Five to Watch: Key All-Star Race story lines

MISSING ALL-STAR WIN: Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. are the only active Cup Series champions that have yet to win an All-Star Race. Both have come close with Keselowski finishing second in 2012 and 2016 and Truex also with a runner-up in 2010. Keselowski leads all active drivers with 11 All-Star starts without a victory. Truex, who has made nine All-Star starts, will start from the pole while Keselowski will roll off ninth. Keselowski won the most recent race at Bristol on May 31 after leading 115 laps.

PRESSURE OFF: Cole Custer's breakthrough Cup Series win Sunday at Kentucky Speedway came with one immediate perk -- a guaranteed starting berth in the All-Star main event. Had it not been for his stirring four-wide pass in a two-lap sprint to the end, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate was facing the prospect of qualifying through the All-Star Open qualifier or fan balloting. Now the newest All-Star heads to Bristol with momentum.

"It's unbelievable. I was kind of nervous going into Bristol, trying to make it into the All‑Star Race. It's not easy," Custer said post-race. "There's a lot of good guys that are probably not going to make the race. To be in the All‑Star Race right now takes a lot of stress off. Who knows, maybe we can go win the $1 million. We were solid at Bristol before. Ended up getting wrecked. We obviously have a lot of confidence now in what we're doing. Just got to keep it going."

BUMP AND RUN: The traction compound could play a big role with the event being shorter than the traditional 500-lap points-paying race. If the bottom groove remains the preferred line, drivers might have to use a bump-and-run move to get by for position. The All-Star Race stages are set for 55 laps, 35 laps, 35 laps and 15 laps with only green flag laps counting in the final stage.

"I think it's going to be very similar to old Bristol because they are going to spray the traction compound on the bottom of the race track and there are very short races that are going to happen," said Kevin Harvick, who is a two-time Bristol winner. "What I think is going to happen is the majority of the race is going to be run on the bottom of the racetrack, which means, in order to pass somebody, you're probably going to have to use the front bumper, which could get pretty exciting. I'm looking forward to it and I'm really excited about the change for the All-Star Race."

PICK A LANE: This year’s edition of the All-Star Race will see the introduction of the choose rule. For restarts when drivers approach a designated spot -- which is usually a cone on the grassroots level -- on the track, they must commit to the inside or outside lane for the restart.

"When I think of the way the track races with the traction compound and lane selection being so important, the cone rule or the choose rule that's out and how that might impact things," said Jimmie Johnson, who finished third at Bristol in May. "There's going to be plenty to talk about, a lot of action and a lot of aggression."

WIN AND YOU'RE IN: Four drivers will be looking to advance to the All-Star Race through either winning one of the three stages in the Open or by virtue of the Fan Vote. Michael McDowell will start from the pole in the Open and will be joined on the front row by Aric Almirola after the random draw. Eight of the 22 drivers in the Open field have competed in the All-Star Race led by Clint Bowyer with 10 starts in the main event. Only four times in the history of the event has a driver transferred in and gone on to win the All-Star Race.

"I’m glad for the opportunity to get this All-Star Race to Bristol," said Bowyer, who has finished in the top 10 in his last five Bristol starts, including a second in May. "I thought it was a perfect fit for the All-Star format and I am excited to get there and see it all go down."

Bristol Motor Speedway is set to host the NASCAR All-Star Race for the first time on Wednesday night. The annual race, which pays $1 million to the winner, has been held at Charlotte Motor Speedway for 34 of the 35 previous years except 1986 when it was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway. There are eight active winners of the prestigious event led by Jimmie Johnson, who won in 2003, 2006, 2012 and 2013. NASCAR will be testing some new things in the race that includes the "choose rule," a new paint scheme layout and lighting underneath the cars.