Kyle Busch, JGR look to carry victory momentum into Coca-Cola 600

Posted on May 21, 2017 by Zack Albert

CONCORD, N.C. — “To tell you the truth, I thought he had won here.”

It’s understandable that Coach Joe Gibbs would say so about Kyle Busch, the driver of his No. 18 Toyota, and Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of Saturday night’s Monster Energy All-Star Race.

Busch has won virtually everywhere else in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car, with only Charlotte and Pocono Raceway left on his career to-do list. And Busch has been a frequent visitor to Charlotte’s Victory Lane in other national tours — eight times in the XFINITY Series and seven in the Camping World Truck Series.

RELATED: Busch’s career statistics

That’s why Saturday night’s All-Star win — exhibition or not — meant plenty to Busch, who pounced on the final restart to lead the last 10 laps of the annual invitational.

“The Cup car just never is put together the whole way it needs to be,” Busch said, referencing that his 0-for-26 mark in the sport’s top Series was “very, very frustrating” in light of his Charlotte success in other series. “You just never get to Victory Lane.

“Finally we’re able to kind of close the chapter on that one. Now it’s time to go get a points win here.”

Busch will get his nearest opportunity for a points-paying triumph at the 1.5-mile track in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the longest race on the NASCAR schedule. Prevailing in both the All-Star and 600 weekends happens relatively infrequently, with only seven drivers accomplishing the sweep — the most recent being his older brother, Kurt, in 2010.

A 600 victory would not only represent a breakthrough for the younger Busch, but also for his Joe Gibbs Racing team. JGR cars won 12 times last season, but are 0-for-11 in points events so far this year. Instead of offering a detailed, technical explanation about the team’s shortcomings this season, Gibbs was optimistic but also matter-of-fact — stock-car racing isn’t easy.

“I’m telling you, we feel like Kyle can win anywhere,” Gibbs said. “Certainly this year he’s really been in position a bunch, the top five at the end of the races, not been able to win one. I think it tells you how hard this sport is. I think a lot of people improved in the offseason, we were off a little bit, and it makes it hard. It tells you how hard pro sports is. The best people in the world are doing this.”

Busch has remained among the premier series’ best, even though certain tracks have proven to be more challenging than others. Busch had 16 fruitless trips to Kansas Speedway before finally scratching the win column there last year. He was also winless in his first 21 Martinsville Speedway starts before closing the deal there last spring.

RELATED: Every Kyle Busch win in the Monster Energy Series

So there’s hope yet for Charlotte, Busch’s crew chief Adam Stevens says. An All-Star victory that shows what’s possible certainly can’t hurt.

“I think it’s just a matter of time of him figuring it out,” Stevens said. “No different than Kansas, some of these other places he’s struggled at in the past. Wouldn’t say here has been a struggle, but it’s just been hard to finish it off.

“Hopefully this is a little bit of momentum, a little bit of wind in our sails, something we can build on for next week.”

Posted on May 21, 2017May 21, 2017 by Staff Report

Photo credit: @DaleJr

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a collector of wrecked race cars. He keeps them in the woods of his property around Dirty Mo Acres.

On Sunday morning, Earnhardt tweeted about his latest addition — the No. 10 Ford driven by Danica Patrick at Kansas in the Go Bowling 400. Patrick was involved in a three-car wreck on Lap 199 that involved Joey Logano and Aric Almirola in last weekend’s race.

New addition to the race car graveyard. @DanicaPatrick pic.twitter.com/TGzM0FbMJA

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) May 21, 2017

The incident left Almirola sidelined for at least the next two months with a fracture of of his T5 vertebrae suffered in the accident.

On why he collects wrecked race cars, Earnhardt told ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in 2014 that “when we would build a car, you’d put so much into that one vehicle. Then when you would destroy it, or it was beyond repair, I just couldn’t bring myself to throw it away because we had spent so much money on it. So I started throwing them in the woods out behind the house, and we’ve got around probably 25 to 30 cars out there just from JR Motorsports alone.

“I started getting other cars like the Juan (Pablo) Montoya car that was in the Daytona (500 in 2012) accident with the jet dryer, stuff like that. Cars that have some sort of neat story behind them so we started getting those cars as well. I don’t pay for them or anything. I just call up the owner and see if they’re willing to give them up.”

Posted on May 21, 2017May 21, 2017 by Nascar

RELATED: Complete race results

CONCORD, N.C. — Clint Bowyer’s team got creative.

Brad Keselowski’s got nothing.

And at the end of the night the primary/option tire experiment in the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race provided mixed results and mixed reviews.

