Sprint All-Star Line ups

Here are the line-ups for the Sprint All-Star Showdown and race. The Showdown will take place at 7:00pm and the race will take place at 9:00pm. More information can be found here.

The Showdown

1. #27 Kirk Shelmerdine Toyota, Temporary Resources Inc.

2. #46 Carl Long Dodge, Romeo Guest Construction

3. #12 David Stremme Dodge, Penske Racing

4. #66 Dave Blaney Toyota, Prism Motorsports

5. #36 Scott Riggs Toyota, Tommy Baldwin Racing

6. #1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet, Bass Pro Shops

7. #6 David Ragan Ford, UPS

8. #77 Sam Hornish Jr.Dodge, Mobil 1

9. #13 Max Papis Toyota, GEICO

10. #44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge, Hunt Brothers Pizza

11. #42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet, Target

12. #37 Mike Wallace Chevrolet, Long John Silver's

13. #00 David Reutimann Toyota, Aaron's Dream Machine

14. #47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota, Kingsford / Clorox

15. #51 Dexter Bean Dodge, LiveWire Energy

16. #21 Bill Elliott Ford, Motorcraft

17. #75 Derrike Cope Dodge, FlipnBags.com

18. #57 Norm Benning Chevrolet, Norm Benning Racing

19. #20 Joey Logano Toyota, The Home Depot

20. #82 Scott Speed Toyota, Red Bull

21. #87 Joe Nemechek Toyota, NEMCO Motorsports

22. #71 David Gilliland Chevrolet, TRG Motorsports

23. #07 Casey Mears Chevrolet, Jack Daniel's

24. #98 Paul Menard Ford, Johns Manville / Menards

25. #73 Mike Garvey Dodge, Quality Concrete

26. #64 Todd Bodine Toyota, Gunselman Motorsports

27. #19 Elliott Sadler Dodge, Best Buy

28. #55 Michael Waltrip Toyota, NAPA

29. #06 David Starr Dodge, Canics.com

30. #26 Jamie McMurray Ford, Crown Royal

31. #83 Brian Vickers Toyota, Red Bull

32. #7 Robby Gordon Toyota, Jim Beam / Operation Homefront

33. #41 J.J. Yeley Toyota, SmallSponsor.com

34. #43 Reed Sorenson Dodge, McDonald's McCafe

35. #34 Tony Raines Chevrolet, Taco Bell

The Sprint All-Star Race

1. #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet, Lowe's / Kobalt Tools

2. #2 Kurt Busch Dodge, Miller Lite "Taste Protector"

3. #17 Matt Kenseth Ford, Dewalt

4. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet, The Dale Jr. Foundation / Amp Energy / National Guard

5. #5 Mark Martin Chevrolet, Kellogg's / Carquest

6. #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet, DuPont

7. #96 Bobby Labonte Ford, Ask.com

8. #9 Kasey Kahne Dodge, Budweiser

9. #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet, Pennzoil

10. #09 Brad Keselowski Chevrolet, Miccosukee Resort & Gaming

11. #16 Greg Biffle Ford, 3M

12. #39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet, U.S. Army

13. #18 Kyle Busch Toyota, M&M's

14. #99 Carl Edwards Ford, Aflac

15. #14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet, Office Depot / Old Spice

16. #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet, Caterpillar

17. #33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet, BB&T

18. #11Denny Hamlin Toyota, FedEx Express

Kevin Costner makes another NASCAR appearance

photos rights of martintruexjr.com

This just in from Lowe's Motor Speedway, who announced today that actor and musician Kevin Costner and Modern West will perform a pre-race concert for the 25th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Academy Award winner Costner and his band will perform a 45-minute afternoon concert prior to the Montgomery Gentry show presented by Jim Beam in the infield between Turns 1 and 2. Admission to the concert is free with the purchase of a ticket to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

"I have been a longtime NASCAR fan and to be able to perform at Lowe's Motor Speedway, what many consider to be NASCAR's home track, will be an incredible experience," said Kevin Costner. "With all the hype that surrounds the All-Star Race it is sure to be a spectacular night and I am excited to be a part of it."

In addition to the concert Costner will be invited to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers meeting and will serve as a celebrity judge in the Pennzoil Victory Challenge, the annual burnout contest, prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race.

Costner has been a regular presence in the NASCAR community of late as part of his year- long partnership with the sport. Amongst many NASCAR related endeavors, Costner is serving as the 2009 NASCAR Day spokesperson, which will be celebrated this year on May 15th. As part of his role, he is helping The NASCAR Foundation to raise funds for its Family of Charities in an effort to help thousands of children live better lives (for more information visit NASCAR.COM/NASCAR Day).

Tickets for the 25th running of the May 16th NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race start at just $25 and can be purchased online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com or by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS.

We were lucky enough to stare at Kevin's best ass-et while he was on the Bass Pro pit box during his honorary crew chief stint in Daytona for Martin Truex Jr last year. Its nice to see someone of his celebrity interested in the sport, and making a great effort to get involved on the charitable side!

Sprint All-Star Week Schedule

Below is the schedule of events for the 2009 Sprint All-Star Week in Charlotte, NC. If you find yourself in the Charlotte area, try to make time to visit Rendezvous Ridge, Benny Parsons Vineyard and Museum. Rendezvous Ridge is located between Boone and Wilkesboro in the foothills of both the Blue Ridge Mountains and Brushy Mountains.

