Race day at Charlotte

DAVID POOLE

The Charlotte Observer

Saturday, May. 17, 2008

• Showdown results | How they finished
• David Poole's blog | A lot to digest from the all-star weekend feast

3 Things To Watch

1. Could there be a race with a format more suited for Kyle Busch? Checkers or wrecker isn't just an all-star approach for the sport's hottest driver, it's a way of life.

2. If you're waiting for them to invert the field at some point during the four segments of 25 laps each, don't. There's no inversion in this year's rules.

3. Be in your seats by 6:20 p.m. for the inaugural Victory Challenge, the burnout contest featuring Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.

Observer's Picks

DAVID POOLE: My wife says I am not trainable, but I'm proving her wrong. If this season has taught me nothing else, it has taught me who to pick Saturday night.

Winner: Kyle Busch.

JIM UTTER: Humpy Wheeler got it right. Carl Edwards has dominated on 1.5-mile tracks and there's no reason he won't continue with $1 million on the line.

Winner: Carl Edwards.

TOM SORENSEN: For one thing, he's overdue to win. For another, picking him might get me past the line to get in at Whisky River.

Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

DAVID SCOTT: Nearly forgotten this year, the two-time defending Cup champion is almost always a factor at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Winner: Jimmie Johnson.

Observations

• The cars look twisted on the track because teams think they're getting additional side force by angling the bodies on the chassis. The front and back wheels actually are lined up. It just doesn't look that way. The bodies are straight, too, and still fit the templates. But the body and chassis are married in a way that the car looks turned sideways when it's rolling straight. That puts air on a larger surface area, creating more force. At least, that's the theory.

• People who tell you where Biffle will drive next year apparently know more about it than Biffle does himself. He was mad after the car he was leading with at Darlington, S.C., couldn't finish. Who could blame him? He's not going to decide his future based on that immediate reaction. Not if he's smart -- and Biffle is smart.

WHAT: NASCAR Sprint Showdown and Sprint All-Star Race.

WHERE: Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.

TRACK TYPE: 1.5-mile trioval (24 degrees of banking in turns).

RACE FORMAT: Showdown -- 40 laps; All-Star Race -- 100 laps (four 25-lap segments). Teams must make at least a stop-and-go pit stop between Segments 3 and 4 and will start the final segment in the order they come off pit road. Only green-flag laps count during the final segment.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday. TV: Speed.

WEATHER: Fair, with temperature falling from the high 70s.

RADIO: Motor Racing Network.

Friday's Qualifying

All-Star Race

Sprint Showdown

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