“It was a good try,” Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, said following his 13th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “Track position is key and you try to do something to get track position and you don’t have the upper hand.”

Bowyer was impressive in winning the first stage of the Monster Energy Open to earn a berth in the All-Star Race. But crew chief Mike Bugarewicz saved the team’s best move for the $1 million-to-win nightcap.

After putting on its lone set of option tires, which were softer and thus provided more grip and initial speed, after the first stage of the four-stage race, Bugarewicz called for a two-tire stop after the second stage.

Bowyer headed back out onto the track with the lead and with two different tire builds on his car. Green option tires still on the left and two fresh primary tires (with the yellow lettering) on the right.

A NASCAR no-no? The rules for the race stated that the primary (harder) and option tires had to be installed as sets with no mixing sets. But teams were provided three sets of primary tires and only one set of the option tires, and nothing was specifically said about the legalities of a two-tire stop.

“They didn’t say anything as far as the explanation of the rules,” Bugarewicz told FS1 before the third stage got underway. “But I … read the entry blanks and stuff before I got here and I never saw it in there. I kind of had planned to do this and if it’s not in there I guess I can do it, right?”

The creativity failed to pay off. Bowyer dropped quickly once the stage began and within three laps was clinging to a top-10 spot. When the segment ended, he and Joey Logano (Team Penske Ford) had identical average finishing positions for the 10th and final spot to advance to the final round. Logano took the spot based on a higher finishing position in the third stage.

“I think if we would have had tires and started up front, we’d have been hard to handle tonight,” Bowyer said. “We were a good car all night long, it’s just this format and the way the race is. You can’t complain about it because it is what it is. It’s the All-Star Race and everybody wants to be a part of it, it’s just unfortunate that your hands are tied.”

Keselowski failed to receive any benefit from the softer compound tires. During pit stops between the second and third stages, crew chief Paul Wolfe called his driver in for the switch to the option tires. However, Keselowski quickly returned to pit road for a possible lug nut issue. The crew changed all four tires, and because he had made two laps, although under yellow, with the option tires, the team could not put them back on the car.

“You’re supposed to put on your soft option tires as a set, as stickers,” Team Penske competition director Travis Geisler said. “So once we rode around under the pace laps they weren’t stickers anymore. We couldn’t re-use them. It’s clear to me. It was in the rule book that way.

“That’s where the confusion with the 14 came in because the rule book said ‘must be used as a set.’ The entry blank says must be put on as a set. If you want to take them off as not a set, then that was OK.”

Because they started at the back of the field, three of the four drivers transferring out of the Open — Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney — started the All-Star Race on their option tires in order to try to improve track position.

Others changed after the first stage. And many more after the second. None of the 10 finalists, however, appeared to put the option tires on for the final 10-lap shootout.

Not surprisingly, race winner Kyle Busch admitted to being “a fan of it” when asked about having two tire combinations.

“I thought it was pretty good, pretty fun, gave my car a better sense of feel that I was looking for throughout that run that we had it on the car,” he said.

“We weren’t quite able to make the powerful moves that maybe some of the other guys did on that tire there to fire off in that third segment. Our car kind of stayed with us a little bit better.”

Posted on May 21, 2017May 21, 2017 by Staff Report

Dale Earnhardt Jr. answered a bevy of fan questions Saturday night after the Monster Energy All-Star Race in what is a now-weekly tradition, including a handful of inquiries on if Alex Bowman will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet next year.

Bowman, 24, served as a substitute driver for 10 races last year when Earnhardt was sidelined with a concussion. The 14-time Most Popular Driver will retire from full-time racing following the 2017 season, opening a primo seat with Hendrick Motorsports.

“Alex Bowman to the 88 next year — is that what you guys want?” Earnhardt Jr. asked the fans who were following his Periscope live stream. “That would be pretty awesome to see Alex in that car. That’s the plan, I hope. … Yeah, Alex in the 88. That sounds good to me. That kid earned it last year. He ran good.”

Earnhardt Jr. has previously said he’d like to give input into the driver who replaces him, but also noted that ultimately was team owner Rick Hendrick’s decision.

Junior’s words on Bowman were his strongest yet as the team’s search for a replacement.

One driver Junior Nation shouldn’t expect to see in the car next year, though? Earnhardt’s neighbor Ryan Blaney.

“Blaney is working for (Roger) Penske,” Earnhardt said. “He’s not going anywhere. Penske’s not going to let Blaney go anywhere, and neither would I.”

Posted on May 20, 2017June 3, 2017 by Staff Report

NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series events. Check out the full weekend schedule below.

