The tortuous streets of Monte Carlo provide the next challenge for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes on the 2013 Formula One calendar. The Principality’s 3.3km circuit is the shortest and slowest of the season, but it’s also one of the most demanding for man and machine. McLaren has won the Monaco Grand Prix 15 times – more than any other constructor.

The track layout has remained largely unchanged since its inaugural World Championship race in 1950. The inclusion of Armco barriers in 1969 made it considerably safer for competitors and spectators, but the challenge of the race is still as tough as ever. The smallest error can result in a driver’s race ending in the barrier and more than 4,000 gear-changes during the 78-lap race make technical excellence a pre-requisite.

Pirelli will bring their soft and super-soft rubber to the race. Both compounds have been used already this season (the super-soft in Australia, the soft in China), but this is the first time they have been raced together as the prime and option tyres. The low-grip nature of Monaco’s asphalt, combined with the circuit’s average speed of just 160km/h, means tyre wear shouldn’t be as big a factor as it was in the Spanish Grand Prix last time out.

Jenson Button won the race from pole position in 2009, and both he and Checo are aiming to finish in the points this year.

Race distance       78 laps (260.520km/161.887 miles)

Start time               14:00 (local)/12:00 (GMT)

Circuit length        3.340km/2.075 miles

2012 winner           Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8) 78 laps in 1hr46m06.557s 147.312km/h)

2012 pole               Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8) 1m14.381s 161.654km/h)

Lap record             Michael Schumacher (Ferrari F2004) 1m14.439s (161.528km/h)

McLaren at the Monaco Grand Prix

Wins                       15 (1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008)

Poles                      11 (1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007)

Fastest laps           10 (1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007)

Car 5: Jenson Button

Age         33 (January 19 1980)

GPs         233

Wins       15

Poles      8

FLs         8

“Monaco is unlike any other racetrack in Formula One. A qualifying lap around there is an exhilarating experience for a driver: you turn into corners on the limit and you kiss every barrier at the exit. To get pole position, as I did in 2009, is hugely satisfying and you need to be inch-perfect for 78 laps in order to win the race. It’s a great challenge.

“The average speed around Monaco is the slowest of the year, but it feels very quick. The track’s quite narrow in places and there are some fast sections. The run up the hill from Ste Devote to Casino Square involves some quick changes of direction, as does the Swimming Pool, and the Tunnel is fast, loud and dark.

“Everyone at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been working flat-out since the Spanish Grand Prix. We’re not yet where we want to be in terms of competitiveness, but I’m confident that we can make another small step forward in Monaco. We’ll continue to chip away at the performance of the MP4-28 until it’s capable of challenging at the front; there’s no other agenda for a winning team like McLaren. The aim for Monaco is to get both cars home in the points, as we did in Barcelona.”

Car 6: Sergio Perez

Age         23 (January 26 1990)

GPs         42

Wins       0

Poles      0

FLs         2

“Monaco is a great challenge for the drivers. It’s the only circuit on the calendar where you have to build up your speed during practice, rather than going flat-out on lap one. You push a little bit harder with every lap, getting a bit closer to the barriers each time.

“But it’s not just the track that makes Monaco special; it’s the atmosphere as well. The grandstands are closer to the track here than anywhere else on the calendar and that gives us a very close connection to the spectators. The huge grandstand between Tabac and the Swimming Pool can get pretty noisy when it’s full, which is great.

“Last year was my first Monaco Grand Prix. I missed out on a World Championship point by one position and I’m looking to change that this year. The MP4-28 is improving, as we introduce upgrades and understand its performance better. It was more driveable in Spain a couple of weeks ago, particularly on light tanks. That will be vital in Monaco because qualifying is very important.”

Martin Whitmarsh

Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has a fabulous record in Monte Carlo. We’ve taken 15 wins – more than any other constructor – through the streets of the Principality and while we’re not yet in a position to challenge for victories this year, we’ll relish the challenge provided by this race and we hope to challenge for more points with both cars.

“Our aim is to continue improving the performance of the MP4-28 in Monaco. The tight and twisty nature of the circuit makes its requirements fairly exceptional, but every kilometer that we complete with the car provides us with useful data because we have a very busy development programme.

“Overtaking opportunities are limited at Monaco, even with the DRS, so qualifying is going to be very important on Saturday afternoon. Both of our drivers know how to turn a quick lap, and Sergio can take a lot of confidence from his excellent performance during Q2 at the Spanish Grand Prix.

