View All Star Trivia
ALL STAR TRIVIA By Gregg Leary
Category:NASCAR -> Sprint Cup
1. Just as Darrell Waltrip crossed the Finish Line to win the first All Star race in 1985, his engine detonated like a hand grenade. Some claim the Junior Johnson engineered motor was a tad oversized and the explosion may have made measuring difficult for the post-race inspectors.
2. The first All Star race was held in 1985. Other professional sports like Major League Baseball and the NBA had All Star Games. The NFL had their “Pro Bowl.” NASCAR decided it was time to “step up to the plate” and have an All Star event of their own.
3. All Star events in other sports move from city to city every year. NASCAR tried moving the event from Charlotte in its second year. Atlanta hosted the event in 1986. Even though native son Bill Elliott won the race, it was poorly attended. The All Star event went back to Charlotte and his been there ever since.
4. The “Pass in the Grass,” initiated when Dale Earnhardt was forced onto the infield lawn by Bill Elliott is one of the greatest misnomers in sports history. There was no pass…Earnhardt, demonstrating uncanny car control kept the lead and won the race. “Holding Position While Sliding Through the Grass at 180 MPH” just doesn’t have the same ring to it as “THE PASS IN THE GRASS.”
5. Darrell Waltrip was furious with 1989 race winner Rusty Wallace. Wallace had spun DW out of the lead coming to the white flag. Wallace took the big money. DW was livid and said, “I hope he chokes on that $200,000.” The fans sympathized with Waltrip. DW began to get more cheers at driver introductions and Wallace heard a lot more boos.
6. Dale Earnhardt became the first repeat winner of the All Star Race in 1990 in dominating Intimidator fashion. His black #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet won the pole and all three segments of the race, earning $325,000. Ken Schrader finished second...only 3/10th of a second back
7. The 1992 race was billed “One Hot Night.” It was held under the lights for the first time. Davey Allison became the only back-to-back winner, but he was unable to celebrate in Victory Lane. Allison tangled with Kyle Petty on the last lap and crashed after crossing the Finish Line…backwards. Davey had to be transported to the hospital. IV’s instead of champagne. Bummer.
8. Appropriately, Dale Earnhardt became the first THREE time winner of the All Star Race in 1993. He also won the event in 1987 and 1990. All three years he won the All Star Race he also won the NASCAR Cup Championship. Earnhardt won the event by only 1/6th of a second over Mark Martin.
9. Geoffrey Bodine became the first owner/driver to win the All Star Race in 1994. It is ironic because Bodine had bought the equipment of the late-great Alan Kulwicki who had won the 1992 Cup Championship as an owner/driver and died in a plane crash in 1993. The #7 was a fitting tribute to Kulwicki in Victory Lane.
10. It’s a classic “David” versus “Goliath” story. Geoffrey Bodine and his “Hoosier” clad horse bested the “Goodyear” dominated field in an All Star upset. Bodine won three other races and five poles for the Indiana tire company during the season.
11. Jeff Gordon’s All Star win in 1995 was but one highlight in a remarkable season. He won 8 Poles, 7 Races and took the 1995 Cup Championship over Dale Earnhardt by 34 points. Once Gordon won his first Cup Championship, Earnhardt would never win another. Gordon won all three segments of the All Star Race and celebrated in Victory Lane at Charlotte…only a few miles from the Hendrick Motorsports shops.
12. Michael Waltrip is the only driver to win the All Star Race without first posting a NASCAR Cup win. Waltrip earned his way into the All Star field by finishing fifth in the All Star Showdown. Michael would have to wait another 4 ½ years before he got his first Cup win…the 2001 Daytona 500. Michael joined brother Darrell as the only siblings to win the All Star Race.
13. Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the first rookie to win the All Star Race in 2000. He and his father are also the only father-son duo to win the event. Four fresh tires with eight laps to go were the difference for the driver of the Budweiser Chevrolet as DALES swept the first three places. Junior finished first, Dale Jarrett, second and Dale Senior, third. The third-generation Earnhardt won over half a million dollars on his home track.
14. Jeff Gordon became the second three-time winner of the All Star Race in 2001 despite crashing hard on the very first lap. Rain spit as the cars took the green flag and several crashed. Since it was a non-points race, and the first lap was not completed, teams were allowed to bring out back up cars. Gordon averaged over 185 MPH in the race which went caution free after the initial red flag. Jeff finished out the 2001 season with his fourth NASCAR Cup Championship.
