Dale Earnhardt had a little magic at Charlotte, making the famous pass in the grass. Mark hopes there is a little of that magic in the Earnhardt built #8 Chevrolet for this weekend. (Photo: Todd Warshaw, Getty Images) » More Photos

THREE-PEAT? If Mark Martin can drive his Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet to victory in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Saturday night, he’ll join the late Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon as the only three-time event winners. Martin scored an upset victory in 1998, when Gordon ran out of the gas on the final lap while holding a huge lead. Three years ago, Martin added a second All-Star victory with a dominating and near-perfect run. He would like to score the trifecta on Saturday night.

“The All-Star Race is one of the coolest events of the season,” said Martin. “It's a race where all the teams can throw the points out the window and just go for it. I've always enjoyed racing in the event and we've been fortunate enough to come out on top on a couple of occasions. The win a couple of years ago was really awesome and one of the highlights of my career. We didn't have the best car in the field that night, but just really let it all hang out and went for it. We were able to get in the lead and we just never gave it up.”

TESTING BLUES Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards, like virtually every other driver in the Sprint Cup Series, participated in last week’s open test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. But Edwards didn’t think it was a good use of his time, or anyone else’s, for that matter. His biggest complaint is the extra work it puts on the members of his team.

“We shouldn’t test at all,” he said. “The guys work hard enough. If everyone tests, then everyone is in the same boat as if no one tests. Competitively, it’s the same. I don’t seen any reason to go do all this testing, other than making sure that this new car is gonna work with the tire and things like that. That’s important, but you can handpick a couple teams to go do that or NASCAR could have a test team to go do that. I’d gladly go drive something like that. I know any of these guys would on a rotating basis to save everyone from having to go do that. It’s a huge burden on the teams and it’s huge on the guys.”

SUMMER SHUFFLE Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Terry Labonte and youngster Chad McCumbee will spell Kyle Petty in what’s rapidly becoming his summer hiatus from the No. 45 Petty Enterprises Dodge. McCumbee will fill in for Petty June 1 at Dover International Speedway and July 12 at Chicagoland Speedway. Labonte will take the races in between. Petty will skip Dover to attend his daughter Montgomery Lee’s wedding and the remainder of the races to re-join TNT Sports in the broadcasting booth.

“It is an honor for me, personally and professionally, to have Terry drive my car,” said Petty. “He is a longtime friend and one of the true gentlemen to ever compete in our sport. Everyone at Petty Enterprises is excited to have he and Bobby in our Dodge Chargers. I know Terry will do a great job for us and all of our partners over this five-race stretch and I look forward to covering it from the TNT booth.”

RED BULL CALLING Red Bull Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger will be among those manning the telephones for NASCAR Day on Friday. By calling 1-888-MAY16TH (1-888-629-1684) and making a donation, fans will be helping the more than 30 driver, team and track charities that the NASCAR Foundation supports. Fans who mention either driver will have 100 percent of their donations go directly to their favorite driver’s designated charity. Last year, NASCAR Day raised more than $1.3 million. The telethon will run all day from the Sam Bass Gallery in Concord, N.C. SIRIUS Satellite Radio will go live from the event starting at 7 a.m. ET, and SPEED will do live cut-ins throughout the day. Allmendinger will answer phones from 9-10 a.m., with Vickers on from 3-3:40 p.m.

SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE XXIV RESULTS

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates on the history of the event and all the details about this year’s action.
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