“Monaco is one of the jewels in Formula One’s crown. It’s an iconic setting and the race has a lot of history. I’m proud of McLaren’s peerless record in the Principality and would love nothing than to add to it this year.”

A McLaren 50 classic moment

Monaco Grand Prix, 11 May 1975

Given that McLaren has won more races in Monaco than any other constructor, it might come as a surprise to learn that the team had to wait until 1984 to take its first victory in the Principality. The team achieved many successes during the ’70s, but Monaco remained elusive. The team’s best result during that decade was Emerson Fittipaldi’s second place in 1975.

“This place is hard enough in the dry,” said Fittipaldi before the start. “As soon as the rain comes, it becomes a bit of a lottery.”

Rain fell throughout race morning, forcing the entire field to start the race on wet tyres. Emerson, starting ninth, knew he would have very poor visibility amid the spray, but he got away well from the grid and was given an early shot in the arm when Jean-Pierre Jarier crashed out of second place on the opening lap. The incident gained Emmo one position and he soon picked up another when Tom Pryce, running third, spun a few laps later.

Emerson’s race was transformed at half distance, when the track became dry enough to slick tyres. The McLaren mechanics turned his M23 around in record time and by the end of the pitstop sequence he was up to second place and sitting on the gearbox of race leader Niki Lauda. Despite trying to pressure the Austrian into a mistake, Emerson had to settle for second place and came home three seconds adrift of the Ferrari.

Jochen Mass fared well in the sister McLaren, coming home sixth (after starting 15^th). He was running fifth with a couple of laps to go, but he was overtaken by the Tyrrell of Patrick Depailler in an audacious passing manoeuvre by the Frenchman.

Each wants a victory.

Crafton, however, might be willing to sacrifice the trophy in exchange for maintaining or adding to his series points lead. For Busch, a four-time Charlotte truck winner but not NCWTS points eligible, it’s all about the “W.” Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Crafton’s No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota go fender-to-fender with Busch’s No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra.

Busch owns a significant statistical advantage – over Crafton and everyone else in the field. His 129.2 Driver Rating includes series bests of average finish (3.6), laps led (335), number of fastest laps (205), and percentage of laps in the top 15 (88.9).

Crafton’s Driver Rating (96.4) is fifth best and includes most green flag passes (307) and most quality passes (254) and most top-10 finishes (seven).

Busch and Crafton aren’t the only Charlotte winners in the field. Justin Lofton won the race a year ago while Ron Hornaday Jr. is a two-time winner (2007, ’09). The four-time series champion ranks second to Busch in Driver Rating (113.2) and has finished among the top five in six of eight Charlotte races.

Busch, Crafton and Hornaday have won seven of the past eight Charlotte races.

All four JGR entries finished in the top five with Kyle Busch winning and posting his 16th perfect driver rating in the series. It was Busch’s first perfect rating at Darlington and his first since the August 2011 Bristol race.

JGR drivers Elliott Sadler (second), Brian Vickers (third) and Matt Kenseth (fifth) joined Busch in the top five. Three of the team’s four cars are firmly ensconced inside the top 10 in owner points. The No. 54, which Busch has driven to five wins, leads the owner points. The No. 11, driven by Sadler, is fifth, while Vickers’ No 20 is eighth.

The reason for JGR’s success in the NSCS and NNS is due in large part to how the organization approaches the latter.

“It pays off in Nationwide. That’s kind of our training ground for our guys to move up to Cup,” said J.D. Gibbs, team president for JGR. “We have guys that work hard, long hours. They enjoy it. They enjoy winning races, too … It’s the best training ground we could ever have.”

This season, the team has incorporated a nice blend of full-time NNS talent (Sadler and Vickers) with two drivers competing in the NSCS (Busch and Kenseth). The strength and quality of the personnel (drivers, crew chiefs, crew members) found throughout the organization are why they’ve found success at all levels.

Case in point: Adam Stevens. Over the past two seasons no driver or crew chief has more victories than Stevens, who has been atop the war wagon for all five of Busch’s NNS victories this season. Last year, Stevens called the shots for former JGR driver Joey Logano, who visited Victory Lane nine times with the crew chief.

Because of his success, it’s reasonable to assume that great things lie in store for Stevens, proving the formidability of JGR’s training ground and “bench.

