RELATED: Live weather radar from the track
All of Friday’s on-track activity at Charlotte Motor Speedway was canceled due to wet weather hitting the track for the second consecutive day.
Saturday’s schedule will now be as follows:
— Sprint All-Star Race practice, 9:30 a.m. ET on FS1.
— Sprint All-Star pit road speed practice, 10:05 a.m. ET on FS1.
— Sprint Showdown, 11 a.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
— NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200, 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
— Sprint All-Star Race qualifying, 7:10 p.m. ET on FS1.
— Sprint All-Star Race, 9 p.m. ET on FS1 (with pre-race coverage starting at 8:30 p.m. ET), MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
RELATED: Best photos from rainy Charlotte
On Friday, an 85-minute practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Showdown was set to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET (FS1), but was unable to get underway and ultimately canceled. Sprint All-Star Race practice was scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on FS1, but was postponed as rain continued to fall.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET, was canceled in advance due to persistent rain. The lineup was set in accordance to the NASCAR Rule Book.
The three-segment Sprint Showdown, scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET on FS1 and which will see the three segment winners (20 laps/20 laps/10 laps) advance to Saturday’s Sprint All-Star Race, was pushed to Saturday at 11 a.m. ET.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ NC Education Lottery 200, scheduled for Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET, is now slotted for 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The Sprint Cup garage will open at 8:30 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Check here for continued weather updates. See the weekend schedule for this weekend’s full list of events.
RELATED: Harvick inks new deal with SHR
CONCORD, N.C. — Kevin Harvick is used to hearing loud noises at the track. But when the churning of the NASCAR rumor mill increased from a murmur to a low roar this week, it was a difficult commotion to tune out.
Harvick said Friday that he had met face-to-face with Kasey Kahne approximately two months ago to address the rumblings about the 2014 Sprint Cup Series champ potentially replacing him in Hendrick Motorsports‘ No. 5 Chevrolet. He also told Kahne that no one from the Hendrick organization had approached him regarding a ride next season.
Yea Kevin and I talked back in Phoenix. Pretty cool of him https://t.co/GkfTsTlYNG
— Kasey Kahne (@kaseykahne) May 20, 2016
Thursday, Stewart-Haas Racing shut down the rumor racket with a solid announcement, that Harvick would return as driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet with a new multiyear contract. During a rain delay at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, the eve of the annual NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Harvick explained in detail how he tried to clear the air on the unsubstantiated reports.
“I think as you look back, and it got so out of control that I actually went to Kasey Kahne and I said, ‘look man, here’s what’s going on,’ ” Harvick said. “And I told him there’s not been one person that’s called me from your organization and I want you to have the trust in your team. I want you to believe in your team. I want you to keep working on the things that you’re working on, but here’s where it’s at. Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what I see. Here’s how it’s going to go. And here we are up until last week still running around.”
The possible fulcrum behind any notion of Harvick potentially searching for a new home was Stewart-Haas Racing‘s surprise announcement in February that it would switch from Chevrolet to Ford for the 2017 season. Harvick is in his 16th year in NASCAR’s top division, and all of his 550 Sprint Cup starts have been with Chevrolet’s backing.
But Harvick reiterated Friday that his intent all along was to stay put, keeping his successful pairing with master crew chief Rodney Childers intact. He said that Stewart-Haas had an option for a two-year extension on Harvick’s contract, but that both sides agreed to restructure the deal, extending both the length of his SHR term and their partnerships with sponsors.
“I never even worried about having to take phone calls or place phone calls or put our team in a position to go out, my personal team, in a position to go out and talk to other people. That was never the case,” Harvick said. “It was just extending an extension that needed to be put in place because in the end it’s like I’ve said several times, I feel like I’ve got the best crew chief in the garage. Our team has been performing well and doing the things that they need to do and I like the challenges that face us in the future. That motivates me to have those things in place.
“And so, it’s all been good. It’s just been some crazy rumors that however they got started, they got started.”
