It is All-Star week in NASCAR as the top Sprint Cup drivers take a break from the points race to compete in the 26th annual NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race this Saturday night, May 22nd at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The race is scheduled to start at 9:00 P.M. (ET).
The All-Star race features all the drivers who had won a Sprint Cup race last season or this season as well as the winner and runner up of the Showdown, a 40 lap qualifying race that is scheduled to run before the All Star as part of the weekend’s festivities.
The All Star is a 100 lap, 150 mile jaunt that is broken down into four separate segments of one 50 lap run, two 20 lap runs, and a final 10 lap run for the checkered flag. While the outcome has no effect on the Sprint Cup point standings, it gives the winner bragging rights as NASCAR’s All-Star driver of the year.
Here are the current odds for some of the top drivers expected to run in this race.
After 12 races, Johnson is currently in fourth place in the Sprint Cup Chase standings with 1637 points, 131 out of the lead. After getting off to an incredibly fast start by winning three of the first five races of the season, Johnson’s luck has changed as of late with a 36th place finish two weeks ago at Darlington and a 16th place finish last week in Dover.
After a slow start, Busch is back to his winning ways with victories in two of his last three races including taking the checkered flag last week in the Autism Speaks 400 at the Monster Mile in Delaware and three weeks ago at Richmond. He is currently in second place in the standings with 1699 points, just 69 in back of the current leader Kevin Harvick.
Gordon’s Sprint Cup victory draught continues as he has yet to win a race this season. You would have to think he is due with five top 5 finishes in the first 12 races including two near misses as he finished second in the Subway Fresh Fit 600 and the Heath Calhoun 400 a few weeks back. He is currently in sixth place in the standings with 1605 points, 163 back.
Next to Kyle Busch, Hamlin is the hottest driver on the Sprint Cup circuit with three wins in his last seven races. He has finished in the top 5 in four of his last five starts. His most impressive victory came in the Samsung Mobile 500 after starting all the way back in the 29th position. He is currently in fifth place in the standings with 1618 points, 150 out of first.
Like Gordon, Kenseth has also raced extremely well this season but does not have a victory to show for it. He does have seven top 10 finishes and four top 5’s including a second place finish in the Kobalt Tools 500 in the fourth race of the year. Last week he took third place at Dover. He is currently in third place in the standings with 1642 points, 126 behind Harvick.
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