For more information on the next two weeks, download the Official Fan Guide here.

Wednesday, May 13
"NASCAR Rev'd Up" leads off a four-day period heading into the 25th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, featuring a concert by Everfine/Atlantic Artist O.A.R. (free admission). This six hour event will kick off activities for NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race week in Charlotte, N.C. The event, which is free to the public, will take place between 3rd and Mint Streets in uptown Charlotte from 4:00pm-10:00pm.

Thursday, May 14
7:00pm Time Warner Cable Arena: NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge Presented by Craftsman.
For tickets go to www.pitcrewchallenge.com or www.ticketmaster.com. SPEED will televise beginning at 9:00pm.

Friday, May 15
NASCAR Day, an opportunity for fans, corporations, schools and organizations across the country to make donations to the NASCAR Foundation to raise funds for its Family of Charities in an effort to help thousands of children live better lives.
For more information go to foundation.nascar.com.

Friday, May 15
6:15pm Lowe's Motor Speedway: NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Qualifying
For tickets call (800) 455-FANS or go to www.lowesmotorspeedway.com. SPEED will televise beginning at 5:00pm.

Friday, May 15
8:00pm Lowe's Motor Speedway: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200
For tickets call (800) 455-FANS or go to www.lowesmotorspeedway.com. SPEED will televise beginning with pre-race coverage at 7:30pm.

Saturday, May 16
3:30pm-4:45pm Jim Beam Presents Montgomery Gentry, turns 1-2 in the infield
6:20pm-6:45pm Pennzoil Victory Challenge Burn Out Contest
7:30pm (green flag at 7:46pm) NASCAR Sprint Showdown (20 laps/20 laps).
9:00pm Green flag for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race (4 segments; 50 laps, 20 laps, 20 laps, 10 laps)
For tickets call (800) 455-FANS or go to www.lowesmotorspeedway.com. SPEED will televise beginning at 7:00pm.

Can social networking help a driver make in into the All-Star race? You betcha!

As NASCAR is gearing up for The Sprint All-Star Race, we felt the need to put our two cents in. I attended the race last year and it turned out to be one of my favorite NASCAR events. I even have a scar from falling off the golf cart to remind me of the memories; just call me Jimmie Johnson Jr.!

There is a great group of drivers that have to be voted in or will need to race their way in. Over the last few months, the NASCAR fan community and Social Networking has taken off. We have done a few articles on Twitter and it seems to grow more and more everyday. You can view the various Twitter Guides for NASCAR through this link to our story.

If I happened to be a NASCAR PR manager, I would be promoting my driver like crazy to gain fan votes through Twitter, Facebook, etc. Just this morning, Tommy Baldwin Racing sent out an email through his Facebook page asking his fans to help vote Scott Riggs into the race. The Fashionistas have been plugging Martin Truex Jr. for the past week through Twitter and about three hours ago, David Ragan via UPS Racing reminded his fans to vote him in through his Twitter page.

It is time for everyone to join the Social Media bandwagon because in this new age, shaking hands and kissing babies may not be enough.

Is your favorite driver locked into the race? If not, who would you like to see make it in?

Ok Kids, Earmuffs! Sprint to offer pre race audio before All Star Race

Oh this is the best news for any fan! For the first time ever, NASCAR fans will be able to listen to pre-race conversations between drivers, crew chiefs and officials participating in the All-Star Race on May 16th.

The audio broadcast will be streamed to Sprint wireless devices via NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile, an application that enables race fans to get audio feeds, statistics, live televised races and more. The driver-meeting feed is being offered as a freebie to Sprint’s data customers.

NASCAR for years has offered live audio streaming of driver and crew communications. While we hope that they will soon be a little more fashionable, one reason so many fans wear headsets is to listen to the live audio during the race. But pre-race discussions have traditionally been off-limits.

According to the release, Sprint, an official NASCAR sponsor, came up with the idea of making these discussions available, on a one-time basis, in honor of the 25th running of the All-Star Race. They says NASCAR was initially reluctant, but finally agreed.

Um dur! While this will be a unique way to get a little closer to their fans, I can see initially why NASCAR was a wee bit hesitant. Usually these talks are full of poopy mouths, and I would imagine some pertinent information that other teams could pick up on. While I do not have Sprint, I am curious to see the feedback from this interaction! If you are looking for candor, we suggest you find the #88 feed, stat! He has the best mouth ever, haha!





This headset found on Amazon is definately fashionista worthy!

SNEAK PREVIEW: New Kevin Harvick Commercial

Our friends at MATTER, Edelman Sports & Entertainment on behalf of Shell sent us the following Kevin Harvick Shell Nitrogen Enriched commercial. You can view it here before it airs for the first time during qualifying at Bristol on Friday March 20th.

It’s not quite the showdown you’d see in a good Western, but Kevin’s dueling skills are certainly put to the test as he and one of the Shell Passionate Experts have it out at the pump. Speaking of Kevin and showdowns, I feel the need to post the Sprint All Stars poster. I thought this was pretty genius of NASCAR & Speed since the "headline fight" is none other than Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards...and how could anyone forget this?