Long suspended for 12 weeks

NASCAR handed down one of their toughest penalties ever to a driver few have heard of. Carl Long has been docked 200 points, fined $200,000 and placed suspended for 12 weeks for a rule's violation at Charlotte during the All-Star weekend, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: The infraction was for an oversized engine and NASCAR seems to be sending a very clear message. Luckily for them (not so much for Long), this did not happen to one of the marquee drivers.

For the record, this gives car owner Danielle Long -153 points.

Ku Busch's post All-Star race comments

“It was really a good effort all the way around for this Miller Lite Dodge team." Busch said. "I felt that the way that our car took off on green flag runs, the car just took too long to get going. That’s a big mystery to us for sure and it’s not anything you want in a 10-lap shootout. Overall, I thought that we had the best car on a 20-lap run, but that doesn’t pay the big bucks tonight. We finished third, but that doesn’t mean anything. If anything, we learned some things for next weekend’s (Coca-Cola) 600 that hopefully we can apply and make our Miller Lite Dodge better."

Our View: Busch had a top-five car for most of the evening and his fantasy owners should be happy that he ended the day in third. Pushing the issue only leads to misery—just ask his brother Kyle, Ryan Newman or Jeff Gordon. Kurt's patient attitude should make him a good value in the 600.

Stewart on his All-Star win

Tony Stewart met with reporters after the All-Star race and described his last couple of laps.

I've said this 50 times since I got in the car: I can't believe he gave me the bottom. We got a run on him two laps before and got a run off of 2 at the bottom, got beside him. I overdrove it in 3 and just got down there and got loose trying to clear him, and he was able to get back by us. And then he went to the bottom in 1 and 2 the next lap.

I don't think he was great down there, but he was good enough, I think, to hold us off. But the next lap we go back through there and we got a run off of 4 on him.

I was prepared to go at least to the middle or to the top and run somewhere different because I knew I wasn't going to be able to follow him through there again.

And on the entry he ran up high, and I was like: Wow, I can't believe he's giving me the bottom again. I got down there, got in the gas real quick and got by. And it was the best the car was all night. Darian made a handful of adjustments on that last caution and, man, did it wake that car up.

It just was stuck those last 10 laps. We were as good as the guys in front of us. We were just in traffic with them. And I'm confident even if Jeff didn't have a problem or Jimmie didn't have a problem around us, that we had a shot at running with those guys.

I don't know if we would have got by those two, but Ryan Newman was probably the guy that should have been in Victory Lane tonight. He got a tire cut and had to come get it fixed.
But, man, it was just awesome to finally get into Victory Lane here with a group of guys that have been looking at this for a long time.

2009 All-Star Results

Smoke 'em if you got 'em. It was only a matter of time before Tony Stewart became a winner as the owner of his own team and it doesn't matter one little bit that this was an exhibition race.

After the race, second-place finisher Matt Kenseth told reporters that Stewart "rolled by me like I was tied to a tree," and it was sheer determination that got him to the lead.

Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five after relatively quiet nights.

Fan vote winner Joey Logano advanced from 21st to eighth, which has to have improved his confidence as his rookie campaign nears the mid-season mark.

Unfortunately, the drivers with the dominant cars all sustained crash damage and were not in contention at the end. Jimmie Johnson pounded the wall in the final segment in a single car incident, while Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon got together only three laps into the 10-lap shootout.

Results

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Status	Avg Fin *
1	15	Tony Stewart	100	Running	7.55
2	3	Matt Kenseth	100	Running	6.44
3	2	Kurt Busch	100	Running	12.13
4	18	Denny Hamlin	100	Running	16.50
5	14	Carl Edwards	100	Running	11.20
6	5	Mark Martin	100	Running	12.91
7	13	Kyle Busch	100	Running	18.60
8	21	Joey Logano	100	Running	8.00
9	20	Jamie McMurray	100	Running	19.43
10	4	Dale Earnhardt Jr	100	Running	7.80
11	7	Bobby Labonte	100	Running	13.12
12	17	Clint Bowyer	100	Running	21.50
13	1	Jimmie Johnson	100	Running	6.00
14	8	Kasey Kahne	100	Running	13.14
15	9	Kevin Harvick	100	Running	11.67
16	19	Sam Hornish Jr	100	Running	11.50
17	10	Brad Keselowski	100	Running	17.00
18	12	Ryan Newman	93	Accident	8.88
19	6	Jeff Gordon	92	Accident	11.33
20	16	Jeff Burton	85	Engine	17.44
21	11	Greg Biffle	71	Accident	16.00

* Avg. Fin includes "Showdown" results unless a driver advanced into All-Star portion.

