{"id":17420,"date":"2018-05-19T17:09:52","date_gmt":"2018-05-19T22:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=17420"},"modified":"2018-05-19T17:09:52","modified_gmt":"2018-05-19T22:09:52","slug":"nascar-race-preview-monster-energy-nascar-all-star-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/19\/nascar-race-preview-monster-energy-nascar-all-star-race\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR race preview: Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

News and notes courtesy of NASCAR<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Next Race: Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race<\/b><\/p>\n

The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

The Date: Saturday, May 19<\/b><\/p>\n

The Time: 6 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

TV: FS1, 5 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio<\/b><\/p>\n

Distance: Open \u2013 3 Stages: 20 Laps \/ 20 Laps \/ 10 Laps<\/b><\/p>\n

All-Star Race \u2013 4 Stages: 30 Laps \/ 20 Laps \/ 20 Laps \/ 10 Laps<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Kyle Busch Looking To Repeat<\/b><\/p>\n

As much as Kyle Busch wins \u2013 187 victories in NASCAR\u2019s three national series \u2013 he scored his only Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race win just last year. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is already on a hot streak to start the 2018 season, scoring three wins through the first 12 races.<\/p>\n

So a victory in Saturday night\u2019s version of the All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) would be fitting of such a strong season start. Even for a former series champion (2015), being a part of the sport\u2019s $1 million-to-win All-Star Race is both honorable and motivating.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, being an all-star and being in the All-Star Race is one of the most fun things we get to do each year,\u2019\u2019 Busch said. \u201cI\u2019d say the Clash is another one of those and, with the All-Star Race, they are certainly two fun races where we get a chance to go after just a win and bring home the checkers or end up on the wrecker.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting night and there\u2019s a lot of energy there. It gives you the opportunity to run that many qualifying laps in a row. That\u2019s all you\u2019re doing \u2013 you\u2019re giving it all you\u2019ve got every single lap.\u201d<\/p>\n

History Says Winners Don\u2019t Repeat<\/b><\/p>\n

A look at the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race\u2019s past winners list reveals a rare occurrence in the sport. Since 1998 only one driver \u2013 Jimmie Johnson \u2013 has scored multiple victories in the event. He\u2019s the all-time best with four wins and despite a field full of past champions and weekly contenders, this event has hosted a wide range of drivers in its Victory Lane. One time each.<\/p>\n

Ryan Newman (2002), Matt Kenseth (2004), Kevin Harvick (2007), Kasey Kahne (2008), Kurt Busch (2010), Jamie McMurray (2014), Denny Hamlin (2015) and Joey Logano (2016) all have an All-Star trophy.<\/p>\n

Former series champion Brad Keselowski is 0-for-9 in the race. This year\u2019s Martinsville Speedway winner Clint Bowyer is 0-for-8 and reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr. is 0-for-6. Newcomers Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are both winless in two All-Star Race appearances.<\/p>\n

Despite being one of the winningest drivers \u2013 and champions \u2013 on the circuit, Kyle Busch just picked up his first All-Star trophy last May.<\/p>\n

Trying Something New<\/b><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s All-Star race will include a four-stage format (30 laps, 20 laps, 20 laps and 10 laps) and for the first time ever, cars will run a restrictor plate similar to what\u2019s long been used on the big speedways in Talladega and Daytona. Cars will also carry a six-inch spoiler on the rear deck, a 2014-style front splitter and aero ducts. The idea is to increase the passing opportunities and there has been success with this idea. The NASCAR Xfinity Series used a similar package on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year, producing a record-setting race in terms of lead changes.<\/p>\n

The field will include all 2017 and 2018 race winners, plus former series champions and former All-Star race winners that are still competing full time. The three stage winners from the Open will also transfer to the main event.<\/p>\n

No stage will end under yellow flag conditions and only green flag laps count in the fourth and final stage.<\/p>\n

The All-Star Of The All-Stars<\/b><\/p>\n

Not only does Jimmie Johnson boast the biggest championship haul in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, he is \u2013 fittingly — the all-time winningest All-Star driver with four race trophies (2002, 2006, 2012, 2013). And he is the only one in Saturday\u2019s field with more than one victory in the big race.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Motor Speedway has been a bastion of good results in the champion\u2019s stellar career even beyond the All-Star race. He is an eight-time points-paying race winner at the 1.5-mile speedway, sweeping the 2014 and 2015 season races there and has led almost 2,000 laps (1,930).<\/p>\n

In 16 All-Star Race starts, Johnson has four trophies and nine top-five finishes \u2013 including a runner-up finish in 2007 and a third-place showing last May in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. And in a race known for its hard-charging, win-at-all-costs style, Johnson has only one DNF in all those starts.<\/p>\n

Tried And True-x<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s Kansas race runner-up Martin Truex Jr. set a mark of domination at this week\u2019s venue, Charlotte Motor Speedway two years ago \u2013 leading an amazing 392 of 400 laps to win the sport\u2019s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600, from the pole position. He is the most recent Charlotte winner, leading 91 laps in last fall\u2019s victory during his championship Playoff run. He has five top-five finishes \u2013 and two wins – in the last six Charlotte points races.<\/p>\n

But. \u2026 Truex is still looking for his first All-Star trophy. He has two wins in the Open (2007 and 2010) but his best finish in the All-Star Race portion is a runner-up in 2010 \u2013 his only top-five showing in six starts.<\/p>\n

THE OPEN<\/b><\/p>\n

While obviously the big emphasis Saturday night is on the All-Star race itself, but the qualifying portion of the evening \u2013 the Open \u2013 will have plenty of intrigue as well. Winners from each of the three stages of the Open race will transfer into the big show.<\/p>\n

Three of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers — Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and rookie William Byron \u2013 are among the Open field. Stewart-Haas driver Aric Almirola, Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones, along with this year\u2019s Daytona 500 runner-up Darrell Wallace JR., will be among the star-filled starting grid for the Monster Energy Open hoping to transfer to the All-Star race later Saturday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News and notes courtesy of NASCAR   Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race The Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway The Date: Saturday, May 19 The Time: 6 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 5 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: Open \u2013 3 Stages: 20 Laps \/ 20 Laps \/ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17281,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[233,16],"class_list":["post-17420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-charlotte-motor-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/cms_all_star_race_18.png?fit=600%2C492","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-4wY","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17420"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17421,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17420\/revisions\/17421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}