The All-Stars of NASCAR

NASCAR is back home in North Carolina this week for the annual Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The All-Star race is one of my favorite events all year, only second to the Daytona 500. Its totally different from anything else the drivers do all year long, so its always a fresh change by the time May rolls around. Here are my picks to win this year's All-Star race.


Carl Edwards, No. 99 Office Depot Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 2nd place finish in the Dodge Challenger 500
Career at LMS: 7.3 Avg. Finish, 3 top 5's, 5 top 10's
Why he could win: Carl didn't even get to race in last year's All-Star race. He tried to race his way into the race by competing in the Sprint Showdown, but he got nipped by Martin Truex Jr. and Johnny Sauter. This year, on the other hand, he is back to his old self, winning races on the cookie-cutter tracks like its nothing. If recent history is any indication, expect Carl to be one of the fastest once the green flag drops.

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
Last Week: 13th place finish in the Dodge Challenger 500
Career at LMS: 6.8 Avg. Finish, 5 wins, 8 top 5's, 11 top 10's
Why he could win: Johnson is the king of Lowe's Motor Speedway, period. Johnson won the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Coca-Cola 600's along with the 2004 and 2005 fall races at the track. Oh yeah, he won this race in 2003 and 2006.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Last Week: Won the Dodge Challenger 500
Career at LMS: 25.9 Avg. Finish, 1 top 5, 2 top 10's
Why he could win: Come on, he is the hottest man in NASCAR. Why would he NOT win?


Rather then picking an underdog this week, i'm going to attempt to pick the driver who is going to win the Sprint Showdown, the qualifying race before the All-Star race. The winner and second place finisher automaticly advance to the big dance. Lots of drivers like Kasey Kahne, David Reutimann, Robby Gordon, Travis Kvapil, Brian Vickers and Michael Waltrip will be trying to race their way in via the Showdown, but I don't think any of them will win. So who do I think will?

David Ragan, No. 6 AAA Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 5th place finish in the Dodge Challenger 500
Career at LMS: 38.5 Avg. Finish, no top 5's or top 10's
Why he could win: I don't know about winning the All-Star race, but winning the Showdown? That could very easily happen if he is able to drive his car like he did at Talladega and Darlington. Of course, we will just have to wait and see.


Don't forget folks, i'll be at the race looking for stories all day Saturday, so if you see me don't hesitate to come over and say hello!