Take 5: All-Star Race at Charlotte

Wow! That's the only word to properly describe the All-Star Race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. There was intense, exciting racing from the start of the Monster Energy Open to the final lap of the All-Star Race. We saw shocking passes and saves, memorable stage wins, four-wide racing and more. Here are five takeaways from the event.

GOTTA GET IT RIGHT: Kevin Harvick, who won Stage 2 of the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, didn't quite have enough chase left in his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford during the final laps of the race to catch race winner Kyle Larson, leaving Harvick displeased with his pit crew following slow stops. "The guys did a great job of preparing the race car. They just weren't ready to make a pit stop on pit road tonight," Harvick explained. "They just need to be ready to race; they've done it all year. You can't just show up and have it be a disaster. They've been great all year. Tonight wasn't great."

MILLENNIAL TAKEOVER: Four drivers transferred into the All-Star Race from the Monster Energy Open and the Fan Vote, and all had a certain youthful flair. William Byron, 21, made his first career All-Star Race start after a last-lap pass in the Open. Bubba Wallace, 25, raced his heart out to win the second stage in the Open, a result that left him overcome with joy and tears. Kyle Larson, 26, won the Open and ended up taking home the $1 million prize. And Alex Bowman, also 26, made his way into the race with the Fan Vote. So, four of the youngest drivers in the Cup Series earned a spot in the main event and all four finished in the top 10 -- Larson won the race, followed by Wallace in fifth, Bowman in eighth and Byron in ninth.

BAD DAY: Joe Gibbs Racing, with seven wins in 12 points races, didn't look like the dominant team we've seen all season on Saturday night. Problems started early for Erik Jones in the No. 20 Toyota and they didn't seem to stop. During Stage 2, Jones' teammate Kyle Busch got tangled with Austin Dillon and Jones went right into the outside wall as a result. In the final stage, JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. got into one another while racing four-wide. Hamlin cut a tire and went spinning. Later, Jones had more trouble when he tagged the wall again late in the race. The All-Star Race wasn't an accurate representation of the way Joe Gibbs Racing cars have been driving so far this season.

BREAKING THROUGH: It may not have been a points race but Kyle Larson's All-Star Race win was just what the doctor ordered. Larson hadn't made a visit to Victory Lane since the 2017 season and started off 2019 struggling. "Gosh, after the year we've had I would have not guessed that we'd get our first win at the All-Star Race, but I think the way that the format is and how crazy the race is, it kind of helps out us," Larson explained. On top of going home $1 million richer, Larson became only the second driver in All-Star Race history to win the Open and then go to Victory Lane in the main event. It truly was a much-needed night for Chip Ganassi Racing.

MORE TO COME: The competition package for the All-Star Race featured two specific components that may be in use for a Generation-7 model in 2021 -- a single-piece carbon-fiber splitter/pan and a radiator duct in the hood of the car. NASCAR officials praised the on-track product Saturday night, which saw exciting racing and passing all the way to the finish in the Monster Energy Open. NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller was pleased with the results. “Good racing, a lot of passion," he said after the race. "We expect to see a great race next week as well." The Monster Energy Series will return to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race of the season, on May 26.