Kyle Busch felt like he gave one away Saturday night, and Carl Edwards was already stewing on how he would spend the winner’s $1 million purse. Greg Biffle was poised for a Sunday stroll to Victory Lane. But when the checkers flew over the Sprint All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the guy who had planned to watch the race from his couch with a few cold beers was standing in the winner’s circle, drenched in a few dozen cold beers.

See, Kasey Kahne wouldn’t even have been in the main event were it not for an online fan vote, one that propels the highest vote-getter with a still-drivable car in the qualifying Showdown into the big-money game. But there he was, starting shotgun on the 24-car field. By the end of the first 25-lap segment he’d driven to 13th position. By Lap 50 he was eighth.

At the end of the third segment he was seventh. And on the final pit stop with 25 laps remaining, crew chief Kenny Francis opted for fuel only, giving Kahne crucial track position that ultimately resulted in victory, making Kahne the third driver in the event’s 24-year history to win after transitioning from the qualifying race, the first to do it via the fan vote.