The format of the race was similar to the 2010 event, broken down as follows:
Segment One - One fifty-lap segment, with a mandatory four-tire green flag pit stop after Lap 25;
Segment Two - One twenty-lap segment, after which pits were open - drivers could opt to have a pit stop, but could sacrifice their position on the track should they choose to do so.
Segment Three - Another twenty-lap segment;
10-Minute Break period - all cars were allowed to make any adjustments/fuel-except tires;
All cars left the pit after the ten-minute break period, took the green flag, then re-entered the pits for a mandatory four-tire green flag pit stop.
Segment Four - A final ten-lap green flag segment.
The qualifying session for eligible drivers consisted of three laps instead of the standard two, including a pit stop after either of the first two laps, slowing to the speed limit of 45 mph entering pit road, but going full throttle as they exit.
Eligible drivers
The following drivers qualified for the race in these categories:
Past Series Champion drivers
The following five drivers fit into the Past Champions category:
14-Tony Stewart
22-Kurt Busch
17-Matt Kenseth
24-Jeff Gordon
5-Jimmie Johnson
Past All-Star race-winning drivers
The following four drivers are eligible as a past winner of the event in the last decade:
4-Kasey Kahne
29-Kevin Harvick
25-Mark Martin
39-Ryan Newman
2010 or 2011 race winners
The following ten drivers are eligible by winning a Sprint Cup points race in 2010 or 2011:
18-Kyle Busch
11-Denny Hamlin
1-Jamie McMurray
00-David Reutimann
42-Juan Pablo Montoya
33-Clint Bowyer
99-Carl Edwards
16-Greg Biffle
21-Trevor Bayne*
78-Regan Smith
For those not listed above, a special race, The Sprint Showdown, consisting of two halves of 20 laps each was held prior to the main event. The top two finishers and a driver chosen by a fan poll were promoted to the main event:
6-David Ragan
2-Brad Keselowski
88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Only winning drivers, not teams, are eligible to race in the All-Star Race; previously a team could qualify for the race even if the driver who won a race for the team was no longer employed by them. * - Trevor Bayne was scheduled to run in the All Star Race, but the Wood Brothers team withdrew him due to him still recovering from an illness.
The formal inductions for the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, made up of Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, David Pearson, and Lee Petty, was held the dayafter the race on Sunday, May 22. This became the last year the inductions will take place in May; beginning in 2012, the ceremonies will be held in January following a June election.
The annual Craftsman All-Star Pit Crew Challenge competition was held on the Thursday prior to the race at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte. The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing team, led by Mike Ford, won the competition over the #48 of Hendrick Motorsports. As a result, the #11, driven by Denny Hamlin, received the first selection of pit stalls for the All-Star Race.
