Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

CHARLOTTE, NC— Friday night’s Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was a night that the members of the Eddie Sharp Racing team will never forget. After having both of their trucks with Cale Gale and Justin Lofton qualify in the top-ten, the team looked to be in store for a great night under the lights in Charlotte.

But the night didn’t start off so well for Lofton. Slipping back to the back half of the top-ten after the first lap, Lofton found himself struggling in the middle of the pack. By lap 85 however, Lofton found himself in the race lead.

At one point. Lofton had opened his lead up to nearly three full seconds over the second place truck of Brad Keselowski. As the run went on, Keselowski began to chip away at the 26-year-old Lofton’s lead down to less than half a second with 25 laps to go.

Keselowski was able to grab the lead away from Lofton, who’s tires had started to fade towards the end of the run, with 16 laps to go and looked to have his first Truck Series win well in hand.

However, late race cautions for Nelson Piquet Jr. and debris bunched the field up for a late race dash to the finish.

On the restart with five laps to go, Lofton was lined up next to Keselowski with Jason White and Ron Hornaday Jr. right on his bumper.

With a shove from White, Lofton shot out to the lead heading into turn one. When the white flag flew, Lofton was once again feeling the heat from Keselowski who was doing everything he could to prevent Lofton from picking up his first Truck Series win, while picking up his first in the process.

But it was to no avail as Lofton went on to claim is first career Truck Series victory in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“It’s just amazing to be able to do it with these guys,” said Lofton. “Eddie[Sharp] believe in me, Daniel[Bormann, crew chief] believed in me, taking a chance, quiting a job and taking over as crew chief in a very short period of time. It’s awesome.”

Although this may be the first victory for Eddie Sharp Racing and Lofton in the Truck Series, it’s not the first time the two have shared success together as they won the ARCA championship back in 2009.

However after that success, the two split as their careers appeared to be heading down opposite paths. Sharp would stay in the ARCA Series, while Lofton would jump to NASCAR with numerous teams since the 2010 season.

After the first Texas race last year, Sharp said he received a phone call that lead to this night at Charlotte.

“I had Craig Goess driving for me at the time. The day after, his father called me and said he quit. That was the only money I had coming through my door,” said Sharp. “I sat there for almost a week trying to figure out how I was going to pay these guys, and what am I going to do now.

“I was sitting at my desk Monday morning one week later, and my cell phone was laying right in front of me. And I looked down and it started vibrating. It was Bob Lofton. It was Justin’s dad. I thought this was either going to be be really good, or really bad. I answered the phone and it was Bob and he said, ‘Son, let’s get the band back together.”

The special bond between driver and owner carried the team to their first career victory Friday night at Charlotte.

With the win, Lofton now leads the series standings by one point over Timothy Peters heading into the sixth race of the season at Dover.

Results of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 

1. Justin Lofton
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Todd Bodine
4. Jason Leffler
5. Ron Hornaday Jr.
6. Jason White
7. Joey Coulter
8. Jeb Burton
9. Timothy Peters
10. Ty Dillon
11. Parker Kligerman
12. Brendan Gaughan
13. Dakoda Armstrong
14. Migeul Paludo
15. Matt Crafton
16. John Wes Townley
17. David Starr
18. David Reutimann
19. Cale Gale
20. Bryan Silas
21. Caleb Holman
22. James Buescher
23. Jake Crum
24. Max Gresham
25. Johnny Sauter
26. Jennifer Jo Cobb
27. Brennan Newberry
28. Ryan Sieg
29. Nelson Piquet Jr.
30. Paulie Harraka
31. Chad McCumbee
32. Chris Fontaine
33. John King
34. Dennis Setzer
35. Ross Chastain
36. Clay Greenfield

Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

CHARLOTTE,NC—For the second consecutive year, Kyle Busch will start on the pole for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Going out last in the session after topping the charts in practice during the afternoon, the Las Vegas native grabbed the top spot for the All-Star Race for the third time in his career.