Harvick said he typically handles deals in “four- or five-year chunks,” but this week’s multiyear extension prompted the question if this might be his last driver contract. He turned 40 last December, but has enjoyed a career resurgence with SHR and Childers, winning his first Sprint Cup championship two seasons ago and accumulating nine of his 32 career victories since joining the No. 4 team in 2014.
Harvick joked he wasn’t willing to commit to Mark Martin-level longevity, referencing the Hall of Fame nominee who ran his last NASCAR race at age 54. But he also said he didn’t have a specific number in mind, either.
“I’m not going to sit up here and say I need to retire at this particular age,” Harvick said. “I’m going to quit when I feel like I’m not having fun anymore or I’m not competitive. It’s way too much fun right now being competitive and having fast cars and you feel like you’re making up for a little bit of lost time at the beginning. So, it’s been fun to kind of have that rejuvenated the last three years and really be excited about it and love being part of the team and organization and all the things that come with what we have right now.
“So, it’s just a lot of fun and it’s going to have to be pretty painful for me at the end of this one to just say I’m done because I’ll still be in my mid-40s. I’m not going to commit to quit before it’s too soon.”
Two days after the fact, Kyle Larson didn’t sound as if he looked back on his latest runner-up finish with any regrets.
Disappointed, sure, but regretting nothing about how he handled the closing laps of Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway
Second for a fourth time in his still-blossoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver was unable to overtake Matt Kenseth in the waning laps, eventually stopping his No. 42 Chevrolet on pit road instead of victory lane.
The “should he or shouldn’t he” question was inevitable. Contact with Kenseth might have made Larson a winner for the first time since stepping up to the premier series in 2013. But it was a price the 23-year-old said he wasn’t willing to pay.
“I felt like I did everything I could do to get by him without getting into him,” Larson said during a break in Tuesday’s Goodyear tire test at Michigan International Speedway. “I’ve always felt like Matt’s raced me with a ton of respect so I wanted to do my part, racing him with a lot of respect as well. It was a fun battle. …
“I did have a couple of chances to get into him but that’s not really how I want to win my first one. I want to do it the right way. I don’t regret it; maybe it could come back to haunt me, but you never know.”
CGR fields two Sprint Cup teams, the No. 42 for Larson and the No. 1 for teammate Jamie McMurray, a seven-time winner in the series.
From a statistical standpoint, the Dover finish was the closest yet for Larson, who trailed the Joe Gibbs Racing winner by .187 seconds at the line.
Two years ago, it was Kyle Busch throwing a final-lap block at Auto Club Speedway that foiled Larson’s advances. Later that season, it was Joey Logano driving away on a green-white-checkered finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Again in ’14, this time at Kansas in The Chase, Larson was unable to reel in Logano during a final 26-lap green-flag run.
Others have weathered similar storms: Kasey Kahne finished second six times before his first Sprint Cup win and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bill Elliott was a bridesmaid eight times before winning. The record for near-misses before victory belongs to former driver Lennie Pond, who was second on 12 occasions.
Tabbed as a can’t-miss prospect by veterans such as three-time champion Tony Stewart, Larson scored eight top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes during his rookie season — more than several of those who finished ahead of him in the points battle. But ’15 wasn’t as kind, his numbers dropped and even through the beginning of the current season his results seemed to lag.
More recent efforts, however, have been encouraging.
“Our cars just haven’t been quite as fast as they were in 2014,” Larson said. “We’d kind of fallen behind a little bit on building the bodies the way they need to be and maybe chassis stuff a little bit. But we brought in some smart people over the offseason.”
The addition of crew chief Chad Johnston and engineer Phil Surgen “has really brought a lot of influence to (both) our race teams,” he said.
Larson heads into Friday night’s Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway (7:10 p.m. ET, FS1) as one of the favorites to earn one of the transfer spots into Saturday’s annual Sprint All-Star Race.
“I definitely feel like I’m a smarter racer now, a better race car driver,” he said.
“I feel like over the last several years I’ve kept that same aggressiveness, but gotten my patience a little bit better.
“To be a championship driver, I think you have to put the whole package together and patience is a big part of that.”
