Like no other all-star event in sports, The Winston pits the best stock car racers against each other and gives them a real reason to win.

It's not about pride and it's not about show-boating. It's about elite company and a $2.2 million purse.

"They get fired up for it," said H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president of Lowe's Motor Speedway, where the event has been held for the past 16 years. "There's nothing else to compare it to."

In baseball and football, fans vote for the players who play for pride. But with the number of trades every year, there is no real long-term allegiance to the American or National League. In basketball, fans again vote for the field, and individual talent is highlighted more than the game is.

Hockey does provide an interesting twist, pitting North Americans against the world -- but even then the incentive to win is pride.

In NASCAR, only winners get to compete. And with money on the line, race car drivers are driven to unpredictable, thrilling extremes.

	“	This night always has something wild. It's sort of strange and maybe a bit eerie at times, the things you see and that happen.”
		—Steve Grissom on The Winston.

Like in 1987 when Dale Earnhardt tore through the grass to keep his lead (although it was dubbed "The Pass in the Grass") and win The Winston. Or in 1998 when Jeff Gordon looked poised to win, but his car ran out of gas and Mark Martin took home the lion's share of the purse.

"It doesn't matter if it's the Winston Open, No Bull Sprint or The Winston, itself," said Dodge driver Steve Grissom, referring to the two preliminary races that give two drivers who are not otherwise eligible a shot at the race. "This night always has something wild. It's sort of strange and maybe a bit eerie at times, the things you see and that happen. There are guys going to back up cars, cars spinning across the finish line and even some cars running through the infield grass. It's not a normal night of racing, that's for sure."

"It's as fun as Winston Cup racing can be, and I think that shows," Pontiac driver Tony Stewart said. "The fans obviously seem to like it. It's no holds barred."

This year's event has been tweaked to offer more excitement. Previously, three segments were run, but every driver made it through each segment. This year, seven of the 27 will be cut after the first segment and 10 more cut after the second. This will provide two races -- a race to win the segment (which pays a varying sum) and a race to make the cut.

"It reminds me of a Saturday night short-track type of race, where they put on a special event with the street stocks or mini-stockers," Ford driver Kurt Busch said. "If you're the last car on the track, you're sent home. That happens every two laps. They send the slowest car on the race track to the pits and that's what's going to happen."

"It's pretty unique," Stewart said. "It's probably going to be a little more exciting for the fans knowing that it's not only the race to see who wins the segment, but it's the race to see who's going to be in the next segment. There's a race within a race this year."

Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for the Raleigh News & Observer.