Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger

NASCAR Sprint Showdown at Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest

· This weekend Kasey Kahne and the Budweiser Team will square off at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the Sprint Showdown, the preliminary event to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race where drivers will compete for a $1,000,000 jackpot.

· This will be Kahne’s first appearance in the Sprint Showdown; he has four previous starts in the All-Star Race, posting three top-15 finishes, including a seventh-place finish in 2004.

· Kahne has scored three career victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, winning the 2006 Coca-Cola 600, 2006 Bank of America 500 and one Nationwide Series win.

· Kahne scored the pole in his 2006 appearance in the All-Star event.

· Kahne will be available for interviews with motorsports media members at LMS this Friday, May 16th at approximately 1:30 pm in the infield media center.

Showdown Rules-The Sprint Showdown will consist of 40 laps, 60 miles, and will be run in two 20-lap segments. Between segment 1 and segment 2, there will be a yellow flag during which teams can pit and may elect to change tires, add fuel and make normal chassis adjustments. Teams pitting will not retain their position on the track and will start segment 2 at the rear of the field in the order they leave pit road. All restarts will be double file with lapped cars at the rear of the field. During segment 2, only green-flag laps count. Three drivers will transfer to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, two by finishing first or second in the Sprint Showdown and the other by receiving the highest number of votes in the Sprint Fan vote while also finishing on the lead lap in the Showdown.

Pit Crew Challenge- No. 9 Budweiser crew members will have a chance to shine this weekend when they compete in the Pit Crew Challenge. 22 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will compete in a skills challenge to determine who the best pit crew is in the Sprint Cup Series. Individuals will also be competing to find out who the fastest crew member in the garage is. Fans can attend the event in person on Thursday in Charlotte at the Time Warner Arena or watch the event on the SPEED channel at 9 p.m. ET.

Kahne Discusses Racing in the Sprint Showdown

How different is your mindset going into a non-points event weekend? “I think the Sprint Showdown is going to be a lot of fun. It’s pretty cool to go out there and really have nothing to lose. You don’t have to worry about the points or anything like that. It’s pretty much, go all out and try to win the thing and don’t worry about salvaging a top five or something like that.”

How important is it for you to be in the All-Star Race this weekend? “The All-Star Race means a lot to everyone on the team because it separates the elite and allows us a chance to go run against the best, and that’s what everybody wants to do. It is important for me to transfer in, not only for Budweiser, but also for my entire team. These guys put everything that they have into their job and this is a chance for them to shine and have a little bit of fun.”