NASCAR: Barks favor Edwards to win All-Star race

Lowes Motor Speedway president uses dog show to predict event outcome

By JENNA FRYER - The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE — With the help of a back-flipping dog, Humpy Wheeler made Carl Edwards the favorite to win the All-Star race by naming the acrobatic driver his pick to win Saturday night’s event.

Wheeler, president of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, staged a humorous Dog Show on Wednesday in downtown Charlotte to reveal his annual All-Star selection. He was an expert prognosticator when he first started making the picks, as Wheeler was correct on six of seven winners from 1989-95. But he has been right only twice since, correctly selecting Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2000 and Johnson in 2003.

He also chose Edwards in 2006, but he finished fourth that year.

“I was running (winner) Jimmie Johnson and those guys down and I hit the fence,” Edwards said by phone from his home in Missouri. “I made a mistake running for the million (dollars) and I’m not going to do it again.”

Wheeler, who makes his selection show an annual production, used dogs this year he believed shared characteristics of several of NASCAR’s top drivers. He had a greyhound (sleek) represent Johnson, a Doberman Pinscher (fearless) for Kyle Busch and an American pit bull (stocky and agile) for Tony Stewart.