Sprint Showdown
First up was the last-chance for non-qualified drivers to race their way into the All-Star race. David Ragan and Brad Keselowski finished first and second in the Sprint Showdown to transfer into the Sprint All-Star Race.
Fan Vote
The 2011 Sprint Fan Vote winner was no surprise. NASCAR's most popular driver won the vote to claim the final starting spot in the Sprint All-Star Race.
First Segment
Kyle Busch started on the pole but it was Greg Biffle who had the fastest horse in the first segment. Biffle lead 46 out of the 50 lap first segment and claimed the win over Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.
Second Segment
Carl Edwards ruled segment number two with Jimmie Johnson hot on his heels. Other than one minor wall-scrape by Kasey Kahne this was a quiet segment as the contenders started to work their way towards the front.
Third Segment
Kyle Busch got a great restart at the beginning of the third segment and took the lead over Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards who didn't get a good restart at all. An early caution in this segment closed the pack and allowed Carl to move up to second behind Kyle Busch.
Carl continued to stalk Kyle for the lead as segment three was winding down. Edwards finally made it stick on the bottom with five laps to go in the segment and claimed the segment victory.
Final Segment
Carl Edwards lead Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle onto pit road for the mandatory four-tire pit stop to set the lineup for the final ten laps. When they rolled off the other end after the stops the top three remained the same. The biggest gainer was Matt Kenseth who moved up to fourth for the final restart. This put four of the fastest cars in the top four spots for the restart.
Carl got a good restart and the top three were single-file. David Reutimann suddenly showed some strength and moved up to third but Carl Edwards was putting some distance between himself and Kyle.
The final segment was uneventful as Carl Edwards lead all ten laps and took the million dollar paycheck as the 2011 Sprint All-Star Race champion.
