Johnson wins the Sprint All Star race: #48-Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the third time, tying Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon for most all-time. Johnson won $1,071,340 for the win and gave team owner a ride on the track after the win with Rick Hendrick half in the car and half out, holding on to the roll cage and Johnson, took a little spin on the front stretch. #2-Keselowski finished 2nd followed by #17-Kenseth, #18-Busch [pole sitter], #88-Earnhardt Jr. [winner of the Sprint Showdown], #29-Harvick, #9-Ambrose, #51-Busch, #5-Kahne and #39-Newman. Johnson won the first 20-lap segment which earned him the right to lead the field to pit road before the final 10-lap dash. Kenseth won the second segment, Keselowski won the third segment over #5-Kahne by .006 seconds. Earnhardt won segment No. 4. So after segment 4, Johnson, Kenseth, Keselowski and Earnhardt entered pit road in that order, took no tires or gas and came out in those same top four positions for the final 10-lap run. Sprint Fan Vote winner, #47-Bobby Labonte finished 19th. There were no accidents and only two cars failed to finish the race, #16-Biffle and last years winner #99-Edwards, both with engine failures.
There were 6 cautions for 10 yellow flag laps. There were 7 lead changes among 7 drivers. The attendance is listed as 132,000 up from 125,000 from last season.
See race results on the Sprint All Star Race Results (pdf).(5-19-2012)

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race – Charlotte Motor Speedway – Fast Facts:
* Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, his third victory in 11 starts in the annual non-points event.
* With the victory, Johnson ties Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon for most NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race wins all-time. Johnson also won in 2003 and 2006.
* This is Rick Hendrick¡¦s seventh NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race win (Jimmie Johnson, three; Jeff Gordon, three; Terry Labonte, one).
* Brad Keselowski finished second, his best finish in four NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race starts. His previous best finish was seventh in 2010.
* Matt Kenseth finished third, his fifth top-five and ninth top-10 finish in 12 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race starts.(NASCAR)(5-19-2012)

Restart after Segment 4: and the madatory pitstop before segment 5, with #48 #17 #2 and #88 coming in 1-2-3-4 for winning segments:
#48 then 17 2 88 9 5 51 24 29 21; 18 11 55 15 39 78 14 27 47 34 &22; #16 and #99 were out.(5-19-2012)

Sprint All Star Race Segment 4 finishing order:
1) #88-Earnhardt Jr., 19 laps led gets 4th position entering pits before segment 5
2) #9-Ambrose
3) #22-Allmendinger
4) #5-Kahne
5) #24-Gordon
6) #29-Harvick
7) #51-Busch, 2 laps led
8) #21-Bayne
9) #18-Busch, 14 laps led
10) #11-Hamlin, 16 laps led
11) #55-Martin
12) #15-Bowyer
13) #39-Newman
14) #78-Smith
15) #14-Stewart
16) #27-Menard
17) #47-Labonte
18) #34-Ragan
19) #48-Johnson, led 6 laps, gets 1st position entering pits before segment 5
20) #17-Kenseth, led 4 laps, gets 2nd position entering pits before segment 5
21) #2-Keselowski, led 20 laps, gets 3rd position entering pits before segment 5
22) #16-Biffle, 67 laps, engine
23) #99-Edwards, 26 laps, engine
(5-19-2012)

Sprint All Star Race Segment 3 finishing order:
1) #2-Keselowski, led 20 laps, gets 3rd position entering pits before segment 5
2) #5-Kahne
3) #88-Earnhardt Jr.
4) #22-Allmendinger
5) #9-Ambrose
6) #24-Gordon
7) #29-Harvick
8) #16-Biffle
9) #55-Martin
10) #39-Newman
11) #27-Menard
12) #18-Busch, 14 laps led
13) #11-Hamlin, 16 laps led
14) #51-Busch
15) #14-Stewart
16) #15-Bowyer
17) #17-Kenseth, led 4 laps, gets 2nd position entering pits before segment 5
18) #47-Labonte
19) #78-Smith
20) #21-Bayne
21) #48-Johnson, led 6 laps, gets 1st position entering pits before segment 5
22) #34-Ragan
23) #99-Edwards, engine
(5-19-2012)

Sprint All Star Race Segment 2 finishing order:
1) #17-Kenseth, led 4 laps, gets 2nd position entering pits before segment 5
2) #88-Earnhardt Jr.
3) #11-Hamlin, 16 laps led
4) #9-Ambrose
5) #22-Allmendinger
6) #2-Keselowski
7) #5-Kahne
8) #18-Busch, 14 laps led
9) #24-Gordon
10) #29-Harvick
11) #39-Newman
12) #14-Stewart
13) #16-Biffle
14) #15-Bowyer
15) #55-Martin
16) #51-Busch
17) #78-Smith
18) #27-Menard
19) #47-Labonte
20) #21-Bayne
21) #48-Johnson, led 6 laps, gets 1st position entering pits before segment 5
22) #34-Ragan
23) #99-Edwards, engine
(5-19-2012)

