Fan-Friendly Activities Scheduled For NASCAR Sprint All-Star Week

A number of high-energy, fan-friendly events will ratchet up anticipation for an event that is not only one of the highlights of NASCAR, but one of the most exciting all-star events in all of sports – the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is set for Saturday, May 21 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (SPEED, 7 p.m. ET), but there will be plenty of action in and around the Charlotte area to engage fans leading up to Saturday night’s grand finale.

“NASCAR Rev’d Up,” a six-hour event highlighted by a concert and fan entertainment, is back for its third consecutive year. The event, which is free to the public, takes place Wednesday, May 18 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in uptown Charlotte from 4 to 10 p.m. The program will feature driver appearances, NASCAR showcars and interactive displays, and culminate with a free concert starring multi-platinum country artist Gary Allan and country artist Josh Kelley.

Continuing the fan-friendly activities throughout the week, the seventh annual NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman will take place Thursday, May 19 at 7 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena (SPEED to televise on delayed basis beginning at 8 p.m.). This competition between the top 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pit crews has become a popular event among the fans and features the “unsung heroes” of the sport. The event’s finishing order determines pit selection for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. The No. 11 FedEx Toyota is the defending Pit Crew Challenge Champion.

Here’s a full schedule of events for all-star week:

· Wednesday, May 18, 4-10 p.m. at the NASCAR Hall of Fame – “NASCAR Rev’d Up” featuring a concert and interactive fan entertainment (free admission).

· Thursday, May 19, 7 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena – NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman (for tickets go to www.pitcrewchallenge.com or call the Charlotte Bobcats ticket office at 800-745-3000) – SPEED to televise.

· Friday, May 20, NASCAR Day – Plans for NASCAR Day activities will include local activities at numerous NASCAR race tracks around the country. NASCAR Day is an annual charitable celebration that unifies the NASCAR community to better the lives of children. Limited-edition NASCAR Day pins are available and support the mission of Victory Junction. The pins are available for a $10 donation at The Sprint Experience at-track and at WWW.NASCAR.COM/foundation.

· Friday, May 20, 5 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway – NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Qualifying (for tickets call 1-800-455-FANS or log onto www.charlottemotorspeedway.com) – SPEED to televise.

· Friday, May 20, 8 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (for tickets call 1-800-455-FANS or www.charlottemotorspeedway.com) – SPEED to televise.

· Saturday, May 21, 7:30 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway – Sprint Showdown (top-two finishers qualify for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race). For tickets call 1-800-455-FANS or www.charlottemotorspeedway.com – SPEED to televise.

· Saturday, May 21, 9 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway – NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (for tickets call 1-800-455-FANS or www.charlottemotorspeedway.com) – SPEED to televise.

You can also keep up to date with all the week’s events by following @NASCAR on Twitter (Hashtag: #SprintAllStar) and logging onto www.nascar.com/allstar.

NASCAR PR