Ryan Newman News and Information

This years All-Star race will be the 24th Annual NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race . It will be held on Saturday, May 17, 9 p.m. (ET) at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.

You can catch the All-Star race on SPEED TV at 7 p.m. or on MRN/Sirius.

Also included in this weeks events is the All-Star Pit Crew challenge where eligible teams pit crews will compete to see who has the fastest pit times. Ryan Newman’s #12 Alltel Crew won this event last year.

Who’s Eligible for the All-Star Race
List of drivers at bottom of this post

• Race winners (drivers and owners) from the previous and current NASCAR Sprint Cup seasons.
• Top-two finishers of the Sprint Showdown, a preliminary event for teams not qualified for the all-star event.
• Top Sprint Fan Vote driver, who also finishes on the lead lap of the Sprint Showdown.
• Past event champions.
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions from the previous 10 seasons (1998-2007) who are active drivers and have competed in at least one series event during the 2007 or 2008 seasons.

PIT CREW CHALLENGE
WHAT: NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman.
WHEN: Thursday, May 15 at 7 p.m. EDT
WHERE: Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C.
Eligible teams will compete in the Pit Crew Challenge. The Pit Crew Challenge is directly linked to the All-Star Race, as the finishing order in the Pit Crew Challenge decides the selection order of pit stalls for the All-Star Race.

A total of 24 Nextel Cup pit crews will compete for an overall grand prize of $70,100. Each of the seven over-the-wall pit-crew positions will compete for a $10,000 prize.

SHOWDOWN
Date: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Time: 7:46 p.m. (EDT)
TV: SPEED
2 drivers will be able to race their way into the main event. This event is called the Sprint Cup Showdown. In order to be eligible for the showdown, drivers must have competed in Sprint Cup Series race in 2007 or 2008 and finished in the top 50 in points.

Qualifying for the Showdown will be the normal qualifying format.

The showdown will consist of 40 laps (2 - 20 lap segments). Between segments 1 and 2 there will be a mandatory yellow flag where teams may elect to work on their cars. This pit will act like a regular racing pit stop. If the drivers pit, they will line up at the rear.

The top 2 drivers will earn themselves a spot in the All-Star event.

You can catch the Showdown at 7 pm, May 17 on Speed or on MRN radio.

FAN VOTE
List of possible drivers at bottom of this post
One lucky racer will be voted in by fans. Voting began April 17 and closes at 7 p.m. EDT May 17. It appears you can only vote if you have a sprint phone. With your Sprint phone you can text “NASCAR” to 7777 and follow the received directions. The other 2 options are to stop by a Sprint store to vote or Sprint will have something set up track side for you to vote.

The winner of the Fan Vote must be on the lead lap on at the end of the Showdown.

The winner of the fan vote will announced 2 hours before the All-Start Race on Saturday May 17th at 7 pm on SPEED.

MAIN EVENT – All-Star Race
When: Saturday, May 17, 9 p.m. (ET)
TV: SPEED 7 p.m. (ET)
Qualifying for the Sprint All-Star Race will be held Friday, May 16, at 6:15 p.m. (EDT).
Each driver will run three laps with a mandatory four-tire pit stop. The total elapsed time will comprise each team’s qualifying effort and the pole-winning team will earn $50,000.

The main event will be 100 lap on the 1.5 mile track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway equaling 150 miles. Drivers will compete in 4 - 25 lap segments. There will be no eliminations at the end of segments. Teams may choose to, but are not required to, make a pit stop and make adjustments between the 1st and 2nd segments. There will be a mandatory red flag stop for 10 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd segments of the race. Between the 3rd and 4th segment there will be mandatory pit stop for all teams.

All restarts will be double file and the free pass rule will be in effect.

Eligible Drivers For The FAN VOTE
AJ Allmendinger, John Andretti, Stanton Barrett, Johnny Benson, Dave Blaney, Wart Burton, Patrick Carpentier, Bill Elliott, Dario Franchitti, David Gilliland, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green, Sam Hornish Jr., Kasey Kahne, Travis Kvapil, Burney Lamar, Carl Long, Sterling Marlin, Jeremy Mayfield, Eric McClure, Paul Menard, Joe Nemechek, Kyle Petty, David Ragan, Tony Raines, David Reutimann, Scott Riggs, Ricky Rudd, Elliott Sadler, Boris Said, Johnny Sauter, Ken Schrader, Mike Skinner, Regan Smith, Reed Sorenson, David Stremme, Brian Vickers, Jacques Villeneuve, Kenny Wallace, Michael Waltrip, J.J. Yeley.

Eligible For The 2008 All-Star Race
Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, CaseyMears, Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya, Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte
Also the following will be in the All-Star Race -
2008 Sprint Showdown Winner TBD
2008 Sprint Showdown Second Place TBD
2008 Sprint Fan Vote