Shootout Results

2009 Shootout Results

Sam Hornish Jr. is making a career out of advancing into the All-Star race. Can another transferee win?

Jamie McMurray finished second and advanced. Joey Logano received the fan vote to advance into the All-Star race.


Results

Finish	Start	Driver
1	8	Sam Hornish Jr.
2	30	Jamie McMurray
3	3	David Stremme
4	13	David Reutimann
5	19	Joey Logano
6	6	Martin Truex Jr
7	10	A J Allmendinger
8	7	David Ragan
9	32	Robby Gordon
10	14	Marcos Ambrose
11	4	Dave Blaney
12	11	Juan Montoya
13	23	Casey Mears
14	28	Michael Waltrip
15	22	David Gilliland
16	16	Bill Elliott
17	24	Paul Menard
18	34	Reed Sorenson
19	20	Scott Speed
20	21	Joe Nemechek
21	9	Max Papis
22	33	J J Yeley
23	15	Dexter Bean
24	35	Tony Raines
25	5	Scott Riggs
26	12	Mike Wallace
27	26	Todd Bodine
28	17	Derrike Cope
29	25	Mike Garvey
30	29	David Starr
31	18	Norm Benning
32	1	Kirk Shelmerdine
33	27	Elliott Sadler
34	31	Brian Vickers
35	2	Carl Long

All-Star Results

Rain everywhere

Rain has slowed activity in Indianapolis and Charlotte both. Qualification for the Indy 500 is on hold, but hopefully tonight's All-Star activity will go as planned.

Our View: For that matter, the World of Outlaws Late Model race in Lawrenceburg, Ill. has been canceled by rain. It's hard to be a race fan some weeks.

All-Star Race Lineup

No one is particularly surprised that Jimmie Johnson won the pole for Saturday night's All-Star race. Even with a curveball of a pit stop and three-lap qualification format, the cream rises to the top.

Kurt Busch in second and Matt Kenseth in third were the only drivers to break up the Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut at the top of the grid, however, since Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon settled into positions fourth through sixth. All of these drivers had flawless qualification sessions.

The same could not be said about Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Jeff Burton who were penalized for a variety of reasons. Tony Stewart forgot the team was changing four tires and had to back up to complete service and Denny Hamlin broke a transmission, which contributed to their poor starting spots.

All-Star Lineup

Start	Driver	Avg. Start	Avg. Fin	Attempts
1	Jimmie Johnson	10.71	5.00	7
2	Kurt Busch	7.57	13.43	7
3	Matt Kenseth	8.25	7.00	8
4	Dale Earnhardt Jr	13.44	7.56	9
5	Mark Martin	8.38	13.24	21
6	Jeff Gordon	8.71	10.88	17
7	Bobby Labonte	8.81	13.25	16
8	Kasey Kahne	12.00	13.00	6
9	Kevin Harvick	7.75	11.25	8
10	Brad Keselowski
11	Greg Biffle	8.80	15.17	6
12	Ryan Newman	9.00	7.57	7
13	Kyle Busch	4.75	21.50	4
14	Carl Edwards	10.00	12.75	4
15	Tony Stewart	11.40	8.20	10
16	Jeff Burton	12.00	17.29	17
17	Clint Bowyer	16.33	24.67	3
18	Denny Hamlin	10.00	20.67	3

All-Star qualification penalties

The following drivers earned penalties in All-Star qualification: Greg Biffle (5 seconds for a loose lugnut), Kyle Busch (5 seconds for a loose lugnut), Carl Edwards (15 seconds for three loose lugnuts) and Jeff Burton (20 second for speeding on pit road).

Our View: To win the pole in All-Star qualification, a driver has to have a perfect stop as well as a fast car.

