The walls are yellow. There are no points. The drivers race for pride and $1 million.
The field is made up of the best-of-the-best. Former Champions, previous year race winners, All-Star Race winners, two transfers from the 20-lap showdown and the Sprint Fan Vote winner.
The whole week is special, from the Pit Crew Challenge (Denny Hamlin's No. 11 crew won this year), a burnout challenge, long driver introductions with their crews … it's truly an all-star event.
But this year, it changed from the All-Star Race to the Busch Brother Showdown. For around 40 laps, Kurt and Kyle ran right next to each other, fighting for the lead during segment one. Kurt took the segment before losing the second and third segments to Jimmie Johnson.
The younger Busch was coming back and vying for the lead against his teammate Denny Hamlin when Hamlin didn't give Busch enough room and he got into the wall. This eventually ended Busch's day and had them both in a meeting with Joe and J.D. Gibbs after the race was over.
Hamlin, however, wasn't done not giving people room. With Kurt Busch in the lead and two laps to go, Hamlin was next to Johnson. When he wouldn't give the four-time champion room, before you knew it, Johnson was taking a ride through the grass.
Yes, you read that right. Jimmie Johnson was knocked out of the All-Star Race.
This set up a two-lap shootout with Busch first and Joey Logano second. Logano had nothing for Busch and he took off. He took the checkered flag and did his Unwind Lap right into Victory Lane.
Winning the All-Star race is a first for Busch, who has a Championship under his belt but had never won a non-points race. With new crew chief Steve Addington on the box, he took home the $1 million prize.
Busch started first and ended first, right where he needed to be.
“It's an unbelievable experience. It's something that you sit there and you look at the greats that have won this race, the ones that have had so many years go by in between the wins. Just to have an opportunity to go for it tonight...I felt like our Penske Dodge was right where it needed to be at the end,” Busch said of his win.
Comments