And I’m sure the rest of the field is scratching their heads over how Kahne could do no better than finish fifth in the Sprint Showdown qualifying race against the slower cars and then put a big old can of whupass on the All-Star field to win $1 million. It almost defied explanation. Oh well.

Some other observations about the weekend:

One of the best moments of the entire All-Star weekend was Ned Jarrett giving the invocation on Saturday night and reflecting on his son Dale’s career. Dale, Ned and the entire Jarrett family have been class acts for as long as I can remember and deserve the accolades and praise they’ve received. Congratulations on a championship career Dale. You’ve earned everything you’ve achieved.

Lowe’s Motor Speedway is the home track for Hendrick Motorsports and a place where its drivers have dominated over the years. But the team’s comparative lack of pace on Saturday night showed they still have a long way to go if they want to catch Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing. They have time to do that, but so far this season, they’ve been less than impressive.

Congratulations to AJ Allmendinger for winning the Sprint Showdown qualifying race, which he likened to a Daytona 500 victory for him. Considering how much he and Red Bull Racing struggled, especially last season, this was a big shot in the arm. And the victory by Brian Vickers’s No. 83 crew in the Thursday’s Pit Crew Challenge made it Red Bull’s best weekend ever in NASCAR.

Also worthy of a mention was Sam Hornish Jr., who like Allmendinger raced his way into the big event, where he finished seventh, which certainly was impressive. Of course, his Penske Dodge was skewed so far sideways at the rear wheels that he looked like he was going to crash every lap, but that, as they say, is a story for another time.

Next up is the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race in NASCAR, under the lights at Lowe’s on Sunday night. See you there.

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