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — It’s not every day that dozens of Sprint Cup Series drivers enter a room and aren’t the ones creating the spectacle, but that was the case for 2016’s “Catwalk for a Cause” hosted by the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation on Wednesday night.
Who were the stars, then? Davis, Chloe, Braylon, Natalia, Sam, BreeLee, Ava, Leland and Brynn were, of course.
The fashion show’s guests of honor — all children — are battling cancer, something that hits home for Truex and his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex, who just completed chemotherapy in January after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in August 2014.
�������� @MTJFoundation pic.twitter.com/JMG8rjHS0b
— Maggie MacKenzie (@Maggie_MKenzie) May 18, 2016
The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation, along with its partnernship with Levine Children’s Hospital, hosts “Catwalk” each year to affirm its commitment to finding a cure for pediatric cancer.
Before the seventh annual fashion show began, Pollex got up on stage, with Truex beside her, to mention that the night was also one to remember four of the heroes from last year’s show who had lost their battles with cancer between the 2015 and 2016 events.
“We lost four of our kids this year. … We are going to honor them,” Pollex said.
Elijah Aschbrenner’s presence was felt with several audience members sporting the bright red hair with which he lit up the 2015 event. Elijah passed away November 10.
Once the 2016 event got underway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano and Danica Patrick were among the drivers who swapped their firesuits for cocktail attire and waltzed down the runway, each holding the hand of one of the nine children battling cancer. Although seeing Junior dancing on stage was easily a highlight of the night, the infectious smiles of the children stole the show.
One of the night’s most special moments occurred when Pollex took off her long, blonde wig and walked down the stage with her natural, short pixie cut — her hair returning after the treatments she just completed — with the utmost confidence. The entire room applauded.
The night included a pre-show raffle as well as a live auction when drivers tried to outbid one another.
To top it all off, the event raised $370,000 (compared to last year’s $253,000), according to Sandy Plemmons, director of the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation.
This is how @MartinTruex_Jr and I feel about Catwalk & this amazing life we get to live! Inspire someone today!! ��❤️ pic.twitter.com/4PdKci9fX0
— Sherry Pollex (@SherryPollex) May 19, 2016
RELATED: Elliott will ‘never forget’ Earnhardt move
The starting grid for the 1987 Winston All-Star Race looked a lot like an exhibit befitting the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
This was The All-Star Race for the ages.
Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Terry Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott all competed.
Greats such as Neil Bonnett, Harry Gant, Ricky Rudd, Buddy Baker, and Benny Parsons were on the 20-driver starting grid, too.
A young Davey Allison and a new Daytona 500 winner Geoffrey Bodine lined up alongside these iconic names. The fast and famed Tim Richmond was on the grid, too, in what was his final season of NASCAR competition.
And don’t forget about Kyle Petty, Bobby Hillin Jr. and Greg Sacks.
The only driver on that famed All-Star lineup still NASCAR racing today is Morgan Shepherd, who drove a car fielded by drag racing legend Kenny Bernstein — and his seventh-place finish that day in his first All-Star Race remains his best showing.
That starting lineup was a true convergence of NASCAR’s best — sentimental favorites, crusty veterans, future Hall of Famers and young stars out to make their big names.
It had personality. It had top-line credentials. In only its third running, the 1987 race showed exactly the pizzazz that would help forge the All-Star Race into the can’t-miss annual event that will be on full display Saturday in the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
For all its historical allure, amazingly in that famed 1987 race only four drivers even led a lap — the winner Earnhardt (10), the day’s dominant driver Elliott (121), Bodine (3) and Kyle Petty (1).
The great seven-time Cup champ Richard Petty crashed with the late superstar Neil Bonnett on Lap 66. As dominant and successful as Petty was, it’s easy to forget he never won an All-Star Race.
Among the most memorable aspects of this race will undoubtedly be the day’s winner Earnhardt’s “Pass in the Grass” of Elliott. It wasn’t actually a pass at all, but Earnhardt maneuvering to hold onto his late race lead over Elliott in the day’s most dominant car.
It was the first of three All-Star wins for Earnhardt. And the gritty, hard-nosed final laps racing launched this — then still young — event into a bona fide can’t-miss rite of spring.