Drivers who won a race in 2012 or so far in 2013 are already in the All-Star Race, and so are drivers who have won the all-star event within the last 10 years. Also in are drivers who have claimed Sprint Cup championships in the last decade. With Jimmie Johnson’s entire five-year reign falling within that period of time, the drivers getting in by virtue of being past champions is a pretty small fraternity. The only other drivers that meet that qualification are Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and reigning champion Brad Keselowski. And, really, all but Busch of those aforementioned drivers are already in anyway by virtue of winning races here and there last year and this season.

Other driver in because they’ve won the past season and so far this season or are past winners of the All-Star Race include: Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Ryan Newman and David Ragan. It seems like a short list, but that’s pretty much it.

There will be three additional drivers in the All-Star Race, though. Remember that Sprint Showdown preliminary event I mentioned? The top-two finishers in it will advance. Then there’s that popularity vote thing. The top vote-getter in a NASCAR.com poll among drivers who aren’t already in and don’t finish first are second in the Showdown get the final All-Star Race starting spot. And with Earnhardt’s win at Michigan International Speedway last year, the fan vote isn’t the Earnhardt provisional it previously was.

Winning the popularity contest isn’t exactly a guaranteed way into the All-Star Race, though. To take advantage of popularity, a driver must finish on the lead lap of the Showdown. The position actually goes to the driver who gets the most votes among those who finish the Showdown on the lead lap. That’s good; I think. After all, if you can’t finish on the lead lap of a race without regular race winners, should you be in the All-Star Race, anyway?

Love her or hate her, there’s a pretty good chance that Danica Patrick’s going to win the fan vote. Her detractors can hope that she doesn’t finish on the lead lap or that her fans aren’t hardcore race fans enough to know about this whole All-Star voting thing. But then again, they knew to vote her the Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver last year.

Anyway, with this year’s fan voting not including Earnhardt, who do you think will win it? Will it be Danica? Her boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.? Michael Waltrip? Somebody else? Let us know by taking a poll here.

And while you’re at it, you may as well vote in the official poll on NASCAR.com to make that vote actually count for something. You have until Saturday night to do so.

Follow Auto Racing Daily on Twitter @AutoRacingDaily or like Auto Racing Daily (AutoRcngDaily) on Facebook. Amanda’s also on Twitter @NASCARexaminer and has a fan/like page on Facebook: NASCAR Examiner.

Yet when the stars have aligned Busch has been very good: three poles, two top fives and three top 10s. He finished fourth in 2012 after leading 14 laps. And although he’s failed to record a NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Busch has won at the 1.5-mile track 10 times in NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck events. His All-Star Race Driver Rating of 106.7 is third best and higher than ratings of three-time race winners Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

Busch brings two things to the All-Star that may have been lacking in previous years: speed and momentum. He’s already won twice and led seven of 11 races for 740 laps – roughly half of last year’s laps-led total during the full, 36-race season.

That should make the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota a solid pick to break his Sprint All-Star Race drought.

ALL-STAR WINNER: In nine NASCAR Sprint All-Star Races at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Kasey Kahne has one win and three top-10 finishes. In 2008, Kahne became the first driver to win the event after being voted into the race by the fans. The 33-year-old driver has competed in the race every year since joining the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit in 2004 and earned the pole position for the 2006 exhibition event.

BACK-TO-BACK WINS: Kahne and six other drivers have won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and have gone on to win the 600-mile race at Charlotte the following weekend: Darrell Waltrip (1985), Davey Allison (1991), Dale Earnhardt (1993), Jeff Gordon (1997), Jimmie Johnson (2003), Kasey Kahne (2008) and Kurt Busch (2010).

CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-763 for Saturday’s event. Most recently, Kahne drove this chassis at Fontana, Calif., on March 24, and he finished ninth. He also tested this chassis at Charlotte in December 2012 and January 2013.

ALL-STAR LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR loop data recorded during the last eight All-Star events, Kahne ranks fifth in green-flag passes (245), sixth in fastest laps run (36), sixth in fastest on restarts (176.669 mph) and ninth in laps led (27).

NO. 5 PIT CREW: Qualifying for the All-Star Race will include three laps with a mandatory four-tire pit stop on Friday, The No. 5 pit crew includes: jackman Trey Burklin (Charlotte, N.C.); gas man Chris Fasulka (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.), rear-tire carrier Ben Fischbeck (Waynesville, Mo.), front-tire carrier Michael Oxendine (Lumberton, N.C.), front-tire changer Johnny Roberts (Titusville, Fla.), and rear-tire changer Kip Wolfmeier (Kingdom City, Mo.).

