lead, while Kyle and Kurt settled in second and third, respectively. On lap 25, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bounced off the frontstretch wall and into Mark Martin, who was sent spinning into the infield, to bring out the third caution. On the restart, Kyle Busch passed Bowyer for the lead in turn three. Busch led the next 12 laps to win the second segment, followed by Bowyer, Edwards, Kurt Busch, and Jimmie Johnson. During the caution, all drivers came down pit road, with the exception of Bowyer, Edwards, and Martin. On the restart, Bowyer continued to lead over Edwards and Kyle Busch. Edwards then quickly faded, leaving Busch in second and Johnson in third place. On lap 44, Kyle Busch passed Bowyer for the lead and pulled away, leaving Kurt Busch, Bowyer, Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to battle for the second position. Bowyer then fell back, leaving Kurt Busch in second, Johnson in third, and Earnhardt in fourth. Kyle Busch would lead the last 17 laps of the third 20-lap segment to win the segment (his second segment win). He was followed by Kurt Busch, Johnson, Earnhardt, and Joey Logano. The whole field came onto pit road during the caution (with some taking two tires and others taking four) and Kasey Kahne rolled off of pit road first, followed by Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch.

At the start of the fourth 20-lap segment, Harvick nosed ahead of Kahne, but Kahne was able to stay in front of Harvick and pull away. As a result of everyone shuffling on the restart, Kyle Busch fell back several positions but regained to sixth. The fifth caution waved on lap 65 for debris resulting from contact between Biffle and Earnhardt. Kahne led on the restart (lap 71), followed by Kurt Busch, Harvick, and Johnson. Busch passed Kahne for the lead on lap 72 and started to pull away as Kahne and Johnson battled for second. Busch led the last nine laps of segment four to win the segment (his second segment win), followed by Kahne, Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth.

Due to a new stipulation, the field was shuffled in order of their average finishes in the first four segments before the mandatory pit stop. This put Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Kahne, Johnson, and Logano as the first five onto pit road. Kahne came out first, followed by Johnson, Kyle Busch, Logano, and Kurt Busch. On the restart, Kahne and Johnson ran side-by-side for two laps until Johnson finally cleared Kahne and moved away. Johnson sped away over the last eight laps to win his second All-Star Race in a row (becoming the only driver to win four All-Star races). Logano finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Kahne, and Kurt Busch. Hamlin, Earnhardt, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, and Edwards rounded out the top ten.

Results

edit

Showdown qualifying

edit
No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.918 193.424 1
1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.023 192.699 2
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.075 192.342 3
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.084 192.280 4
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota 28.290 190.880 5
31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.398 190.154 6
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.412 190.061 7
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.442 189.860 8
36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.504 189.447 9
33 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 28.577 188.963 10
47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 28.599 188.818 11
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.612 188.732 12
44 Scott Riggs Xxxtreme Motorsports Ford 28.635 188.580 13
38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.695 188.186 14
95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 28.770 187.696 15
83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 28.810 187.435 16
19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 28.830 187.305 17
93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 28.875 187.013 18
7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.924 186.696 19
32 Timmy Hill FAS Lane Racing Ford 29.054 185.861 20
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 29.346 184.011 21
30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 29.385 183.767 22
52 Brian Keselowski Brian Keselowski Motorsports Toyota 29.759 181.458 23
Source:

Showdown results

edit
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run
1 2 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 40
2 4 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 40
3 6 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40
4 8 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40
5 1 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 40
6 3 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 40
7 12 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 40
8 18 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 40
9 7 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 40
10 5 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 40
11 16 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 40
12 11 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 40
13 14 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40
14 15 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 40
15 22 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 40
16 10 33 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 40
17 17 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 40
18 21 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 40
19 23 52 Brian Keselowski Brian Keselowski Motorsports Toyota 36
20 9 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 27
21 19 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 24
22 13 44 Scott Riggs Xxxtreme Motorsports Ford 15
23 20 32 Timmy Hill FAS Lane Racing Ford 6
Source:
Key
Transferred to All-Star Race

All-Star Race qualifying

edit
No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Grid
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:11.297 1
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:12.190 2
78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 1:12.447 3
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:12.706 4
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:12.754 5
22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 1:12.991 6
15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 1:13.595 7
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:13.719 8
55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 1:14.001 9
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:14.032 10
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:14.336 11
39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 1:14.716 12
2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 1:14.989 13
20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:15.051 14
14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 1:15.379 15
34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:15.778 16
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 1:17.055 17
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:19.462 18
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:22.903 19
Source:

All-Star Race results

edit
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run
1 18 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90
2 6 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 90
3 5 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90
4 10 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90
5 3 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 90
6 8 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90
7 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90
8 20 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 90
9 14 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90
10 1 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 90
11 19 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 90
12 11 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90
13 12 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 90
14 15 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 90
15 4 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 90
16 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 90
17 17 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 90
18 7 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 90
19 16 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 90
20 22 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 90
21 9 55 Mark Martin Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 87
22 13 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 2
Source:

References

edit
  1. ^ "2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  2. ^ a b Gluck, Jeff (2013-05-18). "NASCAR Sprint Showdown results: McMurray, Stenhouse advance". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  3. ^ a b Fryer, Jenna (2013-05-18). "Jimmie Johnson races to record 4th All-Star win". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on 2013-06-08. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  4. ^ a b c "Charlotte Motor Speedway Track Facts". Charlotte Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  5. ^ "NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Entry List". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Archived from the original on 2013-05-26. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  6. ^ a b c d e "DO THE MATH: SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE GETS NEW WRINKLE". NASCAR. 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  7. ^ Reed, Steve (2013-05-18). "Fans vote Patrick into Sprint All-Star race". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on 2013-06-08. Retrieved 2013-05-18.