All-Star Race delivers what fans want: The unexpected

[The General]

Expect the unexpected Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway. History tends to repeat itself in the Sprint Cup Series' annual all-star event.

At the first running of what is now called the Sprint All-Star Race, Darrell Waltrip won the race as the engine in his Junior Johnson-prepared Chevrolet expired in a huge plume of smoke. To this day, some believe Waltrip purposely detonated the engine to prevent being caught with something outside of the rules.

That unexpected moment was the first of many and include:

• The famed "Pass in the Grass," when Dale Earnhardt went to the infield racing with Bill Elliott in 1987. That may be the most defining moment in the race's 23-year history.

• Waltrip's hoping Rusty Wallace "chokes on that $200,000" after Wallace nudged Waltrip out of the lead in 1989. That changed history: Waltrip went from one of the sport's most loathed to its most popular driver overnight.

• The 1992 winner never making it to Victory Lane. The first night all-star race was punctuated by the Victory Lane celebration that didn't happen because the winner of the race, Davey Allison, spent the night in the hospital after crashing at the finish line.

Jeff Gordon, a three-time winner, has been involved in his share of bizarre moments.

He ran out of fuel just after taking the white flag in 1998 and handed the win to Mark Martin. In 2001, Gordon won the race in his backup car after a sudden downpour drenched the track on the first lap and more than a dozen cars were damaged in a massive crash.

The All-Star Race is different from other races in that it is made ....


NASCAR.COM - All-Star Race delivers what fans want: The unexpected - May 16, 2008