“It’s just a whole team effort, that’s what it boils down to,” said Busch after winning the pole. “Guys unload with a really good car today. We knew we’d be pretty quick here and thought we had a pretty good shot for the pole. Going out last, that always helps.

“I think we got a little system going on for this place,” said Busch. “That’s our second straight pole for this race. Just proud of Dave Rogers[crew chief] and all the guys on this team.”

Busch will be going for his first as well as the first victory for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night.

After going out second, Ryan Newman held onto the provisional pole for the majority of the 20 car session only to be topped by Busch at the very end of the session.

Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson all made challenges to Newman’s early time but were unsuccessful in knocking him off the top spot.

While pit crews can play a major role in placing a driver in a prime starting position, they can also hurt the team with a simple penalty.

Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin,Kurt Busch, Marcos Ambrose, and Brad Keselowski  were subject to penalty, placing them far down the starting order for Saturday night’s All-Star Race. Each of the drivers with penalties during qualifying will start 15th through 19th on Saturday night.

Kasey Kahne, who was one of the first cars to take time, wrecked his No.5 Chevrolet on his third and final lap. Kahne qualified for the race in the 20th position in a backup car.

Starting Lineup for the Sprint All-Star Race 

1. Kyle Busch
2. Ryan Newman
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Greg Biffle
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Paul Menard
8. Jeff Gordon
9. Tony Stewart
10. Regan Smith
11. Trevor Bayne
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Carl Edwards
14. David Ragan
15. Matt Kenseth
16. Mark Martin
17. Kurt Busch
18. Marcos Ambrose
19. Brad Keselowski
20. Kasey Kahne

Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

A.J. Allmendinger wasn’t quite fast enough in practice to unseat Dale Earnhardt Jr. from the top spot for the Sprint Showdown. But, when it came time to qualify, Allmendinger was able to beat Earnhardt and everyone else to grab the pole for the prelimenary All-Star event on Saturday night.

With a lap of 192.47 MPH/28.06 seconds, Allmendinger was able to beat out Martin Truex Jr for the pole for Saturday’s race.

“It was a good lap,” Allmendinger said to SPEED reporters after his lap. “The car was stuck to the track.”

This is the first time that Allmendinger has sat on pole for the Sprint Showdown, he started on the outside of the front row a year ago.

Rounding out the top-five for Saturday’s event will be Earnhardt Jr. in third, Jeff Burton in fourth and Aric Almirola in fifth.

Before the All-Star race on Saturday night will be the Sprint Showdown, a race of all the drivers that haven’t qualified for the All-Star race. It will feature two 20 lap segments. The winner and second place driver in the event will both automatically transfer from the Sprint Showdown to the All-Star race.

A third Sprint Showdown driver will transfer from to the All-Star race that is the driver who wins the fan vote.

Three times in the history of the All-Star event, a driver that has transferred from the Showdown has won the All-Star race.

“We have 40 laps to get into this thing,” Allmendinger said about the All-Star race.

Since this is not a points paying event no drivers had to go home.

Sprint Showdown Starting Line-up:

1. A.J. Allmendinger
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Jeff Burton
5. Aric Almirola
6. Landon Cassill
7. Juan Pablo Montoya
8. Bobby Labonte
9. Travis Kvapil
10. David Stremme
11. Casey Mears
12. David Reutimann
13. Joey Logano
14. Stephen Leicht
15. Scott Speed
16. David Gilliland
17. Mike Bliss
18. J.J. Yeley
19. Jamie McMurray
20. Joe Nemechek
21. Josh Wise
22. Tony Raines

Credit: Rainer Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR

CHARLOTTE,NC—For the first time in his young NASCAR career, Ty Dillon will start a race from the pole position by winning the pole for Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After pacing the first practice session early in the morning, Dillon was the final of 41 trucks to take time. That would give Dillon the advantage of the track cooling down as clouds began to form around the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“This is amazing, we’ve been really fast all day and I knew we had a shot,” said Dillon. “I Got my first pole at Charlotte, the track I grew up watching[racing] at.”