The above photo itself has become quite a piece of NASCAR lore. When this group of 20 drivers came together for this indelible image, these are the numbers they would leave behind: 812 premier series victories, 26 premier series championships, 11 All-Star Race wins … and one urban legend.
Morgan Shepherd
No. 26 Quaker State Buick
1987 stats: Shepherd drove a Buick owned by drag racing legend Kenny Bernstein. Larry McReynolds was the crew chief, and the team’s best showing that year was a runner-up in the Coca-Cola 600 . Shepherd had seven top-five finishes but a hefty 13 DNFs in the 29-race season.
Wow to know: The 1987 version of The Winston was Shepherd’s first of 18 tries. His seventh-place finish in that inaugural start remains his best showing to date.
Where are they now: At 74 years old, he is the only driver that competed in this The Winston of 1987 who is still racing in NASCAR today.
Tim Richmond
No. 25 Folger’s Coffee Chevrolet
1987 stats: Richmond only competed in eight races in what was his final season on the circuit and amazingly won the first two he entered — at Pocono and Riverside, California. He won from the pole position at Pocono and had six top-11 runs for team owner Rick Hendrick. He did not finish the only other two races he competed in because of engine woes.
Wow to know: Richmond finished third in the 1987 All-Star Race and had top-five finishes in all three of the All-Star Races he entered.
Where are they now: Richmond died Aug. 13, 1989, at age 34 from complications of AIDS.
Neil Bonnett
No. 75 RahMoc Valvoline Pontiac
1987 stats: Alabama Gang racer Bonnett only started 26 of the 29 races that season, his campaign shortened when he broke his hip in a crash during the series’ return trip to Charlotte in October. His four third-place finishes were a 1987 highlight. He and Richard Petty crashed on Lap 3 of the All-Star Race, and Bonnett officially finished last in the 20-car field.
Wow to know: Bonnett only competed in three full Cup seasons in his career but still collected 18 wins, tying him with Harry Gant and Geoffrey Bodine on the premier series’ all-time wins list.
Where are they now: Bonnett was killed during a practice session accident on Feb. 11, 1994, at Daytona International Speedway.
Bobby Allison
No. 22 Stavola Brothers Miller Buick
1987 stats: The 1983 champion’s only win in the ’87 season was at Daytona in July, but he had a runner-up effort at Charlotte in the fall after winning the pole there. It was his last full-time season. He finished eighth after starting 14th in The Winston.
Wow to know: Allison would win his third and final Daytona 500 the following year, beating out his son Davey, who finished runner-up. Only four months later, Bobby Allison was involved in a near-fatal crash at Pocono and never competed again in NASCAR’s top division.
Where are they now: Allison was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011 and is a frequent visitor to NASCAR races.
Darrell Waltrip
No. 17 Tide Chevrolet
1987 stats: After a mid-pack ninth-place run in The Winston, Waltrip won at Martinsville, Va., in the fall for team owner Rick Hendrick and finished fourth in the title run. Two years later, he won his only Daytona 500 .
Wow to know: Jeff Hammond took over crew chief duties from Waddell Wilson on Week 13 in time for the Riverside, California, road-course race, where Waltrip finished 30th after starting third.
Where are they now: Waltrip, a 2012 inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, is one of the original broadcasters hired for FOX Sports telecasts of the series and anchors the play-by-play duties with Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon for the network’s portion of the Sprint Cup schedule.
Harry Gant
No. 33 Skoal Bandit Chevrolet
1987 stats: Gant finished 17th in The Winston, parking his Chevy after engine problems. After a runner-up finish in the 1984 Cup championship to Terry Labonte , this was an off year highlighted by a pole position at the spring Bristol race driving the famed Skoal Bandit for the legendary Hal Needham. “Handsome Harry,” as he is still known, went on to win four consecutive races in 1991.
Wow to know: As good as the 18-race winner was, the 1987 season was actually among the worst of this great driver’s career. He amassed 21 DNFs in 29 starts, including eight of the final nine races.
