Jimmie Johnson drives during testing at Lowes Motor Speedway. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images Photo) » More Photos

Of course, if Johnson wins, he’ll really have something to get fired up about: a winner’s purse that’s worth more than $1 million.

“The cool million at the end of the night is something everyone wants a shot at, too,” Johnson said. “I really do love it. I really, really enjoy the All-Star event and glad to see that it is growing in popularity and all that Sprint is putting behind it. They have been advertising it like crazy. So I am excited to see all that and look forward to putting on a good show.”

Johnson will have some stiff competition this weekend, including his former teammate Kyle Busch and Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards, each of whom already has won three points races in 2008. Right now, Johnson is especially concerned about Edwards, who has won all three of his races this year on fast, intermediate tracks like Lowe’s.

“I think he is the favorite right now,” said Johnson of Edwards. “I think we have closed the gap. At Texas we were really competitive and ran with him. So we are doing our part, we are getting closer, but I really think he is the favorite right now.”

As for the rest of the field, though, they’ll be watching out for Johnson and the No. 48 Chevrolet to strike again.

Jimmie Johnson will be one of the featured guests on SPEED’s NASCAR Sprints All-Star Race XXIV edition of RaceDay Saturday at 4 p.m. EDT.

i>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.
Watch and Win!