HENDRICK IN THE ALL-STAR: In 28 All-Star Races (83 entries), Hendrick Motorsports has scored seven wins, 30 top-five finishes, 44 top-10s and led 605 laps. Most recently, Johnson won the 2012 event after leading 16 laps to earn a record-tying third all-star victory. All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are eligible for this year’s All-Star Race.

Quotes

KASEY KAHNE, DRIVER, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS (ON HIS 2008 ALL-STAR WIN BEING ONE OF HIS FAVORITE RACING MEMORIES.): “One of my favorites was being voted into the All-Star Race by the fans in 2008 and going on to win the race. If it wasn’t for the fans, I wouldn’t have even made the race so that victory was all about them.”

By no means set, the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field does seem to be taking shape. Two races from the official midpoint of the 26-race regular season, the points suggest that only major stumbles should deter a number of drivers from missing NASCAR’s playoffs.

Jimmie Johnson remains the points leader for the sixth consecutive week, and currently enjoys a 108-point cushion from the Chase cutoff of 11th place. Likewise Carl Edwards (second), Matt Kenseth (third), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (fourth) and Clint Bowyer (fifth) hold 30-plus points advantages over 11th. And if he needs it, Kenseth’s three wins should be enough for a Wild Card berth come regular season’s end.

After that, it’s anybody’s guess. Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski are each 11 points ahead of 11th, and Kyle Busch is 10 points ahead of the cut-off spot. Then there’s the curious cases of Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard, all separated by two points. Harvick, a six-time Chase contender, won his first race of 2013 at Richmond and comes off a fifth-place finish at Darlington. Neither Almirola nor Menard have made a Chase in their careers, but have enjoyed career-year starts to 2013. Almirola has finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races; Menard has four top 10s this year and has been in the top 10 in points after six of the last eight races.

SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified for the All-Star Race by winning a NASCAR Sprint Cup event during the 2012 season. Earnhardt led five times for 95 laps to win at Michigan International Speedway on June 17, 2012.

ALL-STAR VICTORY: Earnhardt made history on May 20, 2000, when he became the first rookie to win the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Earnhardt led two laps and beat veteran Dale Jarrett to the finish line by 1.295 seconds.

ALL-STAR STATS: In 13 appearances in the non-points all-star event, Earnhardt has scored one win, four top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. His average finish in the exhibition race is 8.38. Last year, Earnhardt earned a spot in the All-Star Race by winning the Sprint Showdown. He lined up 21st for the 90-lap shootout and led 18 laps before crossing the finish line fifth.

ALL-STAR PIT CREW: Qualifying for the All-Star Race will include three laps with a mandatory four-tire pit stop on Friday. The No. 88 pit crew includes jackman Nick Covey (Livermore, Calif.), front-tire carrier Kevin Harris (Orlando, Fla.), gas man Caleb Hurd (Pulaski, Va.), front-tire changer Clay Robinson (Sun Valley, Calif.), rear-tire changer Joe Slingerland (Inverness, Fla.) and rear-tire carrier Matt Ver Meer (Montezuma, Iowa).

CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-716. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to a 16th-place finish at Kansas Speedway in April.

HENDRICK IN THE ALL-STAR: In 28 All-Star Races (83 entries), Hendrick Motorsports has scored seven wins, 30 top-five finishes, 44 top-10s and led 605 laps. Most recently, Jimmie Johnson won the 2012 event after leading 16 laps to earn a record-tying third all-star victory. All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are eligible for this year’s All-Star Race.

Quotes

DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS (ON THE ALL-STAR RACE.): “The All-Star weekend is a great weekend. It’s just a lot of fun. It’s just an awesome race. It’s got a lot of great stories and a lot of history. We’d like to be a part of that this weekend and win the race, so we’re going to work really hard. I’m looking forward to getting in the car and seeing what kind of speed we’ve got and what kind of race car we’ve got.”

On top of that Charlotte Motor Speedway is offering an extra $1 million if a driver can win all five segments. With the big prize on the line, no points at stake, is there a different strategy going into this race than any other?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  Yeah, obviously a huge week for all of us.  Very excited about tomorrow night with our foundation event, the fourth annual Catwalk For Cause.  Definitely excited to get over to the speedway and get on the racetrack and trying to get into the Sprint All-Star Race.

