Hornish wins Showdown to move into All-Star race

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Sam Hornish Jr. won the Sprint Showdown to earn a transfer spot into NASCAR's All-Star race.

It's the second consecutive year Hornish has raced his way into the $1 million main event at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He finished second a year ago to AJ Allmendinger to earn one of the two transfer spots.

Jamie McMurray finished second to earn the other transfer position.

Joey Logano was the third driver to advance into the race in the slot reserved for a driver voted into the All-Star race by fans.

Jeremy Mayfield, suspended by NASCAR last week for failing a random drug test, watched the Showdown from the top of a hospitality center. His No. 41 Mayfield Motorsports entry was driven to a 22nd-place finish by J.J. Yeley.

In the hours leading up to the race, a plane pulled a "Free Jeremy" banner around the track in an apparent nod of support to the first driver suspended under NASCAR's toughened drug policy. Mayfield was suspended indefinitely for a test taken May 1 at Richmond International Raceway.

NASCAR has not revealed what substance Mayfield tested positive for, but chairman Brian France called it "a serious violation" and categorized that as use of either a performance-enhancer or recreational drug. A person familiar with the test results has told The Associated Press the positive result was not for a performance-enhancer, leaving either a narcotic or controlled substance as cause of the positive result.

Mayfield denied ever taking an illegal substance, and said NASCAR has yet to inform him what he tested positive for and that he's yet to receive a copy of the results.

"All I want to do is race and be treated fairly," said Mayfield, repeating a claim he took a legal prescription for allergies. "They didn't say what I took. They don't know what I took."

Dr. David Black, CEO of Aegis Sciences Corp. in Nashville, Tenn., which runs the testing program, did not immediately return a call Saturday night for comment regarding Mayfield's claims.

The suspension covers Mayfield's role owner, so the No. 41 was transferred to Mayfield's wife, Shana, earlier this week. She stood with the team on pit road before the race, then headed out of the back gate of the garage following pre-race ceremonies.

"He wants to race. He wants to be at the race tracks and be in a race car," she said when asked about Mayfield's spirits. "He's not doing well in that area. Other than that, we're just going through the motions.

Drama at Indy for Andretti, Hunter-Reay

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- John Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay provided the drama Sunday, saving their best efforts for the final 10 minutes at the end of four days of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

Both wound up in the 33-car field for next Sunday's race, thanks to their gutsy qualifying runs with time running out on another emotional "Bump Day" on the famed 2.5-mile Brickyard oval.

"I'm glad the race isn't tomorrow," said Andretti, who didn't wrap up his 10th Indy start until his third and final qualifying attempt of the day. "I couldn't do it. I don't think I could get in the car. I'm physically, mentally, just totally exhausted.

"I just can't even believe it. I know that I'll wake up in the middle of the night and realize I'm back in the Indy 500."

Andretti and Hunter-Reay, whose successful qualifying effort was underway as the gun went off ending the six-hour final session of time trials, both had to find more speed after being bumped out of the lineup earlier in the day.

Hunter-Reay said he just considered himself lucky to make the race after bumping Indy rookie Alex Tagliani out with the Canadian driver sitting in his car, waiting and hoping to get one more chance.

"That was a timing issue there," Hunter-Reay said. "I think Tagliani was pretty fast and we were lucky we went out last. I've never been so happy to take last place."

The field was filled on Saturday, but poor weather conditions, including gusty wind, kept the speeds of the slowest qualifiers low enough to make them vulnerable to bumping by faster drivers on Sunday.

And speeds did climb considerably on the final day of qualifying, thanks to a cool, sunny afternoon with little wind.

The day began with 1996 race winner Buddy Lazier, 2002 pole-winner Bruno Junqueira and Indy rookie Stanton Barrett the only drivers with a chance to bump their way into the field. In the end, only Junqueira made it, turning a solid four-lap average of 221.115 mph despite not running a lap in his car until Sunday morning.

