The 2013 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 18, 2013, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 90 laps, the it was the second exhibition race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports took his record fourth All-Star Race victory, while Joey Logano finished second. Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.
Report
Background
The track, Charlotte Motor Speedway, is a four-turn quad-oval 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 at Darlington Raceway 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 was between the final two segments, while pitting between the 20 lap segments was optional.
Practice and qualifying
Sprint Showdown
Martin Truex Jr. started on pole, but Jamie McMurray 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 and Paul Menard. During the competition caution between segments, Casey Mears 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 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, who finished ninth, won the fan vote to advance to the All-Star Race.
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
Carl Edwards started on pole and choose the outside lane, with Kurt Busch starting second. Busch took the lead from Edwards in turn three on lap one as Brad Keselowski 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, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, and Jimmie Johnson) 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 Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, and Kasey Kahne.