Race: Sprint Showdown and NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Picks
Date: Friday May 16 and Saturday May 17, 2014, respectively
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Time: 7 pm ET and 9 pm ET, respectively
TV: FOX Sports 1
by Virginia Vroom, NASCAR Handicapper, Predictem.com
He finally did it! Jeff Gordon won Saturday night at Kansas to earn a spot in the Chase this season. There have been many naysayers in Gordon’s ear about his lack of wins this season, but he managed to pull it out and hold Harvick off to celebrate in victory lane. Gordon is just one of the few drivers who were in the field of no wins. Now that he’s finally got his, it’s time for other drivers, namely teammate Jimmie Johnson to step up to the plate and gain their spot in the Chase.
This weekend, though, the drivers will have to wait to battle out the points. This weekend is all about the fans. We are running the Sprint Showdown on Friday night with the All-Star race running on Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is going to be good practice for the drivers, but ultimately, more fun for the fans. The beauty behind this whole weekend is that the drivers race for the win. Nothing more. Nothing less. It’s all about the title and the money. We really see some very good racing come out of the Showdown and the All-Star. We start with the Showdown on Friday night, where the top two drivers from the race move onto Saturday night’s feature. The field for the Showdown this year includes 23 drivers, which are drivers who did not win either last year of this year as of yet. Those drivers are:
1. Austin Dillon
2. Paul Menard
3. Michael Annett
4. Reed Sorenson
5. Marcos Ambrose
6. Aric Almirola
7. Alex Bowman
8. Ryan Truex
9. Cole Whitt
10. David Stremme
11. Landon Cassill
12. Danica Patrick
13. Casey Mears
14. Clint Bowyer
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
16. Blake Koch
17. David Gilliland
18. Kyle Larson
19. JJ Yeley
20. AJ Allmending
er
21. Joe Nemecheck
22. Dave Blaney
23. Josh Wise
The Showdown will consist of 2 20-lap segments with a break in between where drivers have the option to make a pit stop. Should drivers make a pit stop, track position will not be retained. Again, the top 2 drivers from the Showdown will earn transfer spots and will move on to the All-Star race on Saturday night.
The All-Star race currently has 19 entries. The way drivers get into the All-Star field is by winning a points race in 2013, a past Cup champion within the last 10 years, or winning the All-Star race in the past 10 years. That being said, here are your current All-Star drivers:
1. Jamie McMurray
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Tony Stewart
7. Greg Biffle
8. Kyle Busch
9. Matt Kenseth
10. Joey Logano
11. Jeff Gordon
12. Ryan Newman
13. David Ragan
14. Kurt Busch
15. Jimmie Johnson
16. Brain Vickers
17. Martin Truex Jr.
18. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
19. Carl Edwards
With such a strong field and nothing really on the line other than that $1 million payout, it’s going to be a free-for-all on the track. In my opinion, Jimmie Johnson is going to regain his crown on Saturday night. Charlotte used to be known as the House of Jimmie. I think we will see a brief return as Johnson tries some new strategy and gets his act together for the race in a couple of weeks. When it comes to the Showdown, that is also going to be a free-for-all. Not to take away from anyone in that field, but the strongest drivers have clearly been weeded already for the All-Star. We have a good amount of rookies in the Showdown field this year. It will be interesting to see if they all play nice with each other and who falls where. Honestly, I’m putting my money on Clint Bowyer and Austin Dillon to be the 2 transfer drivers. Bowyer has a lot of experience and he’s slowly coming around this season. Dillon does well on these bigger tracks and this will be a good time for him to shine.
My Picks to Win: Overall, with this being such a no-holds-bar kind of race, with the exception of Johnson, look for Kyle Busch to try and make his way through the field. He’s got a lot of guts and isn’t afraid to make moves on the track, especially at a 1.5-mile cookie-cutter oval like Charlotte. This race is for the fans and is sure to be an exciting one to watch! Bet your picks using your credit card and to receive a generous 50% signup bonus up to $250 FREE at Bovada Sportsbook! Free loot comes in handy!