Harvick to defend burnout title in Victory Challenge

CONCORD, N.C. -- Defending event champion Kevin Harvick and six additional Cup Series stars will compete May 22 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the third annual Pennzoil Ultra Victory Challenge.

The Challenge is a competition that pits some of the top drivers against one another to see who can deliver the best tire-smoking burnout, allowing the drivers a chance to showcase some of their best celebratory skills.

Coverage of the 2010 All-Star Race will begin at 7 p.m. ET on SPEED. The Showdown will being at 7:30 p.m. The All-Star Race will begin at 9 p.m.

• Change to All-Star format
• All-Star tickets

Looking to take Harvick's crown will be fellow Cup Series drivers Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman and David Reutimann.

"I didn't get a chance to do my burnout here when I won the Coca-Cola 600 last year, so I'm going to try to make up for it next weekend," Reutimann said. He was unable to do a celebratory burnout on the frontstretch last year after winning the rain-shortened race.

Drivers will compete in stock cars identically prepared by the NASCAR Racing Experience. Similar to 2009, judges will score the drivers' creativity in a 30-second freestyle burnout. This year, however, drivers can also gain bonus points by knocking down strategically placed obstacles.

Drivers will start from Turn 4 and trigger the 30-second Pennzoil Ultra Countdown Clock as they cross the starting line. The driver with the most points, including the creativity score from the judges and any bonus points, will be declared the winner, with $10,000 awarded to his charity of choice.

A panel of celebrity judges will be on hand to critique the tire-smoking donut capabilities of the participating stars.

Judges include Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, Creed band members Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti, three-time World Wrestling champion Jeff Hardy of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and former Cup driver and current SPEED personality Jimmy Spencer.

Smith is a four-time Pro Bowl selection and is considered one of the NFL's most productive wide receivers, leading the league in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns in 2005. Smith led the NFL in receiving yards per game in the 2008-2009 NFL season. He led the Panthers in receiving yards in both the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons. 2010 is Smith's tenth season with the Panthers.

Stapp is the lead singer and Tremonti is the guitarist for the Grammy Award-winning rock group Creed. Creed has sold nearly 35 million albums, delivered numerous chart-topping records and was the first act to have seven consecutive No. 1 rock radio singles. The band will perform a pre-race concert before the Sprint All-Star Race, beginning at 3:15 p.m. in the infield between Turns 1 and 2. Admission to the concert is free with the purchase of a race ticket.

A Raleigh, N.C., native, Hardy has been successful as a singles and tag-team wrestler in both TNA and with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He has won numerous championships, having held the WWE championship once and world heavyweight championship twice.

Spencer is one of the few drivers to have won a race in all three of NASCAR's top series: Cup, Nationwide, and Truck. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement" for his aggressive racing style, Spencer is currently hosting the SPEED show "What's the Deal?"

The Pennzoil Ultra Victory Challenge will be televised live at 6:15 p.m. ET during SPEED's pre-race coverage prior to the Sprint Cup Showdown and Sprint All-Star Race.