That bumped Andretti's Saturday speed of 219.442 out of the field.

The day began with five drivers qualified under 220 and most of the qualifying efforts Sunday came from those drivers, trying to go faster and get themselves out of danger of being bumped.

Tomas Scheckter (221.496), rookie Mike Conway (221.417), E.J. Viso (221.164), Milka Duno (221.106) and rookie Nelson Philippe (220.754) each withdrew an earlier qualifying speed and improved upon it.

Andretti, whose car was entered here by NASCAR icon Richard Petty and fielded by Dreyer & Reinbold, tried to bump his way back in with about two hours to go, but waved off the effort after one lap at 218.

He went back out with 20 minutes left in the session and managed four laps at 220.282, but it wasn't enough.

Lazier and Barrett, who had been working hard throughout the afternoon to find more speed in practice, then made their final qualifying tries and both came off the track after one slow lap under the green flag, knowing they weren't going to get it done.

By that time, Andretti's team had made some quick adjustments on his Petty blue and red No. 43 and he was ready to make one last try.

This time, he put up four straight laps over 221 mph for an average of 221.316 that placed him 28th in the field and bumped out the 220.413 that Hunter-Reay had posted earlier in the day.

"Today was a good day overall," Andretti said. "The big picture was good. I didn't get nervous about it. I didn't lose my cool. I just had enough faith in the people around me.

"But that's not the way it's supposed to be for an old guy like me. I can't imagine how embarrassed I would have been if Richard Petty had called and said, "Where are you starting?' and I had to say, "I'm not.' "

As Andretti drove slowly back to the pits, Hunter-Reay was ready to try again. He drove onto the track with just two minutes until the gun and knowing he had to beat Tagliani's 220.553 from Saturday or go home.

"It wasn't much fun," Hunter-Reay said after barely making it with four laps over 220 and a 220.597 average -- just 0.044 seconds quicker than Tagliani over 10 miles. "That was the hairiest day I've ever had in racing."

The field, from pole-winner Helio Castroneves to Hunter-Reay, was separated in time by a record 3.0967 seconds. The previous record was 3.2422 seconds in 2001.

Drama at Indy for Andretti, Hunter-Reay

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- John Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay provided the drama Sunday, saving their best efforts for the final 10 minutes at the end of four days of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

Both wound up in the 33-car field for next Sunday's race, thanks to their gutsy qualifying runs with time running out on another emotional "Bump Day" on the famed 2.5-mile Brickyard oval.

"I'm glad the race isn't tomorrow," said Andretti, who didn't wrap up his 10th Indy start until his third and final qualifying attempt of the day. "I couldn't do it. I don't think I could get in the car. I'm physically, mentally, just totally exhausted.

"I just can't even believe it. I know that I'll wake up in the middle of the night and realize I'm back in the Indy 500."

Andretti and Hunter-Reay, whose successful qualifying effort was underway as the gun went off ending the six-hour final session of time trials, both had to find more speed after being bumped out of the lineup earlier in the day.

Hunter-Reay said he just considered himself lucky to make the race after bumping Indy rookie Alex Tagliani out with the Canadian driver sitting in his car, waiting and hoping to get one more chance.

"That was a timing issue there," Hunter-Reay said. "I think Tagliani was pretty fast and we were lucky we went out last. I've never been so happy to take last place."

The field was filled on Saturday, but poor weather conditions, including gusty wind, kept the speeds of the slowest qualifiers low enough to make them vulnerable to bumping by faster drivers on Sunday.

And speeds did climb considerably on the final day of qualifying, thanks to a cool, sunny afternoon with little wind.

The day began with 1996 race winner Buddy Lazier, 2002 pole-winner Bruno Junqueira and Indy rookie Stanton Barrett the only drivers with a chance to bump their way into the field. In the end, only Junqueira made it, turning a solid four-lap average of 221.115 mph despite not running a lap in his car until Sunday morning.

