Sat May 17 23:18:15 2008

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Kahne wins Sprint All-Star Race

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Concord, NC (Sports Network) - Kasey Kahne, who only got in the event because the fans voted him in, won NASCAR's Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night at the 1.5-mile Lowe's Motor Speedway. The No.9 Evernham Dodge crossed the finish line 1.327 seconds ahead of Greg Biffle.

Kahne took the lead with 17 laps remaining, held of a challenge from Biffle and eventually outlasted the No.16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford for the win.

"The guys worked hard and we just kept fighting," said Kahne. "I can't believe we just won a million dollars."

Kyle Busch and his No.18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team won the pole for the All-Star exhibition and brought the field to the green flag for 100 laps of good old Saturday night racin' with a $1 million prize.

Right from the start, Busch jumped to a big lead - almost two seconds by lap five. Behind him, Biffle was challenging Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon for the second spot. He got it too and went after the No.18 Toyota.

Meanwhile, Gordon began to head in the wrong direction, leaving a space that Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. filled.

But it appeared that Kyle Busch would be hard to beat in the first 25-lap segment and it proved to be true as the No.18 M&M's Toyota driver collected the first session $75,000 prize.

The green flag dropped for segment two and Kyle Busch took up where he left off. This time his primary chasers were Carl Edwards, winner of two 1.5-mile events this season and Earnhardt Jr.

On lap 36 Busch began to slow and his engine sounded "sour." Edwards caught him by lap 37 and passed him one lap later. "Junior" also passed Busch who was now running almost five m.p.h. slower than the leaders.

Edwards held a two-second lead over Earnhardt Jr. with still seven laps to go to the halfway point and the end of the second segment. Edwards won by more than three seconds and the No.99 Roush Fenway Racing team collected the bonus money.

At the halfway point, the No.18 team tried, but couldn't fix the Toyota and he was done for the night.

"We tried something different and it didn't work," said Busch.

Edwards led the first lap in segment three, but Earnhardt Jr. charged past him on the second lap and grabbed the lead to the delight of the mainly "pro- Junior" crowd.

Edwards fell all the way to sixth as two of his teammates Matt Kenseth and Biffle sat in second and third, respectively. The No.17 caught Earnhardt Jr., even got side-by-side, but couldn't complete the pass. Biffle took the next try, passing Kenseth on lap 63 and went after the black and silver of the No.88 Chevy. It seemed pretty easy as Biffle slid under Earnhardt Jr. for the lead and he cruised to the third segment victory by more than four seconds.

Jimmie Johnson used a fuel-only stop to grab the lead for the start of the final segment and the race for the seven-figure check. He was followed off pit lane by Kahne (no tires), Hamlin (no tires) and Biffle (two tires).

On the restart Hamlin got around Johnson, but Biffle with the two new right- side tires was probably the biggest threat. Biffle passed Johnson for third place with 19 laps to go.

Hamlin and Kahne were using a high line while Biffle was hugging the bottom of the track. Then Hamlin radioed that he was "done," likely with the same problem as teammate Kyle Busch. The No.11 slowed and it was Kahne, the fan vote driver, and Biffle for the win.

Biffle got to Kahne's bumper with still 12 laps to go. The No.16 continued to try the low side and Kahne was able to keep his momentum at the top of the track and hold him off.

"I could have forced the issue, but I had great tires and thought I'd get another shot," said Biffle.

Suddenly Kahne began to stretch his lead. He continued his torrid pace and he was never challenged over the final laps as he became the first ever fan-voted driver to win the race. Kahne brought the car to Victory Lane with a flat left-front tire and a smoking engine, but he had enough to collect the $1 million check.

"Kenny (Francis) made the right call of no tires at the end and I agreed with him," said Kahne.

Kenseth, Johnson and Tony Stewart completed the top-five. In his final appearance on the track, Dale Jarrett finished a distant 21st.

The series will go back to points racing next Sunday for the Coca Cola 600.