Note: All times are ET

SUNDAY, MAY 28:

PRE-RACE SCHEDULE
— 5:20:00 p.m.: MENCS Drivers Introductions
— 6:00:00 p.m.: Presentation of Colors by: “82nd Airborne Division Color Guard from Fort Bragg.”
— 6:00:20 p.m.: Invocation by: Harold Frank
— 6:00:45 p.m.: Amazing Grace by: Charlotte Fire Department Pipe Band
— 6:02:05 p.m.: “21 Gun Salute”: Fort Bragg Firing Party
— 6:03:40 p.m.: National Anthem: 82nd Airborne Division All-American Chorus (pyro from peninsula behind B/S. Rockets’ Red Glare Bombs Bursting in Air & End of the anthem)
— 6:05:00 p.m.: Fly-by TOT: 4 F-15’s’s from Seymour Johnson AFB (Backstretch to Frontstretch)
— 6:10:00 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by: Channing Tatum (Pyro from Peninsula behind B/S)
— 6:18:30 p.m.: Start of the Coca-Cola 600 (400 Laps /600 Miles)

ON TRACK
— 6 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 (400 laps, 600 miles), FOX; Canada: TSN1, 3, 4, 5 (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
— 10:30 p.m. (approx.): Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

THURSDAY, MAY 25:

ON TRACK
— 2-3:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Results)
— 4-4:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FS1 (Results)
— 6-6:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FS1 (Results)
— 7:15 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1; Canada: TSN2 (Results)

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
— 1:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
— 3:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
— 12:45 p.m.: Ryan Blaney
— 1:15 p.m.: Jimmie Johnson
— 1:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers: Christopher Bell and Matt Tifft
— 1:45 p.m.: NASCAR Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Combine
— 3:30 p.m.: Ben Kennedy
— 3:45 p.m.: Kyle Busch
— 4 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
— 8 p.m. (approx.): Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

SATURDAY, MAY 27:

ON TRACK
— 9-9:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1; Canada: TSN2 (Results)
— 10:05 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FS1 (Results)
— 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1; Canada: TSN2 (Results)
— 1 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 4K TV 300 (200 laps, 300 miles), FS1; Canada: TSN3, 4 (Results)

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
— 3:30 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series race

Posted on May 20, 2017May 20, 2017 by Staff Report

And the cover athlete for NASCAR Heat 2 … Kyle Busch!

That was decided both Saturday night in the Monster Energy All-Star Race, and in the week leading up to the star-studded event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

For the past several weeks, fans had the opportunity to vote for their favorite Toyota driver to have a shot to grace the cover of the 704Games product. The two top vote-getters, Busch and Martin Truex Jr., then went head-to-head in Stage 2 of the All-Star Race.

Busch finished second in the stage and Truex Jr. was 13th, giving the coveted cover spot to the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

NASCAR Heat 2, a new NASCAR racing game, will be available in North America on Sept. 12, 2017 for the PlayStation^®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Windows PC.

NASCAR Heat 2 builds on the core experience of its predecessor, NASCAR Heat Evolution, with advancements from returning developer Monster Games. These improvements include enhanced online multiplayer, a deeper career mode, track updates, additional drivers and other features in line with the 2017 NASCAR-sanctioned national series formats.

“We’re excited to continue our relationship with Monster Games for NASCAR Heat 2,” said Paul Brooks, CEO of 704Games. “This new game will have a very different look and an enhanced overall experience that reflects the insights of actual NASCAR drivers. Over the coming months, we’ll announce additional new features that we believe will really excite our fans.”

“NASCAR Heat 2 improves on the strong racing foundation established in NASCAR Heat Evolution,” said Richard Garcia, President of Monster Games. “We added a slew of new features designed to take NASCAR games back to their roots, while delivering an authentic racing experience for fans.”

Additional information on NASCAR Heat 2 will be available throughout the summer on the game’s official website: www.NASCARHeat.com. Fans can also follow NASCAR Heat 2 on Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates.

The official NASCAR Heat 2 logo and NASCAR Heat 2 Toyota Cover Race Sizzle Video can be found here.

Posted on May 20, 2017May 21, 2017 by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Race results | Detailed breakdown | SHOP: Kyle Busch gear

CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Busch took control of Saturday night’s Monster Energy All-Star Race on the final restart with 10 laps left and motored away to a 1.274-second victory—his first in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch powered his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the inside of Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford—the race leader on old tires—as the field roared toward Turn 1 on the final restart. Through the first two corners he cleared both Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson, who had restarted second on the outside to gain the race lead in clean air.