That bumped Andretti's Saturday speed of 219.442 out of the field.

The day began with five drivers qualified under 220 and most of the qualifying efforts Sunday came from those drivers, trying to go faster and get themselves out of danger of being bumped.

Tomas Scheckter (221.496), rookie Mike Conway (221.417), E.J. Viso (221.164), Milka Duno (221.106) and rookie Nelson Philippe (220.754) each withdrew an earlier qualifying speed and improved upon it.

Andretti, whose car was entered here by NASCAR icon Richard Petty and fielded by Dreyer & Reinbold, tried to bump his way back in with about two hours to go, but waved off the effort after one lap at 218.

He went back out with 20 minutes left in the session and managed four laps at 220.282, but it wasn't enough.

Lazier and Barrett, who had been working hard throughout the afternoon to find more speed in practice, then made their final qualifying tries and both came off the track after one slow lap under the green flag, knowing they weren't going to get it done.

By that time, Andretti's team had made some quick adjustments on his Petty blue and red No. 43 and he was ready to make one last try.

This time, he put up four straight laps over 221 mph for an average of 221.316 that placed him 28th in the field and bumped out the 220.413 that Hunter-Reay had posted earlier in the day.

"Today was a good day overall," Andretti said. "The big picture was good. I didn't get nervous about it. I didn't lose my cool. I just had enough faith in the people around me.

"But that's not the way it's supposed to be for an old guy like me. I can't imagine how embarrassed I would have been if Richard Petty had called and said, "Where are you starting?' and I had to say, "I'm not.' "

As Andretti drove slowly back to the pits, Hunter-Reay was ready to try again. He drove onto the track with just two minutes until the gun and knowing he had to beat Tagliani's 220.553 from Saturday or go home.

"It wasn't much fun," Hunter-Reay said after barely making it with four laps over 220 and a 220.597 average -- just 0.044 seconds quicker than Tagliani over 10 miles. "That was the hairiest day I've ever had in racing."

Hours after qualifying ended, Conquest Racing owner Eric Bachelart announced that Tagliani would replace Junqueira in the team's primary car for the race.

"We've been working with Alex for a long time now and have built our commercial and marketing program around him," Bachelart said in a team release. "He has been our primary driver since the start of the season and we felt that it was in the best interest of the team and our partners to have him in the car for the Indy 500 as we continue to build our future together."

The field, from pole-winner Helio Castroneves to Hunter-Reay, was separated in time by a record 3.0967 seconds. The previous record was 3.2422 seconds in 2001.

Indy drivers busy testing race, qualifying setups

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was busy on Friday with most of the drivers already qualified for the Indy 500 on the track working on their race setups and 13 others trying to find the speed to qualify in time trials this weekend.

"At this point in the month, it's not so much about the speed on one lap," said 2007 Indy winner Dario Franchitti, one of 22 drivers who qualified last weekend. "It's about balance and how the car handles in traffic and how it runs through a full tank of fuel.

"We're getting there," added Franchitti, who will start the May 24 race from the outside of the front row. "We're making some progress. Any track time we can get is beneficial. ... We're trying to get everything we can get now and keep working on the car."

Others felt a much greater sense of urgency.

Indy rookie Stanton Barrett, hoping to fill one of the remaining 11 positions in the 33-car field, was focused getting comfortable enough on the 2.5-mile oval to do a solid, four-lap qualifying run when time trials reopen Saturday.

"We just keep working on it," said Barrett, a NASCAR journeyman who also works part time as a stuntman in movies and TV. "Work on setup and get stability and grip and speed, that's all we've been working on in different combinations.

"... The idea is to try to stay patient and not try and do anything too quick or fast."

Barrett ran 35 laps Friday with a top speed of 218.499 mph.

The big question for the drivers still hoping to make the race by being one of the fast 11 on Saturday, or by bumping out the slowest qualifiers in Sunday's final round of time trials, is how much speed will they need?

