This Saturday night the 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race rolls off at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  There are no points on the line and $1 Million waiting at the finish line for the winner.   This race tends to bring out the wild side of NASCAR's finest.

The rules for this event often change from year to year.  This year the race will run in five segments. Four twenty lap segments will be followed by the legendary ten lap dash for cash.  The big rule change for 2012 is that the winners of each of the first four segments get to move to the front of the pack for the critical pit stop which will set the starting lineup for the final ten lap segment.

I'm excited for this rule change.  Now instead of just logging laps in the early going drivers will have some real incentive to race hard for the win in each of the first four segments.  Starting up front for the final ten laps is a worthwhile prize which should have drivers racing hard all night long.   This is one of NASCAR's "Must See" events and I can't wait for Saturday night.

Another Darlington race leads to another post-race fight on pit road and another round of penalties for someone named Busch.

Last year Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick were fined $25,000 each for their post-race battle in Darlington.  On Tuesday NASCAR fined big brother Kurt Busch $50,000 for his part in the post-race war with Ryan Newman.

Kurt was fined for unsafe driving resulting from burning out through Newman's pit late in the race while Newman's crew was still over the wall.  Busch then hit Newman's car on pit road after the event.   Crew members then got involved and there was a shoving match on pit road. Two of Kurt's crew members were fined $5,000 each for their roles in the melee.

I didn't see Kurt Busch burn out through Newman's pit.  That sounds like it could have been dangerous and may have deserved a penalty.

As for all the rest of it I just have to ask, what ever happened to "Boys have at it?"

It took longer than most NASCAR fans expected but Hendrick Motorsports finally claimed their first win of 2012 and the 200th NASCAR Sprint Cup victory for the organization.

Jimmie Johnson did the honors tonight when he drove away from the pack during a green-white-checkers restart and claimed victory in the 2012 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

This Saturday night the NASCAR Sprint Cup stars will take on Darlington Raceway in the 2012 Bojangles' Southern 500.

Even after being repaved in 2008 Darlington Raceway still chews up race cars.  Lose focus for an instant or try to push too hard and "The Lady in Black" will bite. You'll find yourself in the wall.

Last year this race was a thriller with plenty of fireworks on the track and a post-race confrontation that left fans buzzing.  I'm hoping for more of the same this weekend.