Seventeen drivers were already locked into the 2015 NASCAR All-Star Race. Now we’ve added two more. Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer raced their way in with victories in the two 20-lap segments of the Sprint Showdown Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Biffle, who finished second in qualifying earlier in the day, won the first segment handily. The victory gave Roush Fenway Racing an entrant into the All-Star Race for the 26th consecutive year. Biffle led all 20 laps and finished 1.583 seconds ahead of Bowyer.
Martin Truex Jr. jumped out to a nice lead soon after the second segment began, but a yellow flag three laps in brought the pack back together when JJ Yeley and Cole Whitt got together in Turn 4. Bowyer, who took four tires during the yellow flag between segments, needed just a lap after the restart, making a three-wide pass to push his car to the front of the pack. After that, the Michael Waltrip Racing driver didn’t look back for the final 16 laps of the Showdown and finished 1.521 seconds ahead of Showdown pole-winner Paul Menard.
Danica Patrick earned the final transfer to the All-Star Race after being voted in by the fans.
The All-Star Race green flag will fly at 9:18 p.m. ET on Saturday. Race coverage begins a bit earlier, at 8:30 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