Johnson wins All-Star pole

Jimmie Johnson set the fastest time in All-Star qualification, with a time of 121.42 seconds.

Our View: Johnson continues to own this track. He's the closest thing to a must have for your fantasy All-Star lineup.

Showdown qualification canceled

Qualification for the Sprint Showdown has been canceled and the field will be set based on how the drivers drew for time trials.

Our View: This sprint race can be dramatic and now that fast cars will be sprinkled throughout the field, it's going to get even more exciting.

Johnson wins All-Star practice

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest single lap in practice for the All-Star race, with a lap of 183.393 mph.

Our View: Is this surprising to anyone out there? Johnson has owned Lowe's Motor Speedway in recent years and the exhibition race has not been an exception.

All-Star Showdown practice speeds

Jayski.com has posted the practice speeds from the All-Star practice, along with average speeds when possible.

Our View: Since NASCAR's TrackPass Leaderboard does not archive, this is a great source for the information.

Allmendinger fastest in Showdown practice

A.J. Allmendinger posted the fastest single lap in All-Star practice with a speed of 182.223 mph.

Our View: In normal conditions, we are also concerned with how quick a car is during longer runs—but this is a sprint to the checkers and the Dinger's fast speed makes him a favorite to advance in the All-Star race on Saturday night.

Shelmerdine wrecks in All-Star practice

Kirk Shelmerdine became the first casualty of All-Star practice when he slapped the wall in the closing minutes.

Our View: A total of 35 cars will try to qualify for the Showdown, so he should be able to make the race and earn at least last place money. That should pay to have the right side of the car repaired.

Burton team wins pit crew challenge

Jeff Burton's No. 31 team has won the pit crew challenge and set a new record in the process, according to the Sporting News Wire Service.

Our View: The team avoided mistakes and pushed the car across the line in 22.115 seconds. Flawless pit stops is one key to success in a NASCAR race.

Earnhardt excited about new format

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is excited about the new format of the All-Star race, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: No points on the line should take away the pressure and Earnhardt believes he can get up on the wheel for the final 10-lap segment. This could be his best chance to get his first top-five in more than five years. Click here for a record of the last five years.

The Circus

Event Day Games Preview: Everybody loves a circus and that seems to be the theme behind every All-Star race.

What happens when you put a million dollars on the line and tell the drivers to come back with either the checkered flag or the steering wheel? All too often, they end up coming back with the steering wheel. The All-Star race offers no points and there is nothing to lose by putting your car in harm's way. Kyle Busch can tell you precisely how that affects a driver's style—he's never finished one of these events.

Jeff Gordon has finished his share of All-Star races, however, and he stands head and shoulders above his competition with three victories in this specialty event, but even a driver of his magnitude has not been immune to trouble. Since winning his latest in 2001, he's only cracked the top five twice and his last two races have been among his worst.

So, who will be the favorite? Well that's anyone's guess since only one driver has taken the money home twice in the last decade. Jimmie Johnson is a master of this track in both point-paying races and exhibitions, so don't be surprised to see him at the head of the field.

Join us at http://www.eventdaygames.com/ this week to play along with our unique fantasy game.

RPM teammates struggle to keep Kahne company

Only Kasey Kahne is locked into the All-Star race by virtue of winning it last year, which leaves Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson and A.J. Allmendinger hoping to win the Sprint Showdown or get voted in by the fans, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Until last year, we would have said that none of these drivers would be a very good value, but Kahne won after the fan voted him into the big show and Sam Hornish Jr. finished seventh after racing his way into last year's field.

Newman knows how special All-Star race is

"Until I won the Daytona 500, the All-Star win was my greatest victory," said Ryan Newman in a press release this week. "We beat everybody on a given night in our backyard. We weren't racing for points but racing for glory and money, and it was a great win." Newman's victory came in 2008.

Our View: If the drivers think its special, they are going to put the pedal to the metal and go flat out. Newman is one of the hottest racers in the field this weekend and he cannot be overlooked by fantasy owners.

Kenseth is a true All-Star

Matt Kenseth will race in his ninth straight All-Star races, according to a team press release, which makes him a true All-Star.

Our View: In that span, he's earned five top-10s, three of which were top-fives, but the crowning moment was his victory in 2001.