5 Questions Before...The All-Star Race Weekend


Forget just focusing on the Cup Series in this week’s five questions, because I am live in Charlotte and attending my first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and the All-Star Race, so I am going to share the love around both series.

Will Red Horse Racing continue to lead the points after this weekend?

First it was Rookie John King atop the charts, now it is teammate Timothy Peters, but with only four races complete, the ball is in anyone’s court.

Austin Dillon won the grand prize in 2011,
will Ty top his brother with 2 trophies this
season?  Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Veteran drivers like Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter and Ron Hornaday Jr. are always there to battle for the championship title, but all three have not had an easy start to their seasons.

Will Ty Dillon top his brother?

Austin Dillon is the reigning NCWTS champion, but has moved onward to the Nationwide Series where he is now competing for the Rookie of the Year title. Handing the keys…err, make that steering wheel, over to little brother Ty, the No. 3 team for Richard Childress Racing is expecting a repeat championship.

Ty can do more than repeat the championship; he could very well win the Rookie of the Year title and the championship in one big bundle, topping his brother’s separate titles. Can he do it, yes! Will he do it, it’s still early but he is currently fourth in the points after just four races. Wanna place bets?

Onto the All-Star Race…checkers or wreckers, baby! 

With a million dollars on the line, is the race going to have the cautions and wrecks fans seem to be craving?

Last year's race was relatively tame with very few cautions and some may say this year will be the same, I beg to differ. Why? The format has changed, a premium has been placed on winning an individual segment to get seeded in positions 1-4 in the final shootout. When you know a segment it ending, like the checkered flag at any race, it is going to be pedal to the metal. 

A victory at the All-Star Race is more than the HUGE paycheck, it is bragging rights to say 'I out raced the best of the best in NASCAR,' who doesn't want that right for an entire year?

Can anyone top Carl Edwards victory celebration from 2011?
Silly Carl, the saying is checkers OR wreckers, not take the checkers and end
up on a wrecker. Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR
Sorry, I had to go there!  Edwards dominated the race, kept his car clean…until the checkered flag. Heading towards the frontstretch, “Cousin Carl” attempted to do some burnouts in the grass and it did not go as planned.

Finding humor in the situation, Edwards said, “Bob has been doing a really good job of keeping the splitter down.  It helps on the racetrack, but it doesn't help on the grass."

Will the fan vote be a surprise this year?

Since the fan vote was implemented in 2004, winners have included Kenny Schrader, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Petty, Kenny Wallace, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Who will win this year? If Jr. Nation has their say, obviously it will be Dale Earnhardt Jr., but there are many strong and deserving choices. 

Bonus questions: 


Can Denny Hamlin's No. 11 team pull of a three-peat at the pit crew competition? (Stay tuned, we will be there live to cover the action!) Who is going to crash in the Victory Lane burnout competition this year? Which driver and team will have the coolest intro on stage for the All-Star Race?

Bonus question from Katy, who will be covering the race alongside me: How with the first time All-Star participants fare? Trevor Bayne, Marcos Ambrose, and Paul Menard will venture into uncharted territory this weekend and in a race where there's nothing on the line except a cool million dollars anything can happen. I'll have my eyes on these guys all weekend long.  
5 Questions Before...The All-Star Race Weekend 5 Questions Before...The All-Star Race Weekend Reviewed by Unknown on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Rating: 5