The 2013 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

race held on May 18, 2013, at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...

Concord, North Carolina Concord is the county seat and largest city in Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 105,186, with an estimated population in 2021 of 107,697. In terms of population, the cit ...

. Contested over 90 laps, the it was the second exhibition race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season.

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...

took his record fourth All-Star Race victory, while

Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...

finished second.

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...

Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/Procore, Procore ...

, and

Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...

rounded out the top five.

Report

Background

The track,

, is a four-turn

quad-oval Oval track racing is a form of closed-circuit motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic ...

track that is long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also had a five degree banking. The racetrack has seats for 134,000 spectators. A total of 23 drivers were entered for the Sprint Showdown, while 19 different drivers were eligible to participate in the All-Star Race, including race winners from last season through the

2013 Bojangles' Southern 500 The 2013 Bojangles' Southern 500, the 64th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 11, 2013, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race was contested over 367 ...

Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...

and previous All-Star race winners from the past 10 years. The drivers who finished first and second in the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap preliminary race, were also eligible to compete in the race, as well as the Sprint fan vote winner. The race was 90 laps long, separated into five segments: four segments of 20 laps and a final segment of 10 laps. Following the fourth segment, drivers were repositioned by their average finish in the previous four segments to determine what position they would enter pit road. A mandatory four-tire

pit stop In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...

was between the final two segments, while pitting between the 20 lap segments was optional.

Practice and qualifying

Sprint Showdown

Martin Truex Jr. Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...

started on pole, but

Jamie McMurray James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 b ...

passed him in turn two on the first lap. McMurray led all 20 laps to win the first segment after holding off a mid-segment charge by Truex. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished the segment in third, followed by

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech S ...

and

Paul Menard John Paul Christian Menard (born August 21, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport Racing. Men ...

. During the competition caution between segments,

Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road and stock car racing driver. He has raced in IndyCar, NASCAR's three national series including 15 seasons in the Cup Series, SCORE International, and the Stadium Super T ...

stayed out as the rest of the field came to pit road. McMurray took two tires and restarted second. He quickly re-took the lead and pulled away from the field as Stenhouse and Truex (who took four tires) tried to catch up. Stenhouse slightly closed in on McMurray over the next few laps while Truex and

Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...

battled for third. McMurray once again led all 20 laps to win segment two and advance into the All-Star Race. Stenhouse finished in second to advance as well. Burton, Menard, Truex, and Montoya rounded out the top six.

Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman ...

, who finished ninth, won the fan vote to advance to the All-Star Race.

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race

Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. 9 ...

started on pole and choose the outside lane, with

starting second. Busch took the lead from Edwards in turn three on lap one as

Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...

had transmission failure at the end of lap two. The first caution flag waved on lap eight for a rain shower and 11 of the remaining 21 cars (including

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series st ...

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...

, and

) made pit stops. The field ran under caution for five laps, until the red flag came out on lap 13 and the jet dryers were called onto the track. After a 41-minute red flag, the field took the restart on lap 16. Kurt Busch continued to lead and won the first 20-lap segment. He was followed by

Clint Bowyer Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...

, and

. Following the caution, Kurt Busch took the green flag with

on his outside. Kyle quickly moved around Kurt in turn two, but Kurt came back alongside Kyle in turn three. This allowed

to pass them both and pull away with the lead, while Kyle and Kurt settled in second and third, respectively. On lap 25, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bounced off the frontstretch wall and into

, who was sent spinning into the infield, to bring out the third caution. On the restart, Kyle Busch passed Bowyer for the lead in turn three. Busch led the next 12 laps to win the second segment, followed by Bowyer, Edwards, Kurt Busch, and

. During the caution, all drivers came down pit road, with the exception of Bowyer, Edwards, and Martin. On the restart, Bowyer continued to lead over Edwards and Kyle Busch. Edwards then quickly faded, leaving Busch in second and Johnson in third place. On lap 44, Kyle Busch passed Bowyer for the lead and pulled away, leaving Kurt Busch, Bowyer, Johnson, and

to battle for the second position. Bowyer then fell back, leaving Kurt Busch in second, Johnson in third, and Earnhardt in fourth. Kyle Busch would lead the last 17 laps of the third 20-lap segment to win the segment (his second segment win). He was followed by Kurt Busch, Johnson, Earnhardt, and

. The whole field came onto pit road during the caution (with some taking two tires and others taking four) and

rolled off of pit road first, followed by

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...

Greg Biffle Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing Team and full-time in the ...

Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and oper ...

, and Kyle Busch. At the start of the fourth 20-lap segment, Harvick nosed ahead of Kahne, but Kahne was able to stay in front of Harvick and pull away. As a result of everyone shuffling on the restart, Kyle Busch fell back several positions but regained to sixth. The fifth caution waved on lap 65 for debris resulting from contact between Biffle and Earnhardt. Kahne led on the restart (lap 71), followed by Kurt Busch, Harvick, and Johnson. Busch passed Kahne for the lead on lap 72 and started to pull away as Kahne and Johnson battled for second. Busch led the last nine laps of segment four to win the segment (his second segment win), followed by Kahne, Johnson, Kyle Busch, and

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...

. Due to a new stipulation, the field was shuffled in order of their average finishes in the first four segments before the mandatory pit stop. This put Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Kahne, Johnson, and Logano as the first five onto pit road. Kahne came out first, followed by Johnson, Kyle Busch, Logano, and Kurt Busch. On the restart, Kahne and Johnson ran side-by-side for two laps until Johnson finally cleared Kahne and moved away. Johnson sped away over the last eight laps to win his second All-Star Race in a row (becoming the only driver to win four All-Star races). Logano finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Kahne, and Kurt Busch. Hamlin, Earnhardt,

, and Edwards rounded out the top ten.

Results

Showdown qualifying

Showdown results

All-Star Race qualifying

All-Star Race results

References

{{NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race The NASCAR All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston from 1985 to 2003, the Nextel All-Star Challenge from 2004 to 2007, the Sprint All-Star Race from 2008 to 2016, and the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race from 2017 to 2019, is an annual NAS ...

NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR All-Star Race