Kahne shines at All-Star Race

NASCAR Kasey Kahne (9) finished fifth in the Sprint Showdown, but advanced to the Sprint All- Star Race after being voted in by the fans. Kahne went on to win the All-Star event. No new tires, no problem for Kasey Kahne, who chose track position over fresh rubber on the final pit stop of Saturday's Sprint Cup All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway and used the positions gained on pit road to take the victory.

For the fourth and final 25-lap segment, he lined up behind Denny Hamlin, then took the lead when Hamlin's engine broke. Kahne also benefited from the ultimate provisional - he got into the race on a fan vote after failing to qualify by winning a race in the past year or by finishing in the top two of the Sprint Showdown. He was fifth in the Showdown, and the first to parlay a fan vote into an All-Star victory. A passing problem for COT

Kahne's victory and a lack of lead changes illustrated that the combination of the Car of Tomorrow and the tire compound chosen by Goodyear are making it difficult for drivers to pass the leader on intermediate tracks such as Lowe's Motor Speedway. And the race proved wrong the conventional thinking, which calls for rowdy racing in the non-points event. The only caution flags that flew on Saturday were the ones thrown to end the first three segments.

Petty capitalizes on Labonte's status

In choosing the semi-retired Terry Labonte as one of the fill-in drivers for Kyle Petty this summer, Petty Enterprises has trumped its old nemesis, the Wood Brothers Racing team, when it comes to using past-champion's provisionals to get their car into races.

Because Labonte's second championship in 1996 came after Elliott's in 1988, Labonte will get the starting spot if neither qualify on speed.

Labonte, semi-retired since 2004, is set to run five races this summer in Petty's No. 45 Dodge. Rookie Chad McCumbee will run at Dover and Chicago.

Petty is skipping the events to return to his role as analyst for the TNT broadcasts of Cup races this summer and to attend the wedding of his daughter, Montgomery.

This is the second time that Terry Labonte has been a teammate to his younger brother Bobby. They raced together for five races in 2005 at Joe Gibbs Racing.

TV numbers rebound

Sprint Cup races appear to be rebounding with

SPRINT CUP STANDINGS

1,690; leader 2. Jeff Burton

1,611; behind: -79 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

1,556; behind: -134 4. Denny Hamlin

1,500; behind: -190 5. Clint Bowyer

1,490; behind: -200 6. Jimmie Johnson

1,442; behind: -248 7. Carl Edwards

1,400; behind: -290 8. Tony Stewart

1,397; behind: -293 9. Kevin Harvick

1,396; behind: -294 10. Jeff Gordon

1,326; behind: -364 11. Greg Biffle

1,308; behind: -382 12. David Ragan

1,266; behind: -424