NASCAR Daily News Headlines * May 13, 2008

To compete in the event, teams must be eligible for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race or be the 2007 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge Champion. NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race eligibility includes all NASCAR Sprint Cup race winners from 2007 and 2008, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners from the past 10 years and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions from the past 10 years who are active drivers and have competed in at least one series event during the 2007 or 2008 season. The remaining unfilled positions were made available to the car owners ranked highest in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner point standings as of May 12.

Tickets for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman start at $15 and can be purchased online at (www.pitcrewchallenge.com) or by calling (800) 495-2295.

Steve Addington Named Best Crew Chief

In an effort to improve track position and overall performance, the Addington-led crew continuously made air pressure, track bar and wedge adjustments to stay on top of the ever-changing track conditions. His clear and accurate direction led Busch and the No. 18 team to victory at the historic “Lady in Black.”

The 2008 WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge is a season-long contest that will determine the best crew chiefs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage. Following each Cup race, a panel will vote to determine which crew chief demonstrated the most outstanding strategy and leadership during the race. It isn’t necessarily the crew chief that goes to Victory Lane, but the crew chief that makes the biggest difference for his team.

Representatives from WYPALL Wipers, together with FOX/SPEED television analyst Jeff Hammond, and three of NASCAR’s top crew chiefs who represent WYPALL, including Todd Berrier of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy team, Bob Osborne of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 99 Office Depot Ford team, and Kenny Francis of Gillett Evernham Motorsports’ No. 9 Budweiser Dodge team, make up the panel of judges.

In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly top wins will be honored as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead, Fla.

“The WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge spotlights the crew chief’s efforts to get his team in Victory Lane,” said Tom Merrill, Category Manager for WYPALL Wipers. “WYPALL Wipers and crew chiefs are a natural fit. Crew chiefs only want to use reliable products on their cars and engines. That’s why they choose WYPALL Wipers. Our products are used to wipe up the toughest, most stubborn messes, and we want to focus on the men who put WYPALL Wipers to use each week. That’s why we continue to show our appreciation to the crew chiefs.”

Two Classic Races To Air

Hamlin Leads Lowe's Nationwide Testing

The No. 20 car has won four consecutive races with three different drivers and Hamlin topped the speed chart in both sessions on the first of two days of testing. His evening lap of 29.635 seconds, 182.217 mph, was clearly superior among the more than 40 cars that took to the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

Defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Carl Edwards was second fastest on the electronic timers at 182.014 mph in the No. 60 Roush Fenway Ford.

Kasey Kahne, winner of last year's CARQUEST Auto Parts 300, was third fastest in the No. 9 Gillett Evernham Dodge at 181.947 mph while Greg Biffle was fourth at 181.708 in the No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford. Rookie Chase Miller rounded out the top five at 181.549 mph in the No. 19 Gillett Evernham Dodge.

David Stremme, driver of Rusty Wallace's No. 64 Dodge, said the horsepower difference between the Nationwide cars and the Sprint Cup cars has a tremendous impact on how a driver approaches the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

"We got to run the Penske car here last week both days and, obviously, it was a little warmer, but a Cup car is not as fast through the corners as what a Nationwide car is," Stremme explained. "So, at this time on the first day last week, we were already in the second or third lane, running against the wall and a lot of that is because the Cup cars have so much more horsepower.

"You're going into the corner faster, so you have to slow down a little bit more in the center and then you can power off. In the Nationwide car, you're almost wide open for a lap or two and then the tires fall off a little bit. You carry so much more speed through the corners you have to run the bottom of the race track. If I was a betting man, I'd almost bet that the Cup cars are going to race around the top, and whoever's car can run the middle to the bottom is going to be out front.

"The Nationwide race is going to be on the bottom and whoever's car is turning the best will win," Stremme continued. "There's no power in these cars. They don't run down the straightaway, so you've got to get all your speed through the corners."

Lowe's Motor Speedway was repaved in April 2006 and Stremme said the surface is aging gracefully.

"The race track has seasoned well. I was fortunate enough to run on the old race track before it got ground, and then when it got ground and then with the new asphalt," he said. "I'm really happy at how it's still Charlotte. You've got to be careful in Turns 3 and 4 during the hot weather. Then you can look around on the race track and still run up by the wall or on the bottom. It makes for a lot of fun."

Veteran Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, praised Goodyear for the tire engineers selected for the May races at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"I had a scheduling conflict so we kind of got a late start, but everything is going well, Burton said during the dinner break. "I really like these tires on this surface. I think it's the best Goodyear has done so far at this race track, and the few laps I've run have been good."

The most serious incident of the day took place during the afternoon session when veteran David Green slammed the outside SAFER barrier in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 83 Chevrolet. Green said he was making just his third lap when the right-front tire went down and the car shot to the outside. Green was evaluated and released from the Carolinas HealthCare System Infield Medical Center.

Robert Richardson Jr. spun during the afternoon session, but did not make wall contact.

NASCAR Nationwide Series testing for the May 24 CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 continues from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and the frontstretch grandstand will be open free of charge.

Tickets for all May events at Lowe's Motor Speedway, including Saturday's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and the May 25 Coca-Cola 600, can be purchased by calling the track ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS or online at (www.lowesmotorspeedway.com).