Where are they now: Gant, 76, is content living on his vast 300-acre ranch in North Carolina. He is a regular participant in Kyle Petty’s annual Charity Ride Across America.
Terry “The Iceman” Labonte
No. 11 Budweiser Chevrolet
1987 stats: The future NASCAR Hall of Famer wowed with 22 top-10 finishes in the 29-race season including a win for team owner and hometown favorite Junior Johnson at the North Wilkesboro fall race. He added four pole positions and finished third in points behind Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott.
Wow to know: Labonte finished runner-up to Earnhardt in The Winston in 1987, but prevailed the following year for the first of two career All-Star victories.
Where are they now: Labonte was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015. He owns a Chevrolet dealership in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Ricky Rudd
No. 15 Motorcraft Ford
1987 stats: Rudd won two races that season — at Atlanta and Dover — for car owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Bud Moore. He finished 11th in The Winston as the last driver on the lead lap.
Wow to know: Rudd held the record for consecutive starts (788 between 1981 and 2005) before Jeff Gordon upped the longevity mark last year to 797.
Where are they now: Rudd, 59, spends many days at a local Charlotte go-kart track where he still enjoys going wheel-to-wheel with many of NASCAR’s best, competing regularly in a senior league.
Kyle Petty
No. 21 Citgo Ford
1987 stats: An eight-time winner in his premier-series career, Petty scored a victory for his Wood Brothers team at the Charlotte 600-miler that year and finished seventh in the points standings.
Wow to know: Petty finished sixth in The Winston — one of his nine top-10 runs in 23 versions of the event.
Where are they now: Petty, 55, has been a television regular since retiring from NASCAR competition. He is currently a contributor on NBCSN’s NASCAR America show. He also leads a Charity Ride across the country every year raising money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp.
Davey Allison
No. 28 Havoline Ford
1987 stats: This was both his rookie and his breakout season. Although he only competed in 22 of the 29 races, Allison won twice — at Talladega and Dover. He won four pole positions, including back-to-back efforts at Michigan and Darlington, and was easily the 1987 Rookie of the Year. He fared 12th-best in The Winston.
Wow to know: Allison only competed in five full seasons of Cup racing — his best finish in the championship was third place in both 1991 and 1992.
Where are they now: Allison died in a helicopter crash at Talladega in 1993 at the age of 32. He had won earlier in the season at Richmond and was ranked fifth in the championship standings at the time of his accident.
Dale Earnhardt
No. 3 Wrangler Jeans Chevrolet
1987 stats: The season was easily one of the most impressive driving performances in NASCAR history and perhaps Earnhardt’s personal best. He won 11 times in 29 races on the way to his third Cup championship — his second in a row. Earnhardt finished fifth in the season-opening Daytona 500 then won the next race at Rockingham and never surrendered the points lead thereafter. At one point between that Rockingham victory and a win at Martinsville he won six races in a seven-event span.
Wow to know: Earnhardt won the 1987 Winston, his first of three times hoisting that race trophy. His victory is credited with the famed “Pass in the Grass” during the race although actually he was in front of the field at the time and veered slightly onto the grass to hold off Bill Elliott. Earnhardt and Elliott battled side-by-side in the final 10-lap segment and Elliott’s car ended up having to pit for a flat tire as Earnhardt cruised in for his first All-Star triumph.
Where are they now: The seven-time Cup champion and inaugural Hall of Fame inductee was killed in a racing accident on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 .
Benny Parsons
No. 35 Folgers Chevrolet
1987 stats: Although Parsons won 21 races in his career, including the 1975 Daytona 500 , he was winless this season with three runner-up finishes — including a second-place finish in the 1987 Daytona 500 . He finished 10th in The Winston and had nine top 10s on the season along with 12 DNFs for car owner Rick Hendrick and legendary crew chief Harry Hyde. It turned out to be the next-to-last full-time season for Parsons, who later enjoyed a robust career as a racing broadcaster.
Wow to know: Parsons made his first Cup start at the age of 22 in 1964, but he didn’t make another until 1969.
Where are they now: In addition to a great post-racing career in the TV booth, Parsons started a winery in his Wilkes County, North Carolina, hometown shortly before his death in 2007 of lung cancer.