15. “Flyin’ Ryan” Newman became the second rookie to win the All Star Race when he held off the first rookie winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., by just over a tenth of a second to nail down the 2002 trophy and nearly $800,000 in prize money. Ryan went on to win “Rookie of the Year” on the strength of 1 Win, 6 Poles and a 6th place finish in the Points.
16. Jimmie Johnson became the first winner of the All Star Race to take home over a million dollars. Johnson felt “right at home” in the 2003 race when he piloted the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet to victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, just down the road from his Hendrick Motorsports shops and the world headquarters of his sponsor, Lowe’s. “There’s no place like home.”
17. Mark Martin carried a retro paint scheme on his #6 Ford and dominated 18 of the final 20 lap segment of the All Star Race for his second victory in the classic. Half of the 22 car field was eliminated in accidents but Mark was able to avoid the carnage and earn over $1.1 Million for 1 hour and 11 minutes of high-speed work.
18. Jimmie Johnson’s All Star win in 2006 was one highlight in an amazing season that saw him win the Daytona 500 and score victories on NASCAR’s oldest track: Indianapolis, shortest track: Martinsville and longest track: Talladega on his way to his first Cup Championship. A season of many HIGHS for the LOWE’S driver.
19. Kevin Harvick was the second straight driver to win the Daytona 500 and the All Star Race in the same season when he captured both flags in 2007. Both races paid over one million dollars, so Kevin lived up to his nickname, “Happy,” when he cashed the big checks. Harvick led the last 18 laps after the Busch Brothers, Kurt and Kyle tangled after a bit of “sibling rivalry.”
20. Former open-wheel star, A.J. Allmendinger won the 2008 Sprint Showdown and earned himself a spot in the 2008 Sprint All Star Challenge. A.J.’s Red Bull Toyota out-energized 26 other competitors to snag the flag. Allmendinger completed all 100 laps in the All-Star Challenge and finished 17th.
21. Kasey Kahne said, “Can Do” and drove the Bud Can to a win in the 2008 Sprint All-Star Challenge. Kahne needed the fan vote to earn a slot in the feature race and took full advantage of the opportunity by leading 17 laps and banking the million dollar prize. Kahne had a great month of May at Lowe’s as he also won the Coca Cola 600.
22. The first Sprint Showdown was held in 1986 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Benny Parsons won the event at the wheel of his Copenhagen Oldsmobile. BP won $75,000. Parsons beat Tim Richmond, Bobby Hillin Jr., Lake Speed and Joe Ruttman to the flag.
23. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt are tied with three All Star victories each. Earnhardt won the event in 1987, 1990, and 1993. Gordon was the winner in 1995, 1997 and 2001. Both drivers also won the NASCAR Cup Championship in every year that they won the All Star Race.
24. Ken Schrader has finished second in the All Star Race three straight times …but he has never won it. Schrader finished second in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Ken also finished second in the Sprint Showdown in 1993, 1995 and 2002. Close but no cigar…and NO million dollar paydays.
25. Team Owner, Rick Hendrick has won 6 All Star Races at his “home” track, Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Hendrick’s race shops are located only a couple miles from the racetrack. Jeff Gordon has won the All Star Race three times, Jimmie Johnson twice, and Terry Labonte, once. Richard Childress is next on the Team Owner’s list with 4 victories.
26. Dale Earnhardt started the special paint scheme craze at the 1995 All Star Race. His SILVER #3 celebrated 25 years of Winston’s NASCAR sponsorship. The car sold thousands of die cast replicas but crashed in the race. Dale followed up with a special Olympic paint scheme in 1996.
27. Jeff Gordon’s Jurassic Park “T-Rex” was TOO good in 1997. It so dominated the final segment of the All Star Race that NASCAR insisted that it be retired on the spot. Gordon won the race by over a second. Bobby Labonte finished second and brother Terry drove his Kellogg’s Chevrolet to third.
28. Jeff Gordon won the Showdown in 1994. He went on to win All Star races and NASCAR Cup Championships in 1995, 1997 and 2001. In 1998 Gordon won the Cup Championship but only finished 12th in the All Star Race. He and Dale Earnhardt are the only three time winners of the All Star Race.
29. The only brother combination to win the All Star Race is Darrell and Michael Waltrip. Darrell won the inaugural All Star Race in 1985 and little brother, Michael captured the crown in 1996. Terry Labonte has won two All Star Races and brother Bobby has a best finish of second.
30. Lowe’s Motor Speedway is a 1.5 Mile Tri-Oval. The turns are banked at 24 degrees. Grandstand seating is 165,000. The first race held at Charlotte was the World 600 on June 19, 1960. Joe Lee Johnson won the event in a Chevrolet at an average speed of 107.8 MPH.