THE LEFT TURN

NASCAR heads home for the All-Star Race

Trey Campbell
May 17, 2019, 7:44 am


This Saturday NASCAR heads home to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 34th running of NASCAR's All-Star Race. This is one of NASCAR's marquee events as there are no points on the line and the winner will receive a cool $1 million. This race will feature all the winners from 2019 and 2018, drivers who have won a championship and are competing full-time, and drivers who have won an all-star race as well. The race will be 85 laps in total and broken up into four segments including the final fifteen lap segment to decide the winner.

There will also be a consolation race before the main event as well called "the All-Star open." This race will be for the the rest of the field that does not fit the criteria to get into the main event. Popular drivers such as Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Darrell Wallace Jr and Matt DiBenedetto will all participate in this race. The rules for this race are quite different than what we see in the all-star race, it will be a 50 lap race broken into three segments and the winner of each segment will automatically advance to the main event.

Another interesting aspect of this race is that it will also feature a fan vote. Each year since 2004, NASCAR has given fans a platform to decide who gets to be the final driver from the open to transfer into the main event as they can vote on NASCAR's website. Some of the favorites to win this award are Darrell Wallace Jr and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. This is one of the unique things about the race seeing how a lot of drivers come up with funny gimmicks to try and sway fans to vote for them. This week we saw that Stenhouse Jr went on record and said that he would grow a mullet if he wins the fan vote. As much as people might want to see him make good on this promise, I think Ricky will be able to win one of the segments and advance to keep his normal haircut. The other two winners will be Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman. The driver that I have winning the fan vote is Darrell Wallace Jr. It has been a rough 2019 for the young driver as the results haven't quite been what he has wanted and he has recently opened up about his battle with depression. I hope that if he isn't able to win one of the segments that this can bring some joy to an otherwise miserable season.

Moving on to the main event, this race will be one of the most intriguing races of the season. After seeing last year's race and the amount of competition we were able to see and this year should be no different. The driver that I have winning this week is Clint Bowyer. While he doesn't have the flashy numbers at this track, this fourteen car has steadily been getting better and better. This race also really caters to his hard charging driving style as he has shown over the years that he is not afraid to use the bumper (just ask Jeff Gordon) with this race being a non-points race, I could see him moving someone out of the way to get that Million Dollar Prize. Look for him to go to victory lane.

(All stats and information used in this article is brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Reference.com the best website for all NASCAR stats).

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Houston drops the game to Arizona

D-backs outslug Greinke and Astros to take series opener

Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

With the series win over the Rangers by taking two of three games in the middle of the week, the Astros welcomed the Diamondbacks to Minute Maid Park for a three-game weekend series, Houston's final three regular-season home games. Here is how the opener unfolded:

Final Score: Diamondbacks 6, Astros 3.

Record: 25-26, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Zac Gallen (2-2, 3.00 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Luis Garcia (0-1, 2.53 ERA).

Houston scores first, but Arizona grabs a lead against Greinke

Houston would get on the board first on Friday night, with George Springer reaching base in the bottom of the first on an error, moving to second on a walk, then to third on a single, as the Astros loaded the bases with no out to threaten a big inning. Instead, they would come away with just one run, with Springer taking home on a wild pitch, grabbing the 1-0 lead, but leaving runs on the table.

They doubled their lead in the bottom of the third, getting a two-out RBI-double by Kyle Tucker to make it a 2-0 Houston lead. The D-backs responded in the top of the fourth, getting back-to-back singles to lead off the inning before a three-run homer by Kole Calhoun off of Zack Greinke would put Arizona in front, 3-2. Greinke would finish one more inning before Houston would move to their bullpen, striking out the side to bring his total to nine on the night, making the bad fourth inning the one blemish on his night. His final line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, 1 HR, 89 P.

Astros tie it, but D-backs take the opener

George Springer would get Greinke off the hook in the bottom of the fifth, leading off the half-inning with a solo bomb to tie the game at 3-3. Luis Garcia was first out of Houston's bullpen and retired Arizona in order for a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth. He returned for the top of the seventh but would allow a leadoff single, RBI-triple, and wild pitch to bring in two runs. He would face two more batters, allowing a double and getting a strikeout, before Dusty Baker would come out to get him, now down 5-3.

Blake Taylor would make his return from the IL after Garcia, getting back-to-back outs to finish the inning. He continued on in the 5-3 game in the top of the eighth, but allowed a one-out solo homer to Calhoun, his second of the night and fourth RBI. That made it a 6-3 D-backs lead, which would go final as Houston would go scoreless after Springer's home run back in the fifth.

Up Next: The middle game of this three-game set will start Saturday at 6:10 PM Central. The pitching matchup will be Luke Weaver (1-7, 6.70 ERA) for Arizona and Cristian Javier (4-2, 3.22 ERA) for Houston.

astros recap astros vs diamondbacks mlb mlb recap zack greinke george springer kyle tucker kole calhoun astros

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