Storylines from the All-Star Race

The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race was a success. It gave an energized crowd an exciting race under the lights. There were many memorable moments, including pre-race antics by AJ Allmendinger (who did “the worm” during driver introductions). In addition, there were some surprises, such as defending winner Jimmie Johnson’s lack luster night. Now that the confetti has settled and a winner has claimed $1 million, here are some storylines from the electrifying race.

Jamie McMurray wins All-Star, First for Chip Ganassi
To begin, here is the obvious headline. Jamie McMurray surprises everyone by winning the All-Star race. Early on, the event was mostly dominated by drivers like Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne. Within the third segment, McMurray begin to improve on his position and found himself inside of the top five. As the green flag flew for the final 10-lap shootout, McMurray took part in a close battle with Edwards. He soon took the lead and never looked back.

“Carl (Edwards) got a little bit of a jump on me on the restart and I was able to hold onto his quarter panel”, McMurray said in Victory Lane. “When we kept entering (Turn) 1 and Turn 3, I was like ‘Heck with it, it’s for one million bucks. If we wreck, it is not that big of a deal’. It is so cool to come out on top of that.”

What will the Joplin, MO native buy with his large paycheck first? A train for his three year old son, Carter.

“(Wife) Christy told him ‘Now Carter, if dad wins today what would you want?’ and he said ‘A train’ so Carter you are going to get a really cool train, I promise in the next few days”.

Not only is this win a first for the 37 year-old, but also for team owner Chip Ganassi. McMurray adds this victory alongside the crown jewel wins of the Daytona 500, Pepsi (now Coke Zero) 400 at Daytona International Speedway and Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Both driver and team owner have won the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the fall twice. Will the No. 1 team rise up and win the Coca-Cola 600 this upcoming week? After what happened Saturday night, the team will certainly be a favorite for the series’ longest race.

Four-time Winner Jimmie Johnson a Non-factor during Race
Coming into the All-Star race, Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team were the prime pick to win the race. Why wouldn’t they? They entered Charlotte as not only the defending winners, but back to back winners.

From the time the green flag flew to the moment the checkered flag was waved, Johnson was a non-factor. He was barely mentioned in the television broadcast and hardly ever broke into the top five. It is not that the team performed badly – they finished sixth. The problem was they didn’t gain many positions. The team stayed around sixth most of the race.

Not that bad, but not that good.

This comes after much frustration in the No. 48 camp. They have struggled to place well in the last few races. Johnson and company have run into bad luck and mechanical issues. When everything is performing well, like last week at Kansas Speedway, they still aren’t able to make it to the front.

Knowing the history of team No. 48, this year has been strikingly odd for them. Time will only tell if they can turn their season around and capture a win before the Chase.

Pushing It to the Limit for $1 Million Dollars
Some predicted the this year’s All-Star Race would be fairly uneventful. The event in reality was exactly the opposite. From beginning to end drivers battled hard for positions. Unfortunately that resulted in quite a few wrecks. Many drivers taken out of the race were legitimate contenders such as Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Joey Logano.

Indeed each of the drivers were pushing both their car and their abilities in effort to better their average finish per segment. This would give them a better position entering pit road before the final 10-lap shootout.

The hard racing made for a great night under the lights and reminded everyone how much a driver would push the limits for a chance at $1 million.

Allmendinger, JTG-Daugherty Racing on the Rise

Talladega Superspeedway is known for mayhem and surprising finishes. This time, it ended under yellow with Denny Hamlin going to Victory Lane. Along with a winner sticker for the JGR driver, came some notable finishes.

One of those notables was AJ Allmendinger who finished fourth. The JTG-Daugherty Racing driver secured his first top five of the season. For No. 47 team, it was their first top five since the 2011 Daytona 500.

The organization came to the Alabama track with a strong race car. In first practice, they placed 11^th and claimed third place in qualifying. Determination, luck, and speed paid big for the team.

This is not the only time they have impressed this year. Last week at Richmond International Raceway, they finished sixth. At Auto Club Speedway, the group finished eighth.

Looking back at the team’s history, this has been their best season in four years – and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is only 10 races into the 36 race season.

Contributing to the group’s success is their new technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. Receiving engines and mechanical support from the organization, JTG-Daugherty Racing has become an underdog team.

“It’s been amazing for the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team,” Allmendinger said. “With the new rules package - the ride height rules and everything going into this season - there were so many variables for us to try to figure out. To have all the engineering help and the notes that RCR brings is a huge help to our race team. Without it, I feel like we could easily be lost in trying to figure out where we are at."

Heading to Kansas Speedway next week, the team looks to continue competing for top 10s. With the added momentum from Talladega, keep an eye on the group. They are on their way to having a break out year.

“I’m just really proud of all the work the guys are doing and to have all the sponsors we have on the car each weekend… I just take it one week at a time.  It can be this weekend, it could be next weekend as long as we keep doing the things we are doing and progressively getting better each weekend. You know, we will have a shot at it.”