Cars race during the All-Star Challenge in 2007 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Photo) » More Photos

Denny Hamlin, 2007 Lenox Industrial Tools 300, Loudon, N.H. Hamlin has shown the speed to be a threat anywhere, anytime in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He hasn’t had quite the luck that his teammate Kyle Busch has had, but he’s certainly one of the top-five favorites.

Jamie McMurray, 2007 Pepsi 400, Daytona Beach, Fla. McMurray, unfortunately, still hasn’t clicked with Roush Fenway Racing the way the team hoped he would prior to signing him. He ranks 23rd in points, lowest of the team’s five drivers. A McMurray win would be a big upset.

Tony Stewart, 2007 USG Sheetrock 400, Joliet, Ill. Stewart drives a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Therefore, by definition, he can win on Saturday night. One of the sport’s top drivers, he’s still looking for his first All-Star race victory.

Kurt Busch, 2007 Pennsylvania 500, Long Pond, Pa. Ever since his dramatic runner-up finish in the Daytona 500, Busch’s performance has tailed off. He hasn’t had a top-10 finish since Daytona and his Penske Racing team is off the mark right now.

Clint Bowyer, 2007 Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H. Bowyer, the surprise winner at Richmond two weeks ago, is someone to keep an eye out for. His easy Midwestern nature belies the fact that he is a fast, hard-nosed racer who knows the way to victory lane.

Greg Biffle, 2007 LifeLock 400, Kansas City, Kan. Biffle has had fantastic pace this season, but he’s enormously frustrated by pit crew and reliability issues with his Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion at the moment. If he’s running at the end of the race, he could play a role in the outcome.
Ryan Newman, 2008 Daytona 500, Daytona Beach, Fla. Newman’s fall-off hasn’t been as precipitous as that of his teammate Kurt Busch, but after winning the Daytona 500, he’s now slipped out of the top 12 in points. He is a past winner here, though.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2000 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Winner Consistently a tick behind Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards this year, Earnhardt has been the best of the Hendrick Motorsports Chevys this season, and by a fairly wide margin. He won this race as a rookie in 2000, and another victory would not surprise.
Mark

Martin, 2005 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Winner Anyone who thinks Mark Martin is over the hill hasn’t been paying much attention lately, as he had consecutive top-five finishes prior to a 16th at Darlington. A two-time winner here, Martin could make it a trifecta on Saturday night.

Dale Jarrett, 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion It would be a great story if the 1999 series champion could put his car into victory lane in his final race. It would take an unlikely set of circumstances for that to happen, though.

Bobby Labonte, 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion On paper, Labonte doesn’t seem like much of a threat to win, but he loves Lowe’s Motor Speedway and frequently runs well here, which means he’s a darkhorse, but a legitimate one.

TBD, 2008 Sprint Showdown Winner Hey, Michael Waltrip won the All-Star race after transferring in from the showdown in 1996, so anything’s possible, right?

TBD, 2008 Sprint Showdown Second Place See above.

TBD, 2008 Sprint Fan Vote Sadly, whoever wins the fan vote is probably going to be the person least likely to actually win the race.

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

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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