Sprint All Star Race Segment 1 finishing order:
1) #48-Johnson, led 6 laps, gets 1st position entering pits before segment 5
2) #18-Busch, led 14 laps
3) #39-Newman
4) #11-Hamlin
5) #16-Biffle
6) #27-Menard
7) #15-Bowyer
8) #24-Gordon
9) #99-Edwards
10) #29-Harvick
11) #9-Ambrose
12) #22-Allmendinger
13) #2-Keselowski
14) #17-Kenseth
15) #88-Earnhardt Jr.
16) #55-Martin
17) #5-Kahne
18) #14-Stewart
19) #51-Busch
20) #21-Bayne
21) #78-Smith
22) #47-Labonte
23) #34-Ragan
(5-19-2012)

Earnhardt Jr. wins the Sprint Showdown: #88-Earnhardt Hr, led all 40 laps to win his first Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway to transfer into the Sprint All Star Race. #22-Allmendinger, who started on the pole, finished 2nd after having a flat left front tire at the start of the race. Allmendinger will also transfer into the All Star race. #1-McMurray finished 3rd after starting from the rear due to an unapproved adjustment after qualifying, followed by #56-Truex Jr., #42-Montoya, #20-LOgano, #43-Almirola, #31-Burton, #83-Cassill and #93-Kvapil. #47-Bobby Labonte, the 2000 Sprint Cup Champion, finished 12th but won the Sprint Fan Vote and will race in the Sprint All-Star Race. There were no accidents and seven cars took their cars to the garage before the end of the race.
See race results on the Sprint Showdown Race Results (pdf).(5-19-2012)

Earnhardt Jr. wins the Sprint Showdown: #88-Earnhardt Hr, led all 40 laps to win his first Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway to transfer into the Sprint All Star Race. #22-Allmendinger, who started on the pole, finished 2nd after having a flat left front tire at the start of the race. Allendinger will also transfer into the All Star race. #1-McMurray finished 3rd after starting from the rear due to an unapproved adjustment after qualifying, followed by #56-Truex Jr., #42-Montoya, #20-LOgano, #43-Almirola, #31-Burton, #83-Cassill and #93-Kvapil. #47-Bobby Labonte, the 2000 Sprint Cup Champion, finished 12th but won the Sprint Fan Vote and will race in the Sprint All-Star Race. There were no accidents and seven cars took their cars to the garage before the end of the race.
Sprint Showdown Segment 2 finishing order
1) #88-Earnhardt Jr., led all 40 laps, transfers to Sprint All Star Race
2) #22-Allmendinger, transfers to Sprint All Star Race
3) #1-McMurray
4) #56-Truex Jr.
5) #1-McMurray
6) #20-Logano
7) #43-Almirola
8) #31-Burton
9) #83-Cassill
10) #93-Kvapil
11) #13-Mears
12) #47-Labonte, won the Sprint Fan Vote, transfers to Sprint All Star Race
13) #26-Wise
14) #95-Speed
15) #38-Gilliland
16) #19-Bliss -12 laps out
17) #87-Nemechek -14 out
18) #30-Stremme -18 out
19) #10-Reutimann -19 out
20) #36-Raines -19 out
21) #33-Leicht – 33 out
22) #49-Yeley – 37 out
#47-Labonte won the Sprint Fan Vote and will transfer into the Sprint All-Star race.(5-19-2012)

Sprint Showdown Race Statistics:
Average Speed of Race Winner: 125.581 mph.
Time of Race: 0 hours, 28 minutes, 40 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 2.384 seconds.
Caution Flags: 1 for 0 laps.
Lead Changes: 1 among 1 driver.
Lap Leaders: D.Earnhardt Jr. 1-40.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): D.Earnhardt Jr., 1 time for 40 laps.