Townsend Bell, who didn't get into his KV Racing Technology car until Thursday, was fastest among the non-qualified drivers Friday at 222.139 mph. But he expects it will take more than that to make the race.

"I really believe we can do some solid 223s in qualifying but, certainly, it depends on the weather and the track conditions tomorrow," said Bell, who hopes to join teammates and first-week qualifiers Mario Moraes and Paul Tracy in the lineup. "The speed should be there."

The slowest of the first-week qualifiers was Davey Hamilton at 221.956.

The veteran of eight Indy starts said he feels "fairly comfortable" with that speed, but adds, "I kind of wish we'd have been able to go out again and put up a little higher number."

Working on race setup Friday, Hamilton put in 50 laps with a top speed of 219.699.

Tomas Scheckter, getting his ride with Dale Coyne Racing on Friday morning, said he wasn't too concerned about the speed it will take to make the field, just with getting used to his car as quickly as possible.

Scheckter was reunited with engineer Bill Pappas, with whom he worked while driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2003, the year he finished fourth, his best showing in seven Indy starts.

"I had a great run at Indy with Bill, and I like what Dale has done with the team and (what teammate) Justin (Wilson) has done in the car," Scheckter said. "I'm confident Bill can give me a good car, and what's also good is that we don't have to build a relationship. We understand each other.

"Hopefully, we can get up to speed quickly and start moving the program forward."

He did just that, turning a fast lap of 220.516 in 37 laps.

Others working on their qualifying setup Friday included 1996 race winner Buddy Lazier, Oriol Servia, John Andretti, E.J. Viso, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Milka Duno and Indy rookies Robert Doornbos, Alex Tagliani, Mike Conway and Nelson Philippe.

Some of them had a much bigger hill to climb than others.

Philippe was the slowest of the 31 drivers on the 2.5-mile oval Friday, but his fast lap of 217.956 was considerably better than the 205.718 he topped out with Thursday.

"I was just really uncomfortable with the car," the Frenchman said Thursday after driving a car rebuilt after he crashed it in practice on Saturday. "I've never been so scared in my life. I think when the guys put the car back together, I think something is wrong."

He was feeling a lot better about the car and the track on Friday.

"This is something we can work with," Philippe said. "It's just going to take a little more speed."

The practice was cut short by 17 minutes because several of the bricks that form the finish line on the track came loose. Track officials said they expected the problem to be repaired in plenty of time for Saturday's action.

Scott Dixon, the 2008 race winner, was fastest on Friday at 222.799, followed by Moraes at 222.530, Bell, pole-winner and two-time champion Helio Castroneves at 221.699, his Penske Racing teammate Ryan Briscoe at 221.567 and Franchitti at 221.192.

Servia, in only his second day in the Rahal Letterman Racing entry, was next at 221.140, with Doornbos and Tagliani both at 220.804.

Pressure mounts as slumping Junior comes home

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s fans fill the infield. He's mobbed wherever he goes at his home track. Lines wind around the corner to get into his nearby nightclub.

The brand remains strong. It's just on the track where NASCAR's most popular driver is still finding success elusive.

Welcome home, Junior. Now why aren't you winning?

"I would not trade places with him," teammate Mark Martin said Friday. "Absolutely not."

Junior acknowledged the gripping pressure after consecutive 27th-place finishes left him 18th in the Sprint Cup standings, far from where his fans expected when he moved to powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports last year.

"He's probably right. I don't think I'd want to put anybody in my shoes -- maybe an enemy or two," Earnhardt said of Martin's sympathy. "There are good days and bad days. You've got a lot to complain about and you've got a lot of things to be grateful for."

Save for a second-place finish at Talladega, little has gone right for the No. 88 team in a season marred by pit road trouble, communication woes and a post-race skirmish with Casey Mears at Phoenix.

Earnhardt has three top-10 finishes -- and six of 20th or worse.

