The Gloves Are Coming Off - The Sprint Cup Series Sprint All Star Race Primer

Update Midnight 5/21/2011: The Sprint Fan Vote winning driver does NOT have to finish on the lead lap as previously reported.

Update Midnight 5/20/2011: Roush Fenway and the Wood Brothers have decided to withhold Trevor Bayne from NASCAR competition this weekend, including Sunday’s Nationwide Series race at Iowa and Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.There is no timetable set for his return.

The Sprint All Star Race is always hard to predict.

On one hand, teams that are strong at Charlotte Motor Speedway usually are among the leaders at the All-Star Race. On the other, the ever-changing rulebook makes loop-data statistics completely useless. Toss in the number of hot feuds currently engrossing our sport and the top contenders may end up victimized and on the hauler due to another driver’s retaliation.

Put best, anyone can win Saturday’s race, including its two newest entrants - Trevor Bayne and Regan Smith.

The two won arguably the two most historic races, the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500 at Darlington respectively.

Bayne has missed the last three NASCAR Nationwide Series events due to illness, and is optimistic that he will be healthy enough to race on Saturday. The youngster shocked the racing world in February, becoming the youngest Daytona 500 winner at 20-years-old.

Smith accomplished his much-celebrated victory in Darlington two weeks ago, holding off Carl Edwards for what many are still calling his second Sprint Cup Series victory. (See Talladega - 2008)

Both drivers carry a lot of momentum into Saturday but will face stiff competition from NASCAR’s best drivers.

That list can be found after the jump!

Jeff Gordon has had a polarizing start to his 2011 campaign. After qualifying on the front row for the Daytona 500, Gordon won the year’s second-race at Phoenix. However, his season following that has been nothing short of a disappointment.

Gordon has one top-10 in his past five starts and finished 14th or worse in six of the past nine.

For Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson, the non-points paying All Star Race provides a chance for the fan favorite to take a chance, get liberal with car set-ups, and try to build momentum for the second half of the season.

Gordon is one of only two drivers to win three All Star Races (the other was Dale Earnhardt Sr.) with his latest victory coming in 2001.

Gordon has an average running position of 8.3, seventh-best in the circuit. His driver rating of 86.6 is also seventh-best, signifying that the Dupont team has some work to do.

Gordon’s Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson may be the man to beat on Saturday. I’ll let the NASCAR press release speak for itself:

Allow me to expound. Pick against Jimmie Johnson at your own risk.

The Busch brothers are the last but not least likely options.

Kurt is the defending winner of the All Star race and despite Penske’s recent struggles; Busch should run up front here. His average running position of eighth is fifth-best in Sprint Cup and his driver rating of 91.2 is fourth-best.

Surprise! Kyle Busch runs really well at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch finished third and second in the two-points paying races here last season and has an average running position of 7.7 in the Sprint All Star race (third-best). His ASR driver rating is 104.6, second-best in the Cup Series.

There are 28 drivers entered in the race’s preliminary event, the Sprint Showdown. Most notable is Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has not won in the Sprint Cup Series since June 2008 at Michigan (104 races ago).

He previously qualified for the All Star race based on a previous winner’s provisional. He won the race during his rookie season in 2000. A driver who wins the All Star race is automatically in the field for the next 10 years, but Earnhardt Jr.‘s provision is up.

The Sprint All Star Race from Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. airs at 7:30 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live on SPEED. Race threads will be posted for both touring series events on Friday (Camping World Trucks) and Saturday night.

We hope you can join us!