NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown - A Time to Shine

Each year, Late Model drivers from across the nation converge on half-mile Irwindale (California) Speedway, just outside of Los Angeles, for what they consider their Pro Bowl. Drivers see the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown as a chance to get noticed and make a name for themselves. The team with the most money can't buy its way into this event because it's an invitational that rewards drivers for their performance throughout the season.

The Showdown, in only three seasons, has become NASCAR's premier Saturday night short track race, where some of today's top young drivers have garnered the attention needed to make it to the next level. The event is televised live-which is the first real opportunity for a lot of up-and-coming drivers to receive that kind of exposure-with this year's qualifying races on Friday night, October 20, and the two feature races the following day.

In keeping with tradition, the top 10 drivers from each of the four series that comprise the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division will be invited-including the Midwest Series, the Northwest Series, the Southeast Series, and the Southwest Series. The top 15 drivers from the two series of the NASCAR Grand National Division, which includes the AutoZone West Series and the Busch East Series, will also be invited. The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division event will be 125 laps, while the NASCAR Grand National Division cars will race for 150 laps at Irwindale.

Also, there's more than half a million dollars in prize money on the line at the track called "L.A.'s Half-Mile Superspeedway."

"Before I got the chance to race in the Toyota All-Star Showdown, I'd never had the chance to be seen racing on live television," says Erik Darnell, a rookie in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. "That race is pretty cool, and it's a huge opportunity because you know once the racing gets started there are a lot of important eyes taking notice. You know that a lot of the top team owners are watching that race to see how you do. Anytime you can get that much exposure racing on a short track with live television, it's a pretty big deal."

At last year's Toyota All-Star Showdown, NASCAR president Mike Helton was on hand to view the racing action along with several other dignitaries, including team owner Richard Childress, who is known for keeping a keen eye out for young talent.

"This event is one of the highlights of our entire season," Helton says. "From the NASCAR Grand National Division to the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, this one-of-a-kind weekend features the very best short track racing talent in North America. From coast to coast, our teams and drivers [race] all season long for the chance to get invited to Irwindale Speedway and showcase their skills."

Darnell, who won a full-time Craftsman Truck Series ride for 2006 by winning last year's "Driver X" documentary featuring Roush Racing, adds that he knows from experience that top teams and owners pay a lot of attention to the Toyota All-Star Showdown.

"Some of the people at Roush were watching me because I was going throughthe 'Gong Show' at the time," Darnell says of the format for team owner Jack Roush's unique search for young talent. "We tested at Darlington right after the Toyota All-Star Showdown, and a lot of people told me they watched me. Mark Martin actually called me on the phone and told me to be careful and have a good time and that he was going to be watching to see how I did. I thought that was pretty cool to have Mark Martin call me up and tell me to do a good job. That was a pretty cool feeling.

"I think one of the neatest things about the race is drivers get to race with other drivers from all across the country," adds Darnell, who has competed at Irwindale on two occasions and posted a best finish of Fifth in 2004. "I was kind of lucky because I ran the Midwest Series and Southeast Series schedules in 2004, so I kind of knew a little more about the drivers than a lot of others did. I think having competed against those guys helped me out a lot because I knew their driving styles. It was kind of unique to get the chance to race with the Midwest guys because Irwindale is one of their home tracks. It was a great opportunity for me to see how my talent stacked up against a lot of different drivers from across the country."

There are not a lot of drivers who can say they earned a top gig in NASCAR while the bosses were watching television, but that's the case for Busch Series driver Burney Lamar, who caught the eye of team owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick while the couple were in their motor home in the infield for a Nextel Cup Series race in Darlington, South Carolina. Lamar, who currently drives for Kevin Harvick Inc., impressed the Harvicks while competing in the Toyota All-Star Showdown, held close to Kevin's hometown of Bakersfield.

Past winners of the Grand National portion of the Toyota All-Star Showdown include Austin Cameron (2003), Mike Johnson (2004), and most recently, David Gilliland. Cameron's victory was by far the most emotional victory at Irwindale as he was making a comeback from a battle with cancer. As everybody knows by now, the Toyota All-Star Showdown victory for Gilliland last year proved to be a huge stepping stone as he worked his way into the Busch Series this season. He quickly shocked the racing world by winning a Busch race at Kentucky Speedway in June, breaking an 18-race streak of wins by Cup drivers in the series.