CONCORD, N.C. -- Friday night, Chase Elliott has a chance to drive his way into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
He'll take part in the Sprint Showdown for the second time in his career -- last season he earned a top-five finish in the event, but did not win one of the segments to advance to the All-Star Race.
Like the All-Star Race, the Showdown format has been updated this year. It is now comprised of three segments of 20, 20 and 10 laps.
The order for the first 20-lap segment to kick off the race will be set by practice speed, and the winner after those 20 laps will advance to the All-Star Race and sit out the remainder of the Showdown.
From there, the field will be set by pit-road order after a mandatory minimum two-tire pit stop. After 20 more laps, the winner once again will advance to the All-Star Race and will not continue in the Showdown.
Finally, the field for the final 10-lap segment will once again be set by pit-road order after another mandatory minimum two-tire pit stop. The third and final winner will also advance to the All-Star Race.
So Elliott will have three opportunities to race his way into Saturday's exhibition event with a $1 million winner's purse.
He can also join his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates in the All-Star Race via fan vote. At last update, he was among the top five vote-getters, and the polls remain open until Friday evening. Votes shared via Facebook or Twitter will count double toward a driver's total. When you share your vote, make sure to use the hashtag #VoteChase to join the conversation.
There have also been three updates to the rules package for All-Star weekend, which are detailed here.
Live coverage of the Sprint Showdown begins Friday, May 20, at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will also carry the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday, May 21, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.