Geoffrey Bodine
No. 5 Levi Garrett Chevrolet
1987 stats: Having won the 1986 Daytona 500 , much was expected of Bodine in Rick Hendrick’s Chevy. He had 10 top-10 finishes and 10 DNFs, although he won two poles (at Martinsville, and Riverside). His best finish in 1987 was runner-up at Richmond. He was fourth in The Winston — one of only four drivers to lead laps in the race so dominated by Bill Elliott.
Wow to know: After suffering serious injuries in the first-ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway in 2000, Bodine made his final Daytona 500 start in 2002 and finished third behind winner Ward Burton and runner-up Elliott Sadler .
Where are they now: Bodine, 67, officially retired from NASCAR competition in 2012. He helped create the Bo-Dyn Bobsleds that famously and successfully competed in the Winter Olympics. He now lives in Florida.
Buddy Baker
No. 88 Crisco Oldsmobile
1987 stats: In this season, Baker — the 1980 Daytona 500 winner — made only 20 starts for his own team but scored 10 top-10 finishes. Transmission problems relegated him to an 18th-place finish in The Winston.
Wow to know: Amazingly for all his accomplishments (19 wins), Baker only ran three full seasons — 1976, 1977 and 1985.
Where are they now: Baker, a hugely popular television and radio analyst after his racing career, died last August from lung cancer.
Bill Elliott
No. 9 Coors Ford
1987 stats: This was a stellar year for Elliott, who won the season-opening Daytona 500 from the pole position and closed up the schedule winning at Atlanta from the pole. Elliott won six races and had eight pole positions en route to 16 top-five finishes. Even with five DNFs, Elliott finished runner-up to Earnhardt in the championship.
Wow to know: Elliott won the pole for The Winston and led a dominating 121 of the 135 laps. But he cut a tire with six laps remaining just after dueling door-to-door with Earnhardt, who was famously credited with the “Pass in the Grass.” Elliott ultimately finished 14th, one lap down.
Where are they now: Elliott, a 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, raced full time in the premier series until 2003. He continued competing on a part-time basis until 2012 — giving him an incredible 37 consecutive seasons of Cup racing. Now he’s at the race track encouraging his son Chase, a rookie Sprint Cup driver who steers the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Bobby Hillin Jr.
No. 8 Miller American Buick
1987 stats: A teammate to Bobby Allison with the Stavola Brothers, the 22-year old Hillin finished 16th in The Winston. It was a tough season for the young driver, who had only one top-five run and collected 13 DNFs.
Wow to know: Hillin’s 1986 win at Talladega turned out to be the only victory of his career — 334 starts between 1982 and 2000 — and his ninth-place finish in the points standings that year was also a career best. At the time, he was the youngest Cup winner in history at age 22.
Where are they now: Hillin is CEO of a Texas company working in the Gulf of Mexico oil industry.
Rusty Wallace
No. 27 Kodiak Pontiac
1987 stats: The season prior, future NASCAR Hall of Famer Wallace earned his first career victory and he added two more in ’87, proving himself a road course ringer with wins at both Watkins Glen and Riverside. He had nine top-five finishes that season and finished fifth in The Winston for car owner Raymond Beadle.
Wow to know: Wallace earned his only Cup championship in 1989.
Where are they now: A 2013 NASCAR Hall of Famer, Wallace has transitioned to the television and radio booth. He currently works Sprint Cup Series races for MRN radio. He owns multiple car dealerships and helped design the Iowa Speedway, where NASCAR’s XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series race.
Cale Yarborough
No. 29 Hardee’s Oldsmobile
1987 stats: The three-time champion and 83-race winner owned the car he drove this season. He competed in only a portion of the scheduled races (16 of 29) with nine DNFs. He finished 13th in The Winston and retired from the sport after running 10 races the next year, 1988.
Wow to know: Another NASCAR Hall of Famer (Class of 2012), he is one of only two drivers ( Jimmie Johnson is the other) to win three consecutive premier-series titles. Yarborough is a three-time Daytona 500 winner and won 13 pole positions at the track, including four consecutive from 1969-1970. He only ran full time in seven of the 31 seasons he competed in the Cup series.