It’s a big week, excited about the race this weekend, and looking forward to going there and hopefully winning the Showdown again, which we’ve done before.  The All-Star Race is one of the funnest events of the year.  To not be a part of it is pretty miserable.  Hopefully we’ll be able to make it in that thing, have some fun, chase a couple million bucks.

Q.  As we head into the next couple weeks, Charlotte, a mile-and-a-half track, you have 11 top 10s in the last 13 races on mile-and-a-half’s going back to early last season.  What have you been able to do or how challenging has it been to have that type of success over a year’s time with two different cars?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  You know, that’s interesting.  I’m not sure exactly what the reason is.  I really enjoy those racetracks.  I feel like a lot of those tracks that we talk about, mile-and-a-half’s, with Texas a few weeks ago, we came so close to winning, led a bunch of the race, and Kansas ran in the top five all day and led some laps.

I don’t know what it is about the mile-and-a-half’s.  I think Chad and I have maybe a better understanding of what we need at those racetracks and are able to get the car good enough in practice and get the feel that I need in practice to where it’s good in the race.

Certainly our racecars, obviously when you go into those big tracks, everything comes into play, downforce, aerodynamics, horsepower.  TRD has given us some great horsepower this year.

I think maybe they’re some of our better racetracks.  We’ve been able to run well at ‘em.  I definitely enjoy the big, fast racetracks.  It seems it fits our team, as well.

Q.  Obviously I know you’re trying to win every week.  When you see a guy like David Ragan, and I know restrictor plate racing is a little different, when you see a team that doesn’t have as much success in general win, does it pain you any more that it’s been awhile since you have won?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  Honestly, no, I don’t think you look at that.  All you can do is concentrate on your own efforts, what you’re doing.

I was really happy to see him win, not only for him but for his team.  A small team, it’s nice to see guys like that that work hard that don’t have the powerhouse teams and all the money go out there and be competitive and be successful and get to Victory Lane.

That was my first thought.  Wow, that was pretty cool to see somebody like that win with a team like that. Other than that, honestly you don’t really think about it.

Q.  Martin, the All-Star Race has changed over the years as far as the format is concerned.  What are your overall thoughts about the current format?  Over the years as a fan or a driver, what has been your favorite format for the All-Star Race?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  Well, I think the format this year is really good.  I think obviously last year I didn’t think it was a good idea to do it the way they did because of the way it all worked out.  The guy winning the first segment being able to start first, I don’t think they were prepared for that to happen exactly the way it did.  Had a chance to be probably a better show.

This year I think the format is good.  Obviously with the incentive to win all the segments, guys are not going to say, Okay, we’re in good shape for the last one, we’re going to take it easy and take care of our stuff, make sure we’re in that last one.

I think you’re going to see all-out racing all night long, which is a great thing.  Obviously we hope to be a part of that.

I think honestly the new way they’re doing it this year is probably one of the best they’ve had as far as, again, having that incentive to win all of ‘em.  Guys are going to be after it.  I think we’re going to see some exciting racing.

Q.  What are your thoughts about the old invert format they used to run?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  I never really liked that because you weren’t really sure what to do.  I think some guys took chances on sandbagging a little bit, hoping they’d invert, let’s say, eight, they’d try to finish eighth if they could.  I think all-out racing, no invert, the guys that win start up front, that’s the way to do it.

Q.  Martin, I wanted to ask you what it means to a driver to get the fan vote and go in that way? Secondly, how do you feel like the fan vote has changed with the social media that’s here and is much more prevalent now than when you received a fan vote?  Is there more lobbying, more of an organized effort?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  I think there’s been all types of strategies on trying to get the fan vote.  Obviously when I won it in 2005, I was completely and absolutely shocked and humbled to be voted in by the fans.

Obviously our sport revolves around the fans.  We talk about it all the time.  Without them, there would be no NASCAR, we would not be doing what we’re doing.  I get to drive racecars for a living.  Growing up as a kid, I never thought that was even a possibility.

To get voted in by the fans was one of the coolest things I’ve ever had happen to me in my whole career. Maybe this year we’ll have a chance at it.

