Bowyer, Montoya on their first quest for the million

CONCORD, N.C. -- NASCAR's annual All-Star event is an opportunity for the best drivers in the sport to show their stuff and put it all on the line for a million bucks. This year's race features elite names like Earnhardt, Gordon, Johnson, Stewart and 17 other familiar faces in Saturday's exhibition.

There are two drivers -- Clint Bowyer and Juan Montoya -- making their All-Star debut, and both come in running the best they have in their short Cup Series careers.

All-Star Race

SPEED will again broadcast the Sprint Showdown and All-Star Race. Tune in at 7 p.m. ET on May 17 to watch rivals race for $1 million -- and the fireworks!

• All-Star coverage

Bowyer, currently fifth in the point standings, is riding a streak of seven top-10s in the last eight races, including a second at Phoenix and a win at Richmond. Red-hot behind the wheel, Bowyer is ready to strap in and run for a million.

"No points, go for broke -- it's all about the drive, the trophy and the cash," Bowyer said with a smile. "It's a fun way of racing. This is something we don't get a chance to do very often and I'm excited about it."

Montoya is an all-star in just his second season behind the wheel due to his win at Sonoma last season. But 2008 has been one of consistency thanks to eight top-20 finishes in the last 10 races, including a strong second-place run at Talladega. Montoya isn't looking to change what's working and will head into the All-Star Race just like any other Cup event.

"We'll just take it like any other weekend," Montoya said. "Make the car as fast as we can and run and see what happens."

While he is thrilled to be in the big show, Bowyer recognizes this is an opportunity for the entire team to shine. He wants to give his No. 07 Richard Childress Racing team an All-Star victory.

"This is a big week, it's a neat week coming back home for everybody," Bowyer said. "[The team] gets the Pit Crew Challenge and it puts those guys in the spotlight. People at home, they see us drivers all the time, they don't see those guys and what they go through, what they do, and I was really glad that they were a part of that.

"It's really a neat week. The All-Star event, we get to bring all the crew out during the driver intros, everybody gets a little place in the spotlight this week. Obviously [there's] a big prize at the end of the day and hopefully we'll be on top."

Neither Bowyer nor Montoya have had success in the Sprint Showdown event that allows the top two drivers to transfer into the All-Star Race. In 2006, Bowyer finished 13th, and last season, he finished a distant sixth while Montoya crashed on the first lap. Needless to say, Bowyer is ecstatic he is avoiding the Sprint Showdown this season.

"That qualifying race is always a wild one and it's nice to not be a part of it," he said with a laugh.

Believe it or not, Montoya might not mind racing in both races Saturday. His focus isn't on the money -- he's won big paydays before. It's on the competition.

"I didn't have a lot of culture about the Daytona 500 and I have none for this, but its cool, it's still a race for a million bucks," Montoya said. "It's like when I went to Indy and I won there, I won like $1.5-1.7 million dollars and that wasn't even for the championship so that was pretty sweet. I don't think you do it for the million bucks, I think you do it to beat everybody else."

Bowyer might disagree with Montoya on that one. When asked whether he would race differently on Saturday night knowing no points were involved in the four-segment, 100-lap event, he was very blunt: "A million bucks bub, that's a lot of cash."