Where are they now: Yarborough has owned a Honda dealership in Florence, S.C., for decades.
Richard Petty
No. 43 STP Pontiac
1987 stats: By then driving in the later stages of his career, inaugural NASCAR Hall of Famer and the sport’s all-time most prolific winner (200) Petty crashed with Neil Bonnett on the third lap of The Winston and finished 19th. The season was one of his better late-career efforts with nine top-five and 14 top-10s. He finished eighth in the points standings, his last top-10 points showing.
Wow to know: Petty scored his 200th and final win three years earlier in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona.
Where are they now: A part of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class in 2010, Petty still owns a pair of cars (No. 43 and No. 44) competing in the Sprint Cup Series and another in the XFINITY Series and is a visible and vocal advocate for the sport and his team’s multiple sponsors.
Greg Sacks
No. 50 Valvoline Pontiac
1987 stats: Two years earlier Sacks picked up the only victory of his career in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona. He only competed in half the 1987 season and recorded 11 DNFs in 16 starts. He had only two top-20 finishes, making his 15th-place run (three laps down) in The Winston a season highlight.
Wow to know: Sacks ran just one full season in 263 starts between 1983 and 2006.
Where are they now: Sacks lives in Florida and works in the family business, Grand Touring Vodka. The brand was a sponsor on Dale Earnhardt Jr. ‘s XFINITY Series car in 2011.
RELATED: Complete Charlotte schedule | TV schedule
RELATED: Weather updates from the track
The start of Thursday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practices were delayed due to wet weather at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but a persistent fleet of Air Titan track-drying units got trucks on the track at 6:45 p.m. ET for a one-hour session.
The opening one-hour session was set to begin at 12:30 p.m. ET, but was unable to get underway as crews worked to dry the 1.5-mile track. A second practice, originally set to commence at 2:30 p.m. ET, also was canceled. The final practice, scheduled for 4:30-5:55 p.m., got moved back but ultimately went into the books.
A NASCAR spokesperson said there were 12 Air Titans and eight conventional jet dryers on hand this weekend. Two more jet dryers were en route from Martinsville Speedway on Thursday afternoon.
Friday’s NC Education Lottery 200 is set for 8:30 p.m. ET with television coverage on FS1 and radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Qualifying is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday with TV coverage on FS1.
RELATED: New format puts emphasis on intrigue
This year’s Sprint All-Star Race (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) format gets a fresh coat of paint when cars hit the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
For starters, there are three different segments composed of: an opening 50-lap segment, a second 50-lap segment and then a final 13-lap sprint to the finish of a third segment. Here’s how it all works.
THE RULES, SEGMENT 1
The lineup for Segment 1 is determined by qualifying run earlier Saturday night.
There is a mandatory green-flag pit stop for a minimum of two tires (teams can choose to take two or four) during the opening 50 laps.
After Segment 1, there is a 3-5 minute break. Cars must pit and take a minimum of two tires.
THE RULES, SEGMENT 2
The starting order for Segment 2 is set by the pit-road exit from the mandatory pit stop after Segment 1.
During Segment 2, there is a mandatory green-flag pit stop for a minimum of two tires during this set of 50 laps. The twist here is that the pit stop must occur before Lap 85.
After Segment 2 concludes, there is another 3-5 minute break.
THE RULES, SEGMENT 3
During the break between Segments 2 and 3, there is a random drawing in which the number 9, 10 or 11 is selected. That number determines the number of cars from the 20-car field (starting from whoever is leading the race) which must pit for a mandatory four-tire stop. Pit road is closed to the additional cars.
Those who did not pit will be on older tires and at the front of the field. The order off pit road sets the running order behind those cars. So it will be older tires at the front and fresher tires (and likely faster cars) at the rear. Plenty of strategy to be had.
Only green-flag laps count in Segment 3, and NASCAR Overtime procedures apply.
WHO HAS QUALIFIED?
Drivers who won points races in 2015 or thus far in 2016, plus previous Sprint All-Star winners and former series champions still driving.