Though Johnson pursued with an intensity befitting the $1 million first prize, he was unable to catch Busch. Kyle Larson, winner of the first two 20-lap stages of the 70-lap non-points event, passed Johnson for second-place on the final lap.

“We’ve never won at Charlotte in a Cup car and we finally achieved that goal tonight,” an elated Busch said in Victory Lane. “I won the All-Star Race. I won a million bucks. There’s reason to celebrate and reason to celebrate big.

“I can’t say enough about this team. I can’t say enough about (crew chief) Adam Stevens and these guys on the pit box. You can rely on them all day long. I had to do that tonight. We weren’t quite the fastest car, but we made the right changes when it mattered most. We made the right moves when it mattered most. We got the most out of our night tonight and got here to Victory Lane. Just so relieved, elated, proud and excited—all at the same time.”

In the first NASCAR race contested with both prime and faster short-run option tires, Johnson’s best hope on the final restart was that Keselowski would impede the progress of the inside lane, but Busch made sure that didn’t happen.

“I was really hopeful of old tires and being on the bottom,” Johnson said. “They’d be able to hold that lane back, especially Kyle (Busch) and how good he is on restarts. And it just didn’t happen. He got in there. I had a decent start. The 11 (Denny Hamlin) spun his tires behind me, and he wasn’t able to push me and get me going.

“I had a couple of shots at him (Busch). He wasn’t handling too well at the start of the run, but I just drove too hard. I could see a million dollars out the windshield, and I just drove this Lowe’s Chevy way too hard in the corner a couple of times and gave up some ground. We learned a little bit tonight and we’ll come back next week (for the Coca-Cola 600) and have some more fun.”

With the highest average finish in the first three 20-lap stages, Larson was first onto pit road during the final break. But a small glitch during the stop cost him three positions in the pits, and with Keselowski staying out because he had no fresh tires available, Larson restarted fifth with little chance to get to the front in the final 10-lap stage.

“My pit crew has been awesome all year, and I don’t want to take anything away from them,” Larson said. “We came down pit road the leader, and three people passed us. That was pretty much the difference there. But in 10 laps… track position is huge.

“We just didn’t have it there at the end. We had the best car out there, for sure. In traffic I thought it was really good. I thought we had it most of the race, but that’s how racing goes. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. But I think we had a really fast car today. We’ll go onto the 600—that’s a long race—and try it again.”

Some of the most dramatic racing of the evening took place in the Monster Open, the 50-lap, three-stage qualifying race that preceded the main event. Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney won the first two stages and advanced to the All-Star Race.

Early in the final 10-lap stage, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones were battling for the lead as they entered the tri-oval. Moving to the inside in an attempt to get past Elliott, Jones clipped the infield grass and ruined his chances when the splitter dug in.

Suarez went on to win the stage and made the main event. Elliott was the final addition to the Monster Energy All-Star race field via the Fan Vote.

Notes: The race ran caution-free, except for the breaks between stages… None of the 10 drivers who qualified for the final 10-lap stage used the softer options tires in that segment—they had used them earlier to establish track position. … Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray ran fourth, fifth and sixth, with Elliott, Joey Logano, Keselowski and Hamlin completing the top 10.

Posted on May 20, 2017May 20, 2017 by Staff Report

The fans have spoken, and they’ve chosen Chase Elliott. As a result of winning the Monster Energy Fan Vote, he is headed to the prestigious Monster Energy All-Star Race field Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Monster Energy All-Star Race awards $1 million to the winner. The annual rite of spring boasts an impressive history and plenty of elite drivers. Elliott, driver of the No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports, is a previous winner of the Fan Vote as well, earning the honor in 2016.

“It’s awesome to hear that crowd just then,” Elliott said, referencing the cheering fans. “That means a lot to me. I appreciate you guys voting for me. That is really cool for our team. Obviously, we would have loved to have raced our way in. I feel like every time we run this race we’ve got some sort of drama with this year and last year, but have had a shot at it tonight. We will try to move forward and give ourselves the best chance we can.”

Sixteen drivers had qualified for the event heading into Saturday evening’s Monster Energy Open by virtue of either winning a points-paying race in 2016 or thus far in 2017, having won a previous All-Star Race or being a former series champion.

Three drivers qualified from the Monster Energy Open’s three stages: Clint Bowyer, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez. Elliott joined them as the final transfer to lock the All-Star field in at 20 drivers.

The top five vote-getters this year, in alphabetical order, were: Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Elliott and Danica Patrick.

Posted on May 20, 2017May 20, 2017 by Zack Albert

CONCORD, N.C. — Rookie Daniel Suarez prevailed in the final stage of Saturday’s Monster Energy Open preliminary race, emerging from a brilliant three-car battle to transfer to Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race.

Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney also secured All-Star berths by winning the opening two 20-lap stages in the 50-lapper at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The last spot in the 20-car All-Star field went to Chase Elliott, who finished third behind runner-up Austin Dillon but was the top vote-getter in fan balloting.

Suarez survived a wild 10-lap final stage, which began with Elliott spinning Landon Cassill out of the first position. Elliott, Suarez and Erik Jones later made a three-way contest for the lead on the frontstretch, with Jones getting the worst of his excursion into the infield grass.

WATCH: Jones tries ‘pass in the grass’

Jones’ Furniture Row Racing No. 77 Toyota began smoking and his spin in Turn 1 brought out the final caution flag with three laps remaining. Suarez’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota pulled away from there.

Even though it didn’t count as an official points-paying victory, Suarez said he savored scratching the win column in his first season in NASCAR’s premier series.

“It’s a lot of fun, racing with Chase, racing with Ryan and with all these guys,” Suarez said. “They’re super-aggressive, they’re great drivers and it’s a lot of fun.”

Jones wound up 19th in the 24-car field, unable to continue after his bold move in the late going.

“Just hoped there was enough pavement down there to make a move and get clear, but unfortunately there wasn’t and that was the end of our day,” Jones said. “I knew if we could get out front that we could probably drive away from them, but it just didn’t work out.”

Bowyer started first and led every lap in the opening 20-lap stage, putting his Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford in the 70-lap main event (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM). Blaney’s Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford scooted away to lead wire-to-wire in the second stage.

Blaney finished second in the opening 20-lap stage, with Jones, AJ Allmendinger and Elliott completing the top five. In the second stage, Blaney was trailed by Elliott, Suarez, Jones and Paul Menard in the top five.

Bowyer, who won the Open pole at 189.474 mph earlier in the day, returns to the All-Star Race after a one-year absence last season. The All-Star berth is a first for Blaney, who is in his second full season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Suarez will also be making his first All-Star appearance.

Posted on May 20, 2017May 20, 2017 by Nascar

CONCORD, N.C. – Of the 16 drivers guaranteed a spot in Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), six have never won the annual non-points race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Two – Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski – are former series champions. Others have points wins. That lineup consists of Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chris Buescher.

It’s a big payday – the winner gets $1 million – and a big night. Since its debut in 1985, the All-Star race quickly evolved from novelty into a no-holds-barred shootout that has often left egos bruised and fenders wrinkled.

Truex (Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota) made his first All-Star appearance in 2005 and tomorrow night’s race will be his seventh start. His perception of the event before his first start was that the race “was just a Saturday night shootout for a million bucks or a ton of money.

“Guys … were willing to do whatever it took to win,” he said prior to Friday’s first practice at Charlotte. “Nobody was ever worried about finishing second. I think it still has that feel.”

Truex knows what it feels like to finish second – his best result in the race came in 2010 when he trailed race winner Kurt Busch across the line.

“I’m pretty sure everyone forgets about that,” he said. “I for the most part forget about it till we get here.

“It’s all about winning. It’s a race for the fans. It’s a race to just put on a show, kind of a throwback short track race with the stages and the segments, just putting it all out there for the win.”

Race winners from the previous season and through the first 11 races of ’17 earn a spot in the field, as do former winners of the event. Three additional slots will be filled by drivers who win stages in the Monster Energy Open qualifying race and a final position will be awarded to the driver who wins the fan vote to round out the 20-car lineup.

There is “no pressure” to win, Truex said.

“None … at all,” he said. “It’s a fun weekend. Anytime you take points off the table, it becomes a lot less stressful and a lot more fun. But at the same time we all want to win it.”

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyle Larson will start on the pole, with Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch second through fifth, respectively.

Truex qualified 14th.

Keselowski (Team Penske No. 2 Ford) will be making his ninth consecutive appearance in the All-Star Race and he also knows the feeling of being second-best. In ’12, he finished behind Jimmie Johnson; last year it was Team Penske teammate Joey Logano who ended up in Victory Lane.

“To me, it’s a marquee race,” Keselowski, who will start seventh, said. “All-Star just naturally implies best of the best even though the best of the best compete against each other every week. (There’s) just something special about it.

“I think the fact that if you win it you get locked into it for life is really cool. And that means a lot.”

Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) is a four-time winner of the race, tops in the series. No other current active driver has more than one win.

“There’s always some level of pressure,” Keselowski said. “There’s no season-ending pressure but it’s pressure in the opportunity because I know I’m going to have a quality opportunity to do it.”