After just one victory a year ago and quickly fading from contention once he made the Chase for the championship in his Hendrick debut, there have been calls to replace his crew chief and cousin, Tony Eury Jr. Owner Rick Hendrick has defended the team, but acknowledged they've had numerous meetings on how to end Junior's funk.

"I haven't changed my position. There's so much pressure on all of them guys, we've just got to take a deep breath," Hendrick said. "He's under the spotlight. We're not happy about it and we're working on it. I've just never been the kind of person who rips stuff up and says lets just try new things."

The trouble is finding and fixing what's wrong, while Earnhardt tries to fight off negativity that he said "can make you into a real jerk." Junior was searching for that balance as prepares for Saturday's All-Star race and next weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, just miles from his hometown.

"When you're running bad, you're just a target," Earnhardt said. "And you're angry because you're running bad, and frustrated. You can't win for losing. If you get angry you're a (jerk). If you take it on the chin you don't care.

"Everybody's got an opinion of you. You just move on."

From the grim looks of his crew as they shuffled in and out his hauler after All-Star practice Friday afternoon, the team is need of some good fortune.

"Where they're at right now is they just need to not let the pressure get them so tight that they can't perform at their best level," Martin said. "So my advice to Junior was, 'Hey this is All-Star weekend. Come here and take a deep breath and take a deep breath for your team and go out here and have some fun and let this thing come to you.'

"It's going to come around. It's going to come around for those guys."

Success has come quickly for Martin, though. The 50-year-old has two wins in his first season with Hendrick, which has further highlighted Junior's troubles.

"I'm all right," Earnhardt said. "I appreciate Mark's concern and he's always been a great supporter of me. It feels good for him to recognize my position and how life is."

Stewart wins 1st race as owner in All-Star event

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Tony Stewart crossed the finish line for his first victory as a car owner and made some rapid-fire decisions.

No, he would not climb the Lowe's Motor Speedway fence in celebration.

No, he would not go to his beloved Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday to watch -- or participate -- in the final day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

The only thing Stewart had in mind was a long night of celebrating the first victory for Stewart-Haas Racing on Saturday night in the $1 million All-Star event.

"I don't even know if I'll be conscious tomorrow," he joked. "We're going to start an over/under to see what time I actually wake up, and then you guys might want to start a second pool to see what time I actually climb out of bed. So, no, I am not going to Indy.

"I don't know what day this day is actually going to end. I would like to go. And I am sure at some point tomorrow -- thank God for Tivo, lets put it that way -- I'll at least see what happened at some point."

Stewart passed Matt Kenseth with two laps to go in a thrilling final 10-lap shootout to win for the first time in 11 All-Star event starts. It was the first victory since he left Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of last year, after two championships and 10 successful seasons, to become co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.

In just six months, Smoke has turned his new toy into a championship contender.

He came into the race second in the Sprint Cup Series standings -- surprising because most people predicted a rocky first year for a driver accustomed to winning. Instead, he's put both himself and teammate Ryan Newman (eighth in points) in position for berths in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Both have been closing in on Victory Lane, and Stewart won the race to give the organization its first victory dating to its 2002 debut as Haas CNC Racing.

"To get those guys in Victory Lane and to get these guys on the team that haven't been to Victory Lane there for the first time -- that means more than the million dollars does to me," he said. "It's that gratifying to get this group of guys to Victory Lane."

The win was in front of co-owner Gene Haas, who was at the track for the first time since the completion of a 16-month federal prison term for tax fraud. With his team struggling to find sponsorship or success, he and then-general manager Joe Custer took a gamble in reaching out to Stewart with an offer to hand the team over and let the driver build it into a winner.

"I was so worried today, I wanted him to be proud when he got here and proud of what we've done and proud of what he's been such a huge part in putting together," Stewart said. "Everybody is giving us all the credit for this, and you've really got to give him credit for taking the gamble, taking the risk, and having us come be a part of this organization."

Stewart became the second driver/owner to win the All-Star race, joining Geoff Bodine, the 1994 winner.