Sprint Showdown Segment 1 finishing order:
1) #88-Earnhardt Jr., led all 20 laps
2) #56-Truex Jr.
3) #31-Burton
4) #42-Montoya
5) #43-Almirola
6) #1-McMurray
7) #83-Cassill
8) #13-Mears
9) #20-Logano
10) #93-Kvapil
11) #47-Labonte
12) #10-Reutimann
13) #38-Gilliland
14) #95-Speed
15) #26-Wise
16) #30-Stremme
17) #87-Nemechek
18) #19-Bliss
19) #22-Allmendinger
20) #36-Raines
21) #33-Leicht – out
22) #49-Yeley – out
On lap 1, #22-Allmendinger had to pit just before the green flag with a left front flat tire, after segment 1 all pitted but the top two.
during the pit stops, three cars were penalized for speeding on pit road #’s 38, 47, 93.(5-19-2012)

added the 2012 Sprint Showdown Schemes page, an image of each car will come up/(5-19-2012)

Update on All-Star Fan vote UPDATE: Nearly 2 million votes have been cast in the 2012 Sprint Fan Vote for one driver to gain entry into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The five drivers leading the Sprint Fan Vote standings (in alphabetical order) are: A.J. Allmendinger, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott, Bobby Labonte and Joey Logano. Voting will continue until 5:00pm/et Saturday. Fans can vote by visiting Sprint.com/Speed, using the NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile application on Sprint Android devices, or by texting “VOTE” to 229466 on any wireless carrier (standard text messaging and data rates apply).(Charlotte Observer)
UPDATE: As voting neared completion for tonight’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, over 2.34 million votes had been registered. The top five drivers receiving votes (in alphabetical order) were A.J. Allmendinger, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.(CMS Pit Notes)(5-19-2012)

Race Coverage of the Sprint Showdown & Sprint All Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, 2012.
Television (TV): SPEED at 7:00 pm/et; Pre-Race show at 4:00 pm/et; green flag approx 7:46pm/et
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio 90
Scheduled Race Re-Airs: on SPEED, Friday, May 25th at 12:00pm/et

Kyle Busch wins pole for Sprint All Star race: #18-Kyle Busch won the pole (and $50,000) for the Sprint All Star Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a time of 119.112 seconds. #39-Newman will start 2nd followed by #11-Hamlin, #16-Biffle, #29-Harvick, #48-Johnson, #27-Meneard, #24-Gordon, #14-Stewart and #78-Smith.
#21-Bayne will start 11th followed by #15-Bowyer, #99-Edwards, #34-Ragan, #17-Kenseth (X), #55-Martin (X), #51-Busch (X), #9-Ambrose (X), #2-Keselowski (X) and #5-Kahne. #5-Kahne wrecked on his final lap and will go tp the rear of the field on Saturday night in a backup car. (X) = penalty.
For qualifying speed see Sprint All Star Race Qualifying Results page (pdf) and for the lineup, see the Sprint All Star Race Starting Lineup page (pdf).(5-18-2012)

Sprint All Star Race Qualifying:
after 20 of 20 drivers, time in seconds
#18-Busch, 20th out, 119.112
#39-Newman, 2nd out, 119.821
#11-Hamlin, 10th out, 120.168
#16-Biffle, 19th out, 120.420
#29-Harvick, 16th out, 120.622
#48-Johnson, 7th out, 121.076
#27-Menard, 12th out, 121.147
#24-Gordon, 1st out, 121.297
#14-Stewart, 3rd out, 121.482
#78-Smith, 6th out, 121.721
#21-Bayne, 8th out, 121.821
#15-Bowyer, 5th out, 122.292
#99-Edwards, 17th out, 122.420
#34-Ragan, 9th out, 124.183
#17-Kenseth, 13th out, 120.351 + 5 sec penalty = 125.351 (LG)
#55-Martin, 14th out, 121.624 + 5 sec penalty = 126.624 (LG)
#51-Busch, 11th out, 123.074 + 5 sec penalty = 128.074 (LG)
#9-Ambrose, 18th put, 123.784 + 5 sec. penalty = 128.784 (OV)
#2-Keselowski, 15th out, 120.436 + 10 second penalty = 130.436 (2LN)
#5-Kahne, 4th out, wrecked on last lap, will go to backup
(LN) = Lugnuts; (OV) = over wall early
(5-18-2012)

Allmendinger wins pole for Sprint Showdown #22-A.J. Allmendinger won the pole for the Sprint Showdown Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a speed of 192.465mph. #56-Truex Jr. will start 2nd followed by #88-Earnhardt Jr., #31-Burton, #43-Almirola, #83-Cassill, #42-Montoya, #47-Labonte, #93-Kvapil and #30-Stremme.
#13-Mears will start 11th, followed by #10-Reutimann, #20-Logano, #33-Leicht, #95-Speed, #38-Gilliland, #19-Bliss, #49-Yeley, #1-McMurray, #87-Nemechek, #26-Wise and #36-Raines.
For qualifying speed see Sprint Showdown Qualifying Results page (pdf) and for the lineup, see the Sprint Showdown Starting Lineup page (pdf).(5-18-2012)