SO THOSE LOCKED IN ARE …
Eligible drivers
| Driver | How qualified |
|---|---|
| Joey Logano | 2015 winner |
| Jimmie Johnson | 2015 winner |
| Kevin Harvick | 2015 winner |
| Brad Keselowski | 2015 winner |
| Denny Hamlin | 2015 winner |
| Matt Kenseth | 2015 winner |
| Kurt Busch | 2015 winner |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 2015 winner |
| Carl Edwards | 2015 winner |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 2015 winner |
| Kyle Busch | 2015 winner |
| Jamie McMurray | Past All-Star winner |
| Ryan Newman | Past All-Star winner |
| Kasey Kahne | Past All-Star winner |
| Tony Stewart | Premier series champion |
| Trevor Bayne | Sprint Showdown Segment #1 winner |
| Greg Biffle | Sprint Showdown Segment #2 winner |
| Kyle Larson | Sprint Showdown Segment #3 winner |
| Chase Elliott | Sprint Fan Vote winner |
| Danica Patrick | Sprint Fan Vote runner-up |
HOW ELSE CAN A DRIVER MAKE THE RACE?
The Sprint Showdown (Saturday, 11 a.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will have three transfer spots into Saturday’s race — the winners of Segment 1 (Trevor Bayne), Segment 2 (Greg Biffle) and Segment 3 (Kyle Larson) of the Sprint Showdown earn a spot in the main event.
From there, the top two finishers (Chase Elliott and Danica Patrick) in the Sprint Fan Vote will complete the 20-car field.
RELATED: Daytona through the years
Daytona International Speedway won Facility of the Year at the 2016 SportsBusiness Journal Sports Business Awards, held Wednesday night at the Marriott Marquis in New York City’s Time Square.
The win came as a result of its $400-million Daytona Rising project. The world’s first motorsports stadium was unveiled at the 2016 Daytona 500 as the sell-out crowd witnessed Denny Hamlin win by the closest margin of victory in the race’s history.
Daytona International Speedway beat out the San Jose Earthquakes’ Avaya Stadium, Kansas State’s Bill Snyder Stadium, Texas A&M’s Kyle Field and the San Diego Padres’ Petco Park for the accolade.
“The incredible transformation of our flagship facility would not have been possible without the hard work and support of our employees, fans, partners, and the entire NASCAR industry,” said International Speedway Corporation Chief Executive Officer Lesa France Kennedy. “I’m so proud of Joie Chitwood and the Daytona International Speedway and ISC team. They truly earned this prestigious award.”
It is beautiful! pic.twitter.com/jcfFJ0rnic
— Lesa Kennedy (@LesaISC) May 19, 2016
The evening saw many members of the NASCAR industry nominated, including: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France (Executive of the Year), NASCAR (League of the Year), Darlington’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (Event of the Year) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Social Media in Sports)
Daytona Rising, which broke ground in 2013, produced five expanded and redesigned fan entrances called “injectors,” three new concourse levels for fans that span the frontstretch of the track, 40 new escalators, 17 elevators and 60 new trackside suites. The project also created 11 football field-sized social “neighborhoods” filled with video screens, widened 101,500 stadium seats, doubled the number of restrooms and tripled concessions and merchandise points of sale to deliver a more convenient fan experience.
The impact of the upgraded facility transcends sports. Daytona Rising’s economic impact provides 6,300 new jobs, $300 million in labor income and more than $85 million in new tax revenue. A plethora of companies have agreed to naming rights deals with Daytona International Speedway, including Toyota, Florida Hospital, Chevrolet, Sunoco and Axalta.
Remarkably, the facility remained open for business throughout the almost three-year period it took to rebuild its nearly mile-long fronstretch. During this time, the facility held two NASCAR events, the 2016 Rolex 24, 2015 Bike Week and hundreds of civic and social gatherings.
Launched in 2008 by SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily, the Sports Business Awards recognize leaders and visionaries who personify excellence in the business of sports. The nominees were judged by their achievements from March 1, 2015 through Feb. 29, 2016.