Stewart's crew urged him to the climb the fence in celebration -- a tradition he started several years ago -- but the driver declined.

His crew climbed for him.

"I said, "No way, I am not doing this again, I am too old to be doing it,"' said Stewart, who turns 38 next week.

Kenseth was second, followed by Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards.

The format was once again changed, this time to cut the 100-lap race into four segments that culminated with a 10-lap sprint to the finish. It was a nod to races past, which had a history of dramatic dash-for-the-cash finishes.

After a follow-the-leader parade for most of the first three segments, the action picked up at the drop of the flag of the final shootout. Kyle Busch used a three-wide pass to dart from fourth to first, aggressive driving that slowed the cars behind him. Denny Hamlin ran into the back of Jimmie Johnson, sending Johnson into a spin that he masterfully saved from a race-ending accident.

A caution period set up another restart, and this time Jeff Gordon raced to the front. Newman decided to enter the action with a three-wide move to the outside, and Gordon and Kyle Busch touched at least once before all three cars collided.

It sent Gordon into a spin through the grass then back up across the track, where he crashed into the outside wall to end his race.

"It's the All-Star event. That's just a bunch of guys racing really, really hard," Gordon said. "I heard three-wide right at the last second."

Kenseth eventually moved to the front, but he and Busch knew Stewart was coming quickly. Stewart was third on the final restart with five laps to go, and made several charges for the lead before finally getting past Kenseth with two laps remaining.

The late-race action moved the attention back to the track after a week spent discussing Jeremy Mayfield's indefinite suspension for failing a random drug test.

Despite his ban from the track, Mayfield was on track property early Saturday night, complete with camera crew in tow, as he watched J.J. Yeley drive the Mayfield Motorsports entry to a 22nd-place finish in the preliminary race.

Mayfield spoke with reporters who found him in the infield, insisting his positive test was not because of illegal drug use. Instead, he said it was the combination of a prescription drug, which he would not identify, and Claritin-D, which he said he used to combat allergies at Richmond that were "really, really bad."

New emergency texting available to race patrons

International Speedway Corporation has partnered with InStadiumSolutions to implement a text-message based communication system at all of its 12 motorsports facilities.

The service was introduced last weekend during the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

The system allows fans to communicate with the racetrack's command post if assistance is needed inside the facility. The technology was tested at Homestead-Miami Speedway last November during the final weekend of the NASCAR season.

Instructions will be posted throughout each racetrack and will be broadcast through audio and video public announcements.

Besides Darlington and Homestead-Miami, ISC owns and/or operates Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Auto Club Speedway of Southern California, Kansas Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Watkins Glen International.

The Fan Text Messaging Service is also being used by several professional and college teams, as well as at events such as the Super Bowl, BCS National Championship and World Baseball Classic.

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OVAL RACIN' AGAIN: NHRA's Funny Car points leader Ron Capps has accepted an invitation to race again in Tony Stewart's fifth annual Prelude to the Dream late model sports car race at Eldora Speedway.

Capps has finished ninth, fourth, 24th and 17th, respectively, in his first four tries in the charity event on the half-mile clay oval owned by the NASCAR star.

"This event ... is one of the few times in a race driver's life where you have to check your ego at the door when you walk into that place, because it is awe-inspiring," said Capps, who has won three of the first seven NHRA events of 2009. "When you're driving an 8,000 horsepower Funny Car, everything happens so fast you just react and you don't have time to enjoy it.

"Driving in the Prelude is the other way around. There's no spotters, you have the best drivers in the world all around you and you're sliding on dirt on a half-mile high-banked track. It just doesn't get any better than that."

Other drivers planning to run in the June 3 race in Rossburg, Ohio, include Stewart, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer, along with the NHRA's Capps and Cruz Pedregon.

The race will be shown live on HBO Pay-Per-View, with proceeds going to four military-themed charities: Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront and Fisher House.