Before Dillon took to the track, Justin Lofton set fast time; nearly 1/4 of a second faster than any other truck in the field locking the two drivers onto the front row for Friday night’s 200 mile event.

Series points leader, Timothy Peters, will lineup from the fourth starting spot. Peters will try to keep his streak of four-straight top-five finishes going at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Joey Coulter, Timothy Peters, Jason Leffler, Matt Crafton, Jason White, Cale Gale, Brad Keselowkski, and James Buescher round out the top-10 starters for the race.

Failing to qualify for the race were; Johnny Chapman, Chris Cockrum, Jeff Agnew, Norm Benning, Chris Cockrum, and Wes Burton.

Starting Lineup for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 

1. Ty Dillon
2. Justin Lofton
3. Joey Coulter
4. Timothy Peters
5. Jason Leffler
6. Matt Crafton
7. Jason White
8. Cale Gale
9. Brad Keselowski
10. James Buescher
11. Brendan Gaughan
12. Miguel Paludo
13. Johnny Sauter
14. Parker Kligerman
15. Ron Hornaday Jr.
16. Nelson Piquet Jr.
17. Todd Bodine
18. Ross Chastain
19. John King
20. Paulie Harraka
21. Jeb Burton
22. John Wes Townely
23. Max Gresham
24. Dakoda Armstrong
25. Jennifer Jo Cobb
26. Bryan Silas
27. Ryan Sieg
28. Jake Crum
29. Brennan Newberry
30. Chad McCumbee
31. David Reutimann
32. Chris Fontaine
33. Clay Greenfield
34. David Starr
35. Caleb Holman
36. Dennis Setzer

@brian_wiggins

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 18, 2012) – NASCAR and Twitter announced today a unique digital partnership that will create a new way for the sport’s millions of fans to experience what happens inside NASCAR and its teams on race day.

Built to support the live race broadcast, this new experience will give fans a complementary insider’s view of the action as it unfolds on the track and on Twitter. During a race, when fans click on #NASCAR, search for #NASCAR on Twitter.com or visit twitter.com/#NASCAR, they’ll reach a new Twitter experience where they will see the most relevant tweets from their favorite NASCAR drivers, NASCAR families, teams, commentators, celebrities and other racing fans and personalities.

NASCAR is the first organization to team with Twitter to create an enhanced live event experience on the Twitter platform.

“Twitter has been an important piece of our effort the last several years to further engage our fan base and help grow the sport,” said Steve Phelps, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of NASCAR. “This new, complementary live race experience product is an evolution of that relationship with Twitter, and we’re excited about continuing to provide our millions of fans with greater access to our athletes and further engagement with our drivers, teams, tracks and executives.”

Twitter.com/#NASCAR will be available starting with the Pocono Raceway race weekend and will be most active on Sunday, June 10 in conjunction with TNT’s first of six television broadcasts of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season (1 p.m. ET on TNT). This new product will provide a complementary Twitter experience to TNT viewers looking for in-depth access to the happenings at the track and in the garage of a NASCAR race weekend.

“Twitter amplifies the excitement of live sporting events and gives NASCAR fans insider access to the drivers and teams they love,” said Dick Costolo, chief executive officer of Twitter Inc. “When sports fans around the world see a hashtag displayed on the air during a game or race, that’s a signal to them that there is a bigger conversation happening on Twitter. Between the talented NASCAR personalities on Twitter and the fact that they have some of the most loyal fans in the world of sports, they were a natural choice to partner with as we experiment with ways to create the best experience on Twitter during a big event.”

Twitter.com/#NASCAR will use a combination of algorithmic and editorial signals to select and feature the best Tweets and photos from NASCAR insiders in an effort to bring the behind-the-scenes story to life during NASCAR race weekends. Twitter’s media team will be curating Tweets to highlight on the page come race weekend from a highly selective list of accounts from the world of NASCAR including drivers, pit crews, families, media, fans and NASCAR representatives.

