NASCAR All-Star Race 2012: Jimmie Johnson Wins $1 Million Prize For Third Time

Through 80 laps of Saturday night’s All-Star Race, I wanted to high-five the NASCAR executive who came up with the new event format.

It seemed brilliant: By giving the drivers incentive to go hard in each segment, NASCAR made the All-Star Race special again because the entirety of the race was good.

The NASCAR All-Star Race is promoted as an event where anything goes, where there are no lines that can’t be crossed. Nevertheless, despite a quirky new format which was designed to provide some incentive for drivers to try their damndest to win each segment, the All-Star Race failed to deliver.

As the field rolled to the green for the final 10-lap shootout with a $1 million dollar prize awaiting the winner, it seemed obvious to those involved and those watching that winner was going to come from one of the first four rows – whether that was Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski or Dale Earnhardt Jr. (all of whom had won one of the first four segments).

Jimmie Johnson joined an elite club on Saturday night.

In beating Brad Keselowski to the finish of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway by .841 seconds, Johnson won the exhibition event for the third time, tying Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for most all-time.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he didn’t want to rely on the Sprint Fan Vote to make NASCAR’s All-Star Race.

As it turned out, he didn’t have to.

Despite all the adversity he’s faced this season, Jeff Gordon remains optimistic. Now he just needs some momentum to help his fading Chase hopes.

Tonight’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race could well provide the needed boost for Gordon and his No. 24 team, which remains 25 points out of 20th place and a couple wins shy of a Wild Card berth.

Here’s a viewer’s guide for tonight’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

Risk vs. Reward

With no points on the line, a big check to the winner and a race featuring NASCAR’s elite, the All-Star Race has always held a special place in my heart.

Maybe it was because the annual shootout under the lights typically fell on the weekend of my birthday and coincided with the party my parents always planned around this event. Or maybe it’s because the yearly showdown of the sport’s best has created some of NASCAR’s most memorable – and in some cases most notorious – moments.

If this trend of a rain-free race weekends continues, race fans may start to get spoiled. This is the second straight weekend when weather is not a problem.

Mostly sunny skies are expected during the day at Charlotte Motor Speedway with comfortable temperatures as the high reaches 78 degrees. Winds will be out of the north-northeast with a light breeze of 5 to 15 mph.

It’s NASCAR All-Star Race night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and we’ve got the actual race start time, the starting lineup and some other facts about Saturday’s race for you below.

What time does the race start Saturday? This is not an easy answer because the evening begins with the “Sprint Showdown,” a 40-lap race to decide which two drivers will transfer into the All-Star Race. The Showdown’s official start time is listed as 7:36 p.m. Eastern, but since it’s tough to say exactly how long the race will take, the All-Star Race start time is approximate. NASCAR estimates the engines will fire at 9:03 p.m., followed by the All-Star Race green flag at 9:12 p.m.

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR All-Star Race pole for Saturday night’s exhibition race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, using a clean pit stop to pick up his third career All-Star pole.

Qualifying is different in All-Star qualifying, as drivers are required to do three laps that include a mandatory four-tire pit stop. The key is getting on and off pit road as quickly as possible with a fast pit stop.

What’s the best way to use Twitter to help the NASCAR viewing experience?

If you asked most fans, they would probably give you one of three answers:

Trevor Bayne was eligible for last year’s All-Star Race, but he missed out after he contracted a debilitating case of Lyme disease.

Bayne is back this year, disease free and with sponsorship from Good Sam Club and Camping World RV Sales. Like last year, he’s still eligible for the race by virtue of winning the 2011 Daytona 500, and will compete in Saturday’s main event without having to qualify through the Sprint Showdown.

Kurt Busch doesn’t believe he endangered any of Ryan Newman’s crew members on pit road during last week’s incident at Darlington Raceway – which resulted in a $50,000 fine from NASCAR – and the driver insisted he hit Newman’s car on accident after the race.

Those revelations were part of an eight-minute media session with a large group of reporters at his team’s hauler, an interview that ended with Busch becoming agitated.

The No. 48 team of Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson saved the best for last Thursday night.

Posting its fastest time in the final round of the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, the No. 48 NASCAR Sprint Cup team dethroned the two-time defending champion No. 11 crew of Joe Gibbs racing driver Denny Hamlin.

No change in the weather expected for Charlotte Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Camping World Truck series race Friday night and the Sprint Cup Showdown and All-Star Race Saturday night.

Pleasant conditions are expected with daily high temperatures near 80 in the upper 70s. Mostly sunny to sunny skies, and winds ranging from 5 to 15 mph.

If you’re going to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and you’re a customer of either Sprint, Nextel, Boost or Virgin Mobile, you need to hear me out on this.

Sprint is holding a contest on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway for one of its customers to be grand marshal for the All-Star Race that night. And here’s the thing: I’m one of the judges, so I could help you win (but don’t tell anyone)!

For weeks, it seemed like Mother Nature would not turn off the faucets in the sky, but now we will have two weekends where weather is not a threat or a player.

Skies will be mostly sunny both Friday and Saturday, temperatures comfortable with highs near 80 and evening temperatures for both races in the mid 70s. Overall, it’s another A+ weekend.

This year’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race has a new format, and while it’s a little bit confusing at first, it’s bound to shake things up a bit.

Let’s try to explain it as simply as possible.