NASCAR and Charlotte Motor Speedway announced Tuesday a new format for the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Reinforcing the need for speed and going all out for the win, the format for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race that will put added emphasis on finishing well in each of the five segments. The sport’s annual classic is set for Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. (live on SPEED) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The new wrinkle that should have the fans and the competitors excited: the running order at the completion of the fourth segment (Lap 80) will be repositioned based on the average finish for the first four segments directly behind the caution car prior to the opening of pit road for the mandatory four-tire pit stop. The order of the cars returning to the track will determine the starting order of the fifth segment. Running order ties will be broken by the finish of the fourth segment. This revision puts a premium on making all of the laps count leading up to the final 10-lap shootout with the race winner earning a $1 million pay day from Sprint.
“Having the average finish through the race’s first four segments determine how the cars come down pit road for the last mandatory four-tire pit stop takes the competition to an even higher level,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition. “The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is truly a showcase event for our sport and this format should bring out the best in our drivers and our teams.”
- Drivers who have won NASCAR Sprint Cup races in the current and preceding year. If a driver leaves a team with which he has won a race, he or she remains eligible (through the last race before the all-star race), however, the team does not
- Drivers who are past NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners in the past 10 years
- Drivers who are past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions in the last 10 years
- The top two finishers in the Sprint Showdown, the 40-lap race that precedes the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
- The top Sprint Fan Vote driver who finishes on the lead lap of the Showdown and whose car is in “raceable” condition as determined by the series director