More details surrounding this new partnership and the June 10 product launch will be available in the days and weeks ahead from Twitter, NASCAR and TNT.

Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Information: 

 Date: Saturday, May 19, 2012

Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway—Concord, NC

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Distance: All-Star Race/ 100 laps (Four 20 lap segments, then a final 10 laps) —Sprint Showdown/ 40 laps (Two 20 lap segments)

Broadcast: TV/ SPEED at 7 p.m. ET time

Radio: Performance Racing Network, Sirius XM Channel 90

Notes and Analysis: 

For the 28th time, the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will do battle in “all or nothing” style race; The NASCAR Sprint All-Star race.

With no points on the line, drivers are competing for $1 million in this star-studded event at the Charlotte Motor Speeday.

Although this will be the 28th time this event has been run, with the new format changes it might as well be the inaugural edition of the event on Saturday night.

Saturday’s format will be the eleventh different style the race has been under since it’s inception in 1985. Consisting of four 20 lap segments and then a final 10 lap dash to the finish following a race-deciding pit stop, drivers and teams will leave it all on the line to bring home the big prize.

This year more than ever has a emphasis placed on winning early in the event. Winners from the first four segments will start in the first four positions for the final 10 lap dash to the finish.

Just as they are every week, pit stops could also make or break a team’s night. The positions following the winners of the previous segments will be determined after a mandatory pit stop following the fourth and final 20 lap segment.

Having qualifying for the All-Star being determined by three laps around the 1.5 mile speedway including a four-tire pit stop, crews can play a pivotal role in getting their driver’s night started up towards the front of the field.

When looking to possible winners for this event, in years past it has been nearly impossible to predict who will win before the final segment of the night.

In years past, we have seen everything from the dominant car on the night to the winner of the fan vote win the event. With that being said, trying to predict the winner of the All-Star race is a daunting task for even a fantasy racing guru.

Much like the All-Star race, the Sprint Showdown has seen numerous changes to it’s format and changes to the way drivers can advance to the All-Star race from it ever since it’s inception.

Not to mention, the Showdown provides a unique mix of drivers competing to advance. Everyone from rookies, to veterans are in this dash for a shot at the $1 million prize at the end of the night.

 Entry List for the Sprint Showdown 

• #1 Jamie McMurray
• #10 David Reutimann
• #13 Casey Mears
• #19 Mike Bliss
• #20 Joey Logano
• #22 A.J. Allmendinger
• #26 Josh Wise
• #30 David Stremme
• #31 Jeff Burton
• #33 Stepehn Leicht
• #36 Tony Raines
• #38 David Gilliland
• #42 Juan Pablo Montoya
• #43 Aric Almirola
• #47 Bobby Labonte
• #49 J.J. Yeley
• #56 Martin Truex Jr.
• #83 Landon Cassill
• #87 Joe Nemechek
• #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr
• #93 Travis Kvapil
• #95 Scott Speed

Credit: David Purdy/Getty Images for NASCAR

Information:

Date: Sunday, May 20, 2012

Location: Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa

Time: 2:00 p.m. EST

Distance: 250 laps/ 218.75 miles

Broadcast: TV– ESPN with broadcast starting at 1:30 p.m. EST

Radio– MRN

Analysis: 

Last year was the first time that Iowa Speedway held two Nationwide Series races, it was also the first time that a driver  swept both the races at the track.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. turned out to be that driver and not only was he the first driver to sweep the season races at Iowa, he did it by becoming the first driver to record his first ever win at Iowa Speedway. That happened last year in the May race at Iowa .

As the series returns to Iowa Speedway this Sunday, there will be several chances for other drivers that could record their first ever win.

Lately, the Joe Gibbs Toyotas have been on a roll; Joey Logano won the last two events, and Denny Hamlin finished second at the similarly shaped Richmond event three weeks ago. But neither Logano or Hamlin are entered in this Sunday’s race.

