In just a few short weeks it will be time for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in Charlotte. Any driver worth his salt on the Sprint Cup level wants to be in the All-Star race. Now, some drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. haven't qualified for the event yet.
There are two ways you can secure an invitation to the All-Star race. You can either earn it by winning a race or you can get in by winning the fan vote. While I still think Dale Jr. has a shot of racing his way into the event, I think NASCAR's most popular driver could win the fan vote if necessary.
He and Steve LeTarte are working really well together. Dale Jr. has been more competitive than we have seen him in a number of years. I've said it before, that's not only great for him, the team, his sponsor and his owner, but also for our sport. Now we are beginning to see the results we had all been expecting when he first went to drive for Rick Hendrick.
There are some really good racetracks coming up for Dale Jr., and this weekend is no exception. He's won at Richmond in the past, and with the way that No. 88 is running right now, there is no way you couldn't consider him a strong candidate to end up in Victory Lane on Saturday night.
Again, where he has the edge over so many others, in my book, is if he can't race his way into the All-Star race, I think he feels he can get voted into it by the fans. Now the interesting thing is, if the fans vote him in, they are voting in the potential winner of the All-Star race because of how well he is running.
Paul Menard is another one that I think we should keep our eye on as a potential race winner to make it into our All-Star event. He is having an extremely strong run in his first year driving for Richard Childress Racing. I expect Paul to run well Saturday night.
I also see A.J. Allmendinger and teammate Marcos Ambrose, who drive for Richard Petty Motorsports, to be on the verge of breaking through for a win. They both could surprise folks by jumping up here to make some noise at the right time and place.
Richmond, Darlington and Dover are really tough tracks, but you have to view them as opportunities. As good as Paul, A.J. and Marcos have been so far in the eight races of 2011, again, they could surprise some people. This is the year of surprises, and there is no reason to believe it won't continue.