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Sprint All Star Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway have been made.
Winner of the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, #48-Johnson chose pit stall 2, the first available stall.
The rest of the stalls were chosen by finishing order of the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge.
The last three stalls are for the winner and 2nd place drivers from the Sprint Showdown and the Sprint Fan Vote winner.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(5-18-2012)

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway have been made.
The pole winner, #22-Allmendinger chose pit stall 1.
#88-Earnhardt Jr. who starts 2nd, took pit stall 20, just before the start/finish line.
#31-Burton, who starts 3rd, took pit stall 35.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart page.(5-18-2012)

Qualifying Order for the Sprint All-Star Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is posted. 20 cars/drivers are listed.
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #24-Gordon, slowest in practice.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #18-Busch, who was fastest in first practice.
Qualifying order is set by the first practice session, with slowest driver going out by speed and the fastest going out last. The top-35 in owners points are not in play with this race as there are no points awarded.
This is a unique qualifying session of three laps, with a mandatory 4-tire pit stop on laps 1 or 1 (not lap 3), the smallest amount of time of the three laps will win the pole. There are penalties for loose lug nuts, speeding and more.
See the full qualifying order on the Sprint All Star Qualifying Order page (pdf).(5-18-2012)

Qualifying Order for the Sprint Showdown Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is posted. 22 cars/drivers are listed with the drivers who are not eligible for the Sprint All-Star Race running 40 laps to win, finish 2nd or win the Sprint Fan Vote to get into the All-Star race.
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #36-Raines, slowest in practice.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #88-Earnhardt Jr., who was fastest in first practice.
Qualifying order is set by the first practice session, with slowest driver going out by speed and the fastest going out last. The top-35 in owners points are not in play with this race as there are no points awarded.
See the full qualifying order on the Sprint Showdown Qualifying Order (pdf).(5-18-2012)

Sprint All-Star practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway is over, after 85 scheduled minutes, the top-5, slowest and notes:
#18-Busch 188.337
#16-Biffle 187.715
#9-Ambrose 187.207
#99-Edwards 186.948
#29-Harvick 186.664
slowest: #24-Gordon 182.599 & #39-Newman 183.624
#78-Smith had an engine blow midway in practice.
See fastest speeds, laps run, best top-10 average on the All-Star practice speeds (pdf)(5-18-2012)

Sprint Showdown practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway is over, after 85 scheduled minutes, the top-5, slowest and notes:
#88-Earnhardt Jr. 188.114
#22-Allmendinger 188.062
#83-Cassill 187.931
#47-Labonte 187.852
#56-Truex Jr. 186.826
slowest: #36-Raines 178.536 & #95-Speed 182.723
See fastest speeds, laps run, best top-10 average on the Sprint Showdown practice speeds (pdf)(5-18-2012)

Active former Sprint Cup race winners not eligible (year of last win, notes):

Jamie McMurray (2010)
David Reutimann (2010)
Juan Pablo Montoya (2010)
Brian Vickers (2009) – runs part time
Joey Logano (2009)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2008, won event 2000)
Jeff Burton (2008)
Martin Truex Jr. (2007)
Joe Nemechek (2004)
Elliott Sadler (2004) running full time in NNS, part time Cup
Bobby Labonte (2003, Champ in 2000)
Bill Elliott (2003, won event in 1986, Champ in 1988) – runs part time
Michael Waltrip (2003, won event in 1996) – runs part time
Terry Labonte (2003, won event in 1988, 1999; 1984, 1996 Champ) – runs part time
Robby Gordon (2003) – runs part time
Steve Park (2001) – runs part time
Geoff Bodine (1996, won event in 1994)
Ken Schrader (1991) – runs part time
Derrike Cope (1990)

RETIRED/NOT ACTIVE in Sprint Cup in 2011
John Andretti (1999) – runs part-time in Indy cars
Dale Jarrett (last win in 2006, 1999 Champ) – retired broadcaster at ESPN
Jeremy Mayfield (2005) – suspended
Johnny Benson (2002) – part time truck series
Ward Burton (2002) – part time truck series
Morgan Shepherd (1993) – Nationwide Series full time
Rusty Wallace (2004, won event in 1989, 1989 Champ) – retired broadcaster at ESPN
Ricky Craven (2003) – retired, works for ESPN
Ricky Rudd (2002) – retired
Sterling Marlin (2002) – retired
Jerry Nadeau (2000)
Kyle Petty (1995) retired, works for TNT & SPEED
Jimmy Spencer (1994) – retired, works for SPEED
Greg Sacks (1985) – unknown