I would say my odds are not very good with Danica being in there.  But my fans have been voting, they’ve been on Twitter talking about it.  I want to thank them.  It’s cool to have that support from all them guys.  It’s really neat.

We’ve seen all different types of strategies trying to get people the fan vote, with all kinds of different things they’ve done over the years.  I think for us this year it’s just about going out on the racetrack and doing the best we can, getting our fans involved, hope they vote.

I’m not real sure what everybody else is doing.  Our plan right now is to go to the Showdown, win the thing, get in that way.

Q.  Why do you think there haven’t been a lot of the fan vote drivers ending up winning the race?  Is that just a matter of how it goes?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  Well, it’s just kind of how it goes.  I think in general, we have seen the fan vote winner win the race before, but I don’t think it’s something you see a lot just because the guys that win most of the races, the guys that win a lot, are the guys that are probably already in the thing.  It’s definitely a longshot to get voted in and win the thing.  But anything can happen, that’s for sure.

Certainly our team is capable of going there and winning if we can get in the race.

Q.  Martin, wins are so difficult at this level.  You’ve been close a lot of times.  Is there a best way to handle any frustration that comes out of not being able to win very often?  Do you learn from other drivers on how to handle that?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  Well, that’s a good question.  I think for me personally it’s just a matter of, okay, take the good things, take the bad things, analyze them all, try to figure out how you can do better next time.  There’s no sense in getting mad, upset or down about it.  We have a job to do the next week.  Turn your focus on, How can I do better next time?  Is there something I did wrong, something I need to look at?

Like you said, it’s difficult to win at this level.  Every week there’s 42 guys that are mad, there’s only one guy that’s happy.  Your odds of winning races are pretty tough.  It’s not like normal sports where it’s one-on-one, you got a 50% chance of winning.  It’s a lot more difficult than that.

There’s so many things that go into winning.  I’ve said before you have to do a million things right to win a race, and if one little thing goes wrong somewhere along the way, you’re not going to win.  There’s a lot going on, a lot of things to think about.

I don’t really get mad.  Obviously it’s frustrating at times, but you got to take the positives out of it and try to learn from the things that maybe didn’t go your way, you didn’t do right, move on to the next one.

Q.  Do you learn from other drivers how to handle that?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  I don’t think so.  I mean, I think everybody is their own person, probably handles it a little bit differently.  I think certainly over the past five or six years I’ve had a lot of disappointments, a lot of heartbreaks.  So I think I’ve definitely gotten better in the way I handle them and try to move on from them.

Q.  How big a deal would it be to win the Showdown race for you?  I assume you’ve been pretty frustrated because you obviously came so close to winning several races in the last year and a half.

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  I think it would be a good thing for us.  It would be a great thing for our team.  We won it in 2007.  After that it seemed to kickstart our team.  Went to Dover, ran second or third, ended up making the Chase for the first time that year.  I definitely think there’s some incentive there.  It builds confidence.  It gets the guys pumped up.

For sure, I mean, without a doubt, I feel like we should win that race.  Anything less would be a disappointment.  We’re going there guns loaded trying to do all we can do, and hopefully we’ll come out on the right side of it this time.

Q.  If you don’t finish first or second in that race, do you feel you’ll be behind for the 600?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  Well, it definitely doesn’t help.  Track time is very, very important.  With it being the new car, the Gen-6 car, going there for the first time, we’ve tested there, but testing is testing, that was three or four months ago and a lot has changed since then.  So, yeah, there’s definitely a lot to learn.  If you don’t make that race, I think you’ll be behind the eight ball come 600 weekend.

Q.  I know you’re focused on Charlotte for the next two weeks, but I was wondering if you could look to the two races after that, Dover and Pocono.  For years they’ve been on the schedule back-to-back.  What is it like running at two different places like that back-to-back?  Is there anything that carries over from one to the other?  How tough is that maybe running two such different places?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  Well, actually it’s part of the schedule I really look forward to, Dover being what I call my home track, my favorites, and then Pocono, which is a place a spent a lot of time as a kid going up to the Poconos snowboarding, going back to the modified Race of Champions, watching my dad and uncle race when I was a little kid. I enjoy going to those two races first and foremost.

As far as being different, you could not pick two more different racetracks.  So, yeah, it’s a challenge for the teams.  You definitely have to really have two different mindsets as far as how you approach those racetracks with the racecars and the setups and all those things.

Definitely two weekends at the racetrack that really couldn’t be any more different.

