The NASCAR All-Star Race will have a simplified race format this year with a 200-lap main event that has one competition break.
Those eligible for the All-Star Race are race winners from 2022 and 2023, past All-Star Race winners, the top-two finishers from the All-Star Open, and the fan vote winner.
The Sunday night All-Star Race will be 200 laps with a competition break on lap 100. All laps – caution and green – will count with overtime rules in effect.
Drivers will start on sticker tires with three additional sets of tires in the pits. However, only one set of sticker tires can be used.
“As we celebrate our 75th anniversary, it’s important for NASCAR to honor our history while moving towards the future,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR chief operating officer. “The combination of the Next Gen cars on one of NASCAR’s first – and most exciting – tracks will deliver a full weekend of racing that fans will not forget. While the All-Star Race has previously been used to test new formats and technologies, we wanted this year’s format to showcase the historic return of NASCAR to North Wilkesboro Speedway.”
Getting to the All-Star Race will be determined by a pit crew challenge and then heat races.
First, the pit crew challenge on Friday will determine the lineup for the heat races. The qualifying results will be determined by pit stop time, where crews will change four tires. There will not be fueling.
Saturday night, there will be two heat races of 60 laps each. The results from the first heat race will set the inside row of the All-Star Race, and the results from the second heat race will set the lineup for the outside row.
The All-Star open will be 100 laps with a competition break on or around lap 40.
“This format has an old-school, short-track feel to it – just like it should be for a return to North Wilkesboro,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “Dale Jr. had some fantastic ideas and it was fun to work with him alongside NASCAR to pull this all together.
“I’m thankful for Dale’s passion for this entire project and I think we’ve landed on something that both the fans in the stands and those watching on television will absolutely love. We want everyone after the race to smile and say ‘Wow, that was fun!’”
The short-track aero package will be used at North Wilkesboro.
Drivers who have already clinched an All-Star Race spot: Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace.
“The star of this year’s All-Star Race is the track,” said NBC Sports analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. “The history, the nostalgia, the surface – just being back at North Wilkesboro. People have wanted traditional racing back at North Wilkesboro for decades, and that’s what’s most important – that’s what this format delivers. The Pit Crew Challenge puts a lot of pressure on the teams, and with a 100-lap Open and a 200-lap All-Star Race, I’m excited to sit back alongside the fans and watch the racing we’ve all wanted for a long time.”
North Wilkesboro Speedway will host the All-Star Race on May 21.