In fact, there are only two Sprint Cup regulars that will be racing at Iowa on Sunday. Kurt Busch who won the Richmond race, will once again be racing his brother’s No.54 Toyota. Joe Nemechek is also entered in both the Sprint Showdown on Saturday and the Iowa event on Sunday.

The last time a Nationwide series raced with few Sprint Cup regulars was Road America last June when none of the Sprint Cup drivers made the trip to Wisconsin to race.

That leads the door wide open for young drivers to make a name for themselves, while racing at the young track.

Driving cars that are usually driven by Sprint Cup regulars, drivers such as Michael McDowell who will be in the No. 18 Gibbs Toyota, Darrell Wallace Jr driving the No. 20 and Parker Kligerman driving the No. 22 Penske Dodge the drivers who could have a chance to win the race is very strong.

The only driver who has won at Iowa Speedway in the Nationwide Series that will be in the race on Sunday will be Stenhouse Jr.

And if last year is going to be any indication the talent levels of the Nationwide regulars won’t disappoint. In the May race eight of the top-10 finishers were Nationwide or Camping World Truck series regulars.

Following that up in the second Iowa race there was only one Sprint Cup regular in the top-10, that was Carl Edwards in second.

Last year Stenhouse’s two wins at Iowa helped him go on to win the Nationwide Series championship and with a tight points battle coming in to Iowa and the series taking the Sunday afternoon spotlight that is usually reserved for the Sprint Cup series one driver could secure their career with a first time win, like Stenhouse did last year.

By the numbers:

• 17–the most amount of lead changes to take place the track.
• 11th– the furthest back a driver has started to win. (Brad Keselowski 2009)
• 6th–the average starting position of an Iowa race winner
• 4–the number of Nationwide series races that have taken place at Iowa Speedway.
• 2– the number of wins that Ford has at Iowa Speedway to lead all manufactures.
• 0–the number of races that have been won from the pole.

Entry list:

1. Mike Wallace
2. Elliott Sadler
3. Austin Dillon
4. Daryl Harr
5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
6. Danica Patrick
7. Tim Andrews
8. Jeff Green
9. Brian Scott
10. Sam Hornish Jr.
11. Eric McClure
12. Blake Koch
13. Michael McDowell
14. Tayler Malsam
15. Darrell Wallace Jr.
16. Parker Kligerman
17. Jamie Dick
18. Benny Gordon
19. John Young
20. Steve Arpin
21. Justin Allgaier
22. Brendan Gaughan
23. Brad Sweet
24. Josh Richards
25. Erik Darnell
26. Timmy Hill
27. Josh Wise
28. Michael Annett
29. Mike Bliss
30. Chase Miller
31. Scott Speed
32. T.J. Bell
33. Jeremy Clements
34. Joey Gase
35. Kurt Busch
36. Johanna Long
37. Mike Harmon
38. Scott Riggs
39. Jason Bowles
40. Joe Nemechek
41. Cole Whitt
42. Morgan Shepherd
43. Travis Pastrana

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Information: 

Date: Friday, May 18,2012

Location: Charlotte Motor Speedway— Concord,NC

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Broadcast: TV- SPEED with coverage starting at 7:30 p.m. ET

Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN)/ Sirius XM Channel 90

Notes and Analysis: 

Four races down, 18 to go. Already the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season has seemingly flown by. With four different winners in the opening four races, the series proves to be just as competitive as ever. Not to mention, all four of the races so far have been at tracks of different length.

As the series heads to the “hub” of NASCAR, both drivers and crews place extra pressure on themselves to perform in front of their family and friends in one of the biggest events on the schedule for the trucks.

Leading the points heading into Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte is Timothy Peters. Although he hasn’t won a race so far, Peters has shown consistency by placing in the top-five in each of the first four races.