Q.  You said you look forward to those on the schedule.  I know what your favorite Dover memory is with your win.  Do you have a favorite Pocono memory?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  Not one that stands out.  We’ve had some really good runs there over the years.  Had really good cars there last year.  I think I ran second or third there a few times.

Last year in the second race I felt like we had a car that was capable of winning.  I think that was when we got some rain or one of those races was shortened or something like that, I think I remember.

But, yeah, I definitely look forward to it.  The track is fun.  It’s big, fast, open.  You can make a lot of things happen.  Always look forward to it.

Favorite moment would probably be when I finished third there back in ’07.  I was catching the leaders, and it started raining.  I wish it would have held off for about 10 more minutes.

Q.  I wanted to ask you about the 2010 All-Star event.  You won the Showdown, finished second in the All-Star Race.  What do you remember from that night?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  I remember finishing second (laughter).

You know, I remember we went over there and we had the test and we learned a lot.  Charlotte has not been one of my favorite racetracks as far as being successful, being able to get my car to do what I want it to do.  We’ve really struggled with getting the car turning well.

That year what stuck out to me was over there in the test we learned some things that worked.  We took them over there and applied them in the race.  Things went smooth.  Obviously, like you said, we won the Showdown.  Had a really good racecar all night long in the big race.

You know, again, I don’t know.  I guess second sticks out to me because it seems like I’ve done it a few times.  Just having the opportunity to be in that race, I remember how excited the team was.  I was so excited to be able to win that, not because it was a win but because it put us in the All-Star Race.

It’s not about winning the Showdown.  Nobody really cares who wins it.  It’s just a matter of getting in the All-Star Race.  That’s what we’re focused on again this week.

Q.  Martin, you were talking about the mile-and-a-half tracks and you were talking about Pocono. Dover you say is your home track.  What makes Dover so unique, especially with the concrete surface?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  Well, I think the biggest thing about Dover is the banking and the speed, the way the corners drop off.  It feels like when you go off of a corner, feels like you’re falling off a building.  You almost fall a whole story down into the corner.  And the load that the car sees when it falls into the banking there is unlike anywhere we go.

It’s very similar to Bristol but it’s a whole different feeling with the extra half mile added on and all the speed you get there.  It’s just really, really fast.  Tons and tons of grip.  It’s a place that, with the concrete, you really have to attack it, but at the same time the edge is very, very fine and can bite you in a second.

A very difficult racetrack but one that I know is definitely one of my favorites, one that I really enjoy the challenge of, and definitely one of the most difficult tracks on the circuit.

Q.  Besides racing, what is your favorite prerace activity you always looked forward to during the All-Star or 600 weekend?

MARTIN TRUEX JR.:  The best thing about racing at Charlotte is being able to sleep in your own bed at night. We spend a lot of time on the road obviously with our schedule.  It’s nice to drive to the racetrack, run all day, then drive home and hang out at the house.

Going along with that, we always have a lot of friends and family in town for that race.  That definitely makes it even more special.

Always fun to race at home and looking forward to the next two weeks, for sure.

Over the years, JGR has come close, just not close enough.

Kyle Busch finished second in 2011 and fourth a year ago.

Denny Hamlin posted fourths in 2009-10 but was 20th in 2012 after starting third.

A driver change – veteran Matt Kenseth joined the team this year – may be the tonic that Coach Gibbs needs to celebrate his first All-Star victory. A silly aside: Gibbs is also 0-for-1 in the NFL’s all-star version. His NFC team lost to the AFC 10-6 in the 1987 Pro Bowl.

If current form is any indication, the three Gibbs drivers may battle each other for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star hardware. Kenseth, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winner driving for Roush Fenway Racing, is the season’s first three-time winner. He won last weekend’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Busch has led seven of 11 races, including the most laps at Darlington.

Hamlin appears fully recovered from injuries suffered at Auto Club Speedway in March, finishing runner-up to teammate Kenseth at Darlington – his first full race since returning to competition.

Kenseth is the only current JGR driver with a points-paying victory at Charlotte. He won the 2000 Coca-Cola 600 and the track’s 2011 fall race.

Ironically, Gibbs is no stranger to Charlotte’s Victory Lane. JGR has four wins in Charlotte, the most recent by Tony Stewart in the fall of 2003.

A Toyota has yet to win the Sprint All-Star Race.