NASCAR has a weekend of unlikely winners at Lowe's

Kahne, Allmendinger, Crafton make way to Victory Lane

By NASCAR.COM
May 19, 2008
04:11 PM EDT

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A recap of all the action from Lowe's Motor Speedway and the Sprint All-Star Race:

Figuratively speaking

52 -- Craftsman Truck Series starts for Chad McCumbee, the most among regulars in the series without a victory. Matt Crafton had gone the longest without his first win until he won Friday night at Lowe's in his 178th start. Morgan Shepherd (55 starts) and Wayne Edwards (53) also are winless but aren't regulars.

Cup Series

Pit Crew of the Week

No. 6 Ford: David Ragan ran in the top 10 much of the day at Michigan, but a decision to stay on the track during the last round of pit stops gave him the lead and eventually a third-place finish.

Tip of the Week

Castrol GTX recommends changing oil every 3,000 miles -- or 3 months, whichever comes first -- but don't stop there. Check your brake, power steering, transmission and coolant levels, too.

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Sprint All-Star Race
Lineup | Results | Central | Complete Coverage

• Kasey Kahne became the first All-Star winner to be selected for the race through the Fan Vote. Kahne made his move between the third and fourth segments when crew chief Kenny Francis decided against putting tires on the No. 9 Dodge. The call worked, as Kahne gained track position and eventually took the lead when Denny Hamlin's engine failed. Kahne then held off Greg Biffle in the closing laps to win the $1 million payout. The race was held in four 25-lap segments: Kyle Busch was leading after the first segment; Carl Edwards won the second segment; and Biffle was in front after the third segment. Busch led the first 38 laps of the race before his engine began to give out. He didn't return after the second segment.
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Sprint Showdown
Lineup | Results

• A.J. Allmendinger compared winning the All-Star transfer race to winning the Daytona 500. Allmendinger's high came after the low of wrecking pole-sitter Elliott Sadler out of the race. Sam Hornish Jr. finished second and also transferred to the All-Star Race. Kasey Kahne finished fifth before finding out he was the Fan Vote winner.
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Qualifying
• In a unique format in which each driver made three laps and a green-flag pit stop, Kyle Busch went out last and beat Jeff Gordon's time by .54 seconds to claim the pole. The conventional qualifying system was used for the Showdown, where Elliott Sadler edged Brian Vickers.
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Also check out ...
• Menzer: Fans help upstage all-stars
• Caution-free All-Star races a rarity
• JGR engine experiment backfires
• Biffle wins first burnout challenge
• Menzer: Jarrett can call it a career
• Swan: Sadler loses memory after bump
• Pit-crew hype can quickly deflate

Truck Series

Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• First, Ron Hornaday wrecked race-leader Kyle Busch. Later, Todd Bodine spun Hornaday. In between, Erik Darnell failed to get a good restart and Johnny Benson was penalized for jumping a restart. All of that left Matt Crafton in the right place at the right time for his first career victory, coming in his 178th series start.
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Qualifying
• Kyle Busch easily outdistanced Ron Hornaday to give Toyota its 50th pole in the Craftsman Truck Series. Busch raced his Billy Ballew truck around the 1.5-mile oval at a speed of 179.045 mph. Hornaday's Kevin Harvick Chevrolet topped out at 176.904 mph.

Survey says ...

Following the Sprint All-Star Race, NASCAR.COM asked: Which All-Star Race segment winner has the best chance to win the Coca-Cola 600 next week at Lowe's?