Although Peters has been consistent, it hasn’t been enough to put a considerable margin over second place James Buescher. After picking up his first Truck Series win at the Kansas Speedway back in April, Buescher has cut Peters’ lead down to four points after placing in the top-five in three of the four races so far.

While the experience of Peters is leading the points, the youth of NASCAR and the Truck Series are right behind him.

Buescher, Justin Lofton, Ty Dillon, Nelson Piquet Jr., and Parker Kligerman have all shown both speed and consistency through the start of the season. Each driver has placed in the top-10 in at least two of the four races.

But so far, Buescher is the lone driver among that group to visit victory lane this season. Along with that, there’s been a wave of experience that has also visited the winner’s circle with Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne.

Speaking of experience, the past three winners at Charlotte have been won by some of the “veterans” of the sport (Ron Hornaday Jr. and Kyle Busch).

So, as Friday night’s race approaches it could come down to a battle of youth versus experience to decide the outcome of the fifth race of the season.

By the Numbers: 

• 4- The number of wins by Kyle Busch at Charlotte, the most by any driver in the NCWTS at the track.
• 20th- Kyle Busch won the 2006 running of this race starting in the 20th spot, the furthest back of any winner.
• 3rd- Twice has this race been won from the third starting spot, Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday were the drivers to accomplish this.
• 6- Chevrolet’s six wins at CMS in trucks are the most of any manufacture.
• 47- Last year’s race saw 47 of the 134 laps were run under caution, a race record.
• 1- One driver has picked up their first career win in trucks at CMS. That was Matt Crafton in 2009.

Driver Watch: 

• Contenders: Brad Keselowski, Nelson Piquet Jr., Jason Leffler, James Buescher
• Sleepers: Parker Kligerman, Ty Dillon, Miguel Paludo, Cale Gale

Entry List for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200

• #2 Brendan Gaughan (South Point)
• #3 Ty Dillon (Bass Pro Shops/ Allstate)
• #5 Paulie Harraka (TBA)
• #6 Justin Lofton (CollegeComplete.com)
• #07 Johnny Chapman (Wear Your Gear/ Bobber.info)
• #7 John King (CONSOL Energy)
• #08 Ross Chastain (Florida Watermelon Asc.)
• #09 John Wes Townley (Toyota- Save in May)
• #9 Ron Hornaday Jr. (TBA)
• #10 Jennifer Jo Cobb (Driven2Honor.org)
• #11 Todd Bodine (Toyota Care)
• #13 Johnny Sauter (Hot Honey’s/Curb Records)
• #14 Brennan Newberry (Ironclad Performance Wear)
• #17 Timothy Peters (Red Horse Racing)
• #18 Jason Leffler (Dollar General)
• #19 Brad Keselowski (Cooper Standard)
• #22 Joey Coulter (RCR)
• #23 Jason White (JW Demolition-GunBroker.com)
• #24 Max Gresham (BugBand)
• #27 Jeb Burton (State Water Heaters)
• #28 Wes Burton (FDNY Racing)
• #29 Parker Kligerman (Draw-Tie)
• #30 Nelson Piquet Jr. (AlpineStars)
• #31 James Buescher (Exide Batteries)
• #32 Miguel Paludo (Duroline Brakes)
• #33 Cale Gale (Rheem)
• #38 TBA (RSS Racing)
• #39 Ryan Sieg (S&W Services)
• #57 Norm Benning (TBA)
• #60 TBA (TBD)
• #68 Clay Greenfield (@claygreenfield)
• #70 Jeff Agnew (TBD)
• #74 TBA (Koma Unwind)
• #75 Caleb Holman (Food Country)
• #81 David Starr (ZACHRY)
• #84 Chris Fontaine (Glenden Enterprises)
• #88 Matt Crafton (Menards)
• #92 David Reutimann (FleetHQ.com)
• #93 Chris Cockrum (RSS Racing)
• #98 Dakoda Armstrong (EverFi.com)
• #99 Bryan Silas (Rockingham Speedway)