Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images

Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports, is running so well he will be tough to beat at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, site of Saturday night's Nextel All-Star Challenge, writes Johnny Benson of MSNBC.com.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an experience he won't forget in his first All-Star Challenge in 2000. A rookie that year, he won the event, sweeping all the segments. Bringing out the broom in this event is something only three other drivers besides Junior have done -- one of those being Junior's father, Dale Earnhardt. The others are Davey Allison and Jeff Gordon. And the only other driver with an All-Star win as a rookie was Ryan Newman in 2002.

Look out for Newman on Saturday night. He's been coming on in Cup races with three-straight top-10 results (Talladega, Richmond, and Darlington). Over the last two All-Star Challenges the Penske Racing South driver has the top Average Running Position (6.0), and the second-best Driver Rating (113.9).

Keys to success in the All-Star Challenge
In this event teams don't have 400 or 500 miles to make adjustments on their cars in hopes of improving their performances. It's a sprint-themed race so aggressive setups are needed. Teams will be looking to settle on setups that deliver speed on short runs and which provide speed from the get-go.

If a car is running well its crew chief will be reluctant to make any changes even slight in nature. But for those cars struggling, there won't be any hesitation by crew chiefs to try major changes in hopes of hitting on a setup that makes their car improve greatly, and enables them to catch lightning in a bottle in the four dashes for big cash.

This is a short, fast-paced event so drivers and teams will be taking chances that they normally wouldn't take in a Cup race for points. Every driver takes gambles in this race. With no points at risk, drivers will not be shy about driving aggressively, taking chances, and swapping some paint as they chase after the prize money at stake.

In a 500-mile race drivers pick their battles and when to stage them. That is not going to happen on Saturday night. If a driver sees an opening, he's going to try and take it immediately.

I recently tested at LMS and the track has better grip now than it has had since a resurfacing was done after the 2005 season. The surface has seasoned some more and the groove is starting to widen out so there will be some side-by-side racing for sure.

There will be a bottom groove and an upper groove and drivers will have to run in that higher line at least at some point in the event. The driver who is most versatile in running both grooves will emerge as the one to beat.

This should be a fun race for the fans, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's a whale of a race. A victory in this All-Star event is awesome. It does something special for the winning driver and his team. By besting the star-studded field, they are elevated in the eyes of the stock-car racing world.