Kahne Wins the Vote & the Race
Image details: NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race served by picapp.com
After finishing fifth in the All-Star Showdown, Kasey Kahne was announced as the winner of the fan vote, beating out Robby Gordon for the honors, and as a result transferred into the All-Star Challenge itself. He then became the first driver to ever win both the fan vote and then go onto win the All-Star Race, as he held off a charging Greg Biffle in the closing laps of the race to win the $1,000,000 purse.
Polesitter, Kyle Busch, led the entire first segment of the race and appeared to be in cruise control when he pulled out to more than a two-second lead in the second 25-lap segment. Misfortune and utter disappointment quickly erased that gap, though, as he was mired with a blown engine that handed the lead off to Carl Edwards, who then maintained the lead throughout the remainder of Segment 2.
Greg Biffle was the leader at the end of the third segment when the field when the field went under caution and pitted under “race conditions”. Biffle took two tires on the stop, but a few cars behind him gambled with no tires, shuffling the Biff back into some traffic. Jimmie Johnson’s crew got him out of the pits with the lead, but he was passed by Kahne eight laps later, and Biffle never got the opportunity to catch the no. 9 Budweiser car despite his late-race charge.
Kahne won the race, giving him his first All-Star win in his career, while Biffle finished the event for only the second time in his career and earned himself his first All-Star top-five with his second place finish. They were followed to the line by Biffle’s Roush-Fenway Racing teammate, Matt Kenseth, who finished fourth, and Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart completed the top-five.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 14 laps in the third segment of the race, but eventually faded to an 8th place finish. Sam Hornish Jr. and AJ Allmendinger, who both qualified for the race through their efforts in the All-Star Showdown, finished 7th and 17th respectively. Last year’s All-Star winner, Kevin Harvick, finished 11th, and three-time winner of the event, Jeff Gordon, came home with a disappointing 15th place run.
For more All-Star coverage, go to RevJim’s NASCAR Rants ‘n’ Raves as he provides “Live” on Type Delay: the All-Star Race
Complete Results (from nascar.com):
| ST |
CAR |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
PTS/BNS |
LAPS |
STATUS |
|
| 1 |
24 |
9 |
Kasey Kahne |
Dodge |
Budweiser |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 2 |
5 |
16 |
Greg Biffle |
Ford |
DISH Network |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 3 |
14 |
17 |
Matt Kenseth |
Ford |
DEWALT NANO Technology |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 4 |
21 |
48 |
Jimmie Johnson |
Chevrolet |
Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 5 |
12 |
20 |
Tony Stewart |
Toyota |
The Home Depot |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 6 |
8 |
12 |
Ryan Newman |
Dodge |
Alltel |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 7 |
23 |
77 |
Sam Hornish Jr. * |
Dodge |
Mobil 1 |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 8 |
11 |
88 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Chevrolet |
Nat’l Guard Citizen Soldier / AMP Energy |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 9 |
13 |
8 |
Mark Martin |
Chevrolet |
U.S. Army |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 10 |
19 |
99 |
Carl Edwards |
Ford |
Office Depot |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 11 |
16 |
29 |
Kevin Harvick |
Chevrolet |
Pennzoil Platinum |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 12 |
10 |
43 |
Bobby Labonte |
Dodge |
Cheerios / Betty Crocker |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 13 |
17 |
5 |
Casey Mears |
Chevrolet |
Kellogg’s / CARQUEST |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 14 |
15 |
42 |
Juan Montoya |
Dodge |
Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 15 |
2 |
24 |
Jeff Gordon |
Chevrolet |
DuPont |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 16 |
4 |
1 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
Chevrolet |
Bass Pro Shops / Tracker |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 17 |
22 |
84 |
A.J. Allmendinger |
Toyota |
Red Bull |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 18 |
9 |
07 |
Clint Bowyer |
Chevrolet |
Jack Daniel’s |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 19 |
6 |
26 |
Jamie McMurray |
Ford |
Crown Royal |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 20 |
7 |
31 |
Jeff Burton |
Chevrolet |
AT&T Mobility |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 21 |
3 |
2 |
Kurt Busch |
Dodge |
Miller Lite |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 22 |
18 |
44 |
Dale Jarrett |
Toyota |
UPS |
PE |
100 |
Running |
| 23 |
20 |
11 |
Denny Hamlin |
Toyota |
FedEx Freight |
PE |
84 |
Out of Race |
| 24 |
1 |
18 |
Kyle Busch |
Toyota |
M&M’s |
PE |
50 |
Out of Race |
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POSTED IN: NASCAR
7 opinions for Kahne Wins the Vote & the Race
RevJim
May 18, 2008 at 3:02 am
Thanks for the link. Finally, a driver gets voted in who can do more than just be popular. I think the Sprint Cup car is still having problems on the intermediate tracks, though. The cars race each other fine back in the pack, and they can close on the lead car, but once a car gets in clean air, it is very difficult to pass. The best racing all day was for second place.
Maybe I’m wrong, but we should see at the 600 next week.
Ryan Newman's #1
May 18, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Hey everyone!!! I’m new here since I just found out yesterday about this website. I’m a girl, but I’m a BIG NASCAR fan, and I love Ryan Newman!!!!! Let me just say that this website is super great! Way to go Ryan!! Sixth place!
Adam C
May 18, 2008 at 9:01 pm
I thought the race was just okay but nascar really need to do something about the way the car races on the cookie cutters.
Tim Zaegel
May 18, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Jim, I think that the Coca Cola 600 will be a much, much better revelation as to how well the car competes at Lowe’s … but, if the previous cookie cutters are any indication, then Adam’s right, it just won’t be a ton of fun. I’d have to think that they’ve been able to figure something out by now, though, that will help make these 1.5 milers a little more enjoyable.
Tim Zaegel
May 18, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Ryan Newman’s #1,
I’m glad you managed to find this site, and thank you very much for the flattering comments. Hope you like what you’ve seen here thus far, and I look forward to seeing you back here in the future!
Alicia
May 19, 2008 at 12:49 am
I was happy for Kasey. It must have felt awesome to not only win the vote, but to also win a freaking million dollars. Not to mention be the first driver to win both.
I was also happy for Shrub. And…that’s all I have to say about that.
Tim Zaegel
May 19, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Yeah, after Kyle robbed both he & his brother of a shot to win the $1m last year, I think what happened to him this year can only be described as … karma.
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