David Ragan Races His Way Out of Sprint Fan Vote, Into Sprint All-Star Race

David Ragan’s dramatic win at Talladega Superspeedway vaulted him into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race for just the second time in his career. If the Front Row Motorsports driver earns a trip to Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 18, he’ll pocket at least $1 million. If he wins all five race segments …make it $2 million.

 

“It’s huge to be in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, and it especially means a lot to a team like Front Row Motorsports,” said Ragan. “It’s NASCAR’s showcase of the best teams in the sport, and to be included in that is a big deal. (Team owner) Bob Jenkins has been building this team over the last several years and making it better and more competitive every year. Qualifying for the Sprint All-Star Race as a result of a Front Row win just shows that he’s doing things right and all the hard work is paying off.”

 

The pressure is off for Ragan, but 25 drivers are still vying for one of the four possible remaining spots in the prestigious field. Eligible drivers need to either claim victory at Darlington Raceway this Saturday, May 11, finish first or second in the Sprint Showdown qualifying race, or rely on the Sprint Fan Vote. As with Ragan, if any driver races his or her way in, then he or she is no longer counted in the Sprint Fan Vote.

 

Labonte, Patrick and Truex Jr., gained the most votes in week seven, each amassing more than 10,000 votes this week alone. The top-10 drivers in the Sprint Fan Vote standings (in alphabetical order) to date are AJ Allmendinger, Jeff Burton, Bill Elliott, Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Patrick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Truex Jr. and Michael Waltrip.

 

In addition to accumulating the most votes, a Sprint Fan Vote-eligible driver must also finish the Sprint Showdown qualifying race on the lead lap with a car in “raceable” condition (as determined by NASCAR Competition) to earn a spot in the race field.

 

Fans can vote an unlimited number of times until 5 p.m. (EDT) on May 18 by downloading the NASCAR Mobile ’13 application or visitingNASCAR.com/SprintFanVote. Votes cast on NASCAR Mobile ’13 will count twice toward a driver’s total. The driver receiving the highest number of votes will earn a spot in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, which airs live at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) on SPEED. Radio coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

Tickets for the entire NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race weekend are on sale now. Packages start at just $99 for all weekend events including scanner rental. To purchase tickets, call 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or visitwww.charlottemotorspeedway.com.

Fans are encouraged to follow@MissSprintCup,@CLTMotorSpdwy and@NASCAR on Twitter to engage in the #SprintAllStar Race and #SprintFanVote conversations throughout the voting window.

 

Drivers eligible for the Sprint Fan Vote:

 

AJ Allmendinger

Aric Almirola

Dave Blaney

Mike Bliss

Jeff Burton

Landon Cassill

Bill Elliott

David Gilliland

Travis Kvapil

Bobby Labonte

Terry Labonte

Michael McDowell

Jamie McMurray

Casey Mears

Paul Menard

Juan Pablo Montoya

Danica Patrick

David Reutimann

Scott Speed

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

David Stremme

Martin Truex Jr.

Michael Waltrip

Josh Wise

JJ Yeley

Sprint Motorsports PR