Charlotte Motor Speedway

Stenhouse finished 26th in his No. 6 EcoBoost Ford after the transmission went south on lap 65. He’d qualified third and was running in the top 10 when he felt something go wrong and had to pit.

Rick Hendrick was at the end of pit road and told Johnson to come pick him up. Once Hendrick put his leg inside the car, he was in for a ride.

The stars have come home to Charlotte for this weekend's NASCAR Sprint All Star Race, and this year brings new drivers, a new format, but the same old distinction. A million dollars rides on the driver able to cross the finish line first following 90 or so laps at The Beast of the Southeast.

Immediately after he was introduced, Chip Ganassi, owner and president of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, took the podium and politely welcomed attending members of the media.

It was just 65 days ago when Tony Stewart secured his third Sprint Cup Championship with a walk off victory at Miami Homestead Speedway.

Let’s roll the dice again this weekend and head to the Yellowhammer State (no clue as to what that means) for the second and final time of this 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

For the third week in a row, Kasey Kahne has finished in the top-5 among the Chase contenders.

Edwards scored his third-straight top-5 finish, posting a third in the Bank Of America 500. Edwards increased his lead in the point standings, and now holds a five-point advantage over Kevin Harvick.

In the process of writing this column about Charlotte and the 5th Chase race the unthinkable happened.

Matt Kenseth captured his third win of the season Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The win is his 21st victory in 431 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.