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Nextel All-Star Challenge - Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Kenseth Top All-Star in Charlotte
Marlin Wins Nextel Open, Transfers to All-Star Event
Wallace Wins Nextel All-Star Pole Position
Defending Cup series champion Matt Kenseth took home the victory in NASCAR’s Nextel All-Star Challenge on Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and a hefty $ million-dollar paycheck. Kenseth used a textbook pass to take the lead from Ryan Newman with four laps remaining and held off Newman to win by .571 seconds and capture his first win in the all-star event. Newman, who elected not to pit under the final caution period, wasn’t able to hold off Kenseth with fresher tires and settled for the second position. Tony Stewart came home in third place, followed by teammates Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the top five. The event features three segments ran in 40, 30, and 20 laps, with Stewart winning the first segment and Newman winning segment number two.
Sterling Marlin captured the checkered flag in the Nextel Open and won the right to run his Dodge in the Nextel All-Star Challenge. The Nextel Open, which featured drivers who were not eligible for the All-Star Challenge, started with a bang when Casey Mears had a transmission failure upon taking the green flag and stated an accident that involved 11 cars. Marlin won a spirited battle with Jeremy Mayfield and teammate Jamie McMurray over the closing laps to win the preliminary event for the fourth time in his career.
Rusty Wallace, along with the No. 2 Dodge pit crew, won the pole position for Saturday night’s Nextel All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Wallace completed three circuits around the 1.5-mile quad-oval and a fast four-tire pit stop in 2 minutes and 3.998 seconds, for an average speed of 130.647 mph, to earn the pole for the non-points event. Wallace’s teammate Ryan Newman will join him on the front row, earning the outside pole position. Matt Kenseth will roll off third, while Mark Martin and Tony Stewart round out the top-five starting positions. In qualifying for the Nextel Open, Dave Blaney earned the top starting position with a lap of 29.180 seconds, at an average speed of 185.058 mph.
