NASCAR

A sense of parity has enveloped NASCAR, despite the fact only 10 drivers are within the 400 points of first place required to clinch a berth in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

A considerable crop of drivers has remained incapable of achieving week-by-week consistency, but there is a sense that a good 15-20 drivers have a chance to win each week. As recently as two years back, it felt more like 10.

A strong rookie class has a lot to do with that, as does Richard Childress Racing, which fueled the rebirth of Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick.

Then there’s Petty Enterprises – a less-glamorized team but a growing source of NASCAR’s redistributed competitiveness.

Petty Enterprises – cars driven by Bobby Labonte and Kyle Petty – enjoyed a Steinbrenner-esque offseason, forcing people to talk about the Pettys again.

They brought in a Cup-winning driver (Labonte), a Cup-winning crew chief (Todd Parrott), and one of the most respected names in NASCAR (Robbie Loomis) to serve as executive vice president of race operations.

“When we talked Robbie into coming over last September, that was big,” Petty said. “We made the announcement and a lot of people in the sport said, ‘Man, Robbie Loomis is an idiot. What is he doing going over to Petty Enterprises?’ Then, we hired Bobby Labonte. . . . then, over the winter we hired Todd Parrott. Then a lot of people said, ‘Something big’s going on over there. We really need to see what happens.’ ”

Though neither team can be viewed as a Cup contender – Labonte sits in 27th place, Petty in 32nd – Petty said their cars have run better than planned.

“Our expectations have risen where we think we can put both these cars in victory lane by the end of this year,” Petty said. “And when the year started, we thought this would be a rebuilding year.”

The Nextel Cup circuit tonight shifts to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for a two-week stretch. Tonight, the 1 1/2-mile track will play host to the All-Star Challenge, one of the most unique talent exhibitions in sports.

There will be no points divvied out and a $1 million prize to the winner, which promises smash-down-the-throttle, super-aggressive racing.

As of this morning, only those drivers who have won this event in the past 10 years, have won a race in 2005 or 2006, or have won a series championship in the past 10 years are eligible to compete. That means Kyle Petty is out, though he does still have a shot to be in the field. If he wins tonight’s pre-race Nextel Open or the fan vote-in, he’s in.

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Sirius Satellite Radio yesterday announced the signing of Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevy, to be host of a weekly two-hour show as part of its NASCAR channel, slated to debut in January.