Charlotte All-Star Race: A recap in GIFs

Hey, now! It's the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race.

This year's All-Star Race used some rules a little different from most other races, most notably cars outfitted with a package to promote closer, draft-based racing.

The racing festivities kicked off with the Monster Energy Open, where stage winners and one fan vote driver would get a shot to race on the big stage. Aric Almirola started on the pole.

Alex Bowman locked himself into the All-Star Race by winning Stage 1 of the Open, passing Almirola with a handful of laps remaining.

Daniel Suarez showed major speed in Stage 2, battling with Chase Elliott and AJ Allmendinger for the top spot. Suarez came out on top and won the second stage. That's a spot in the big show!

In the final stage of the Monster Energy Open, it looked like it was Bubba Wallace's moment to shine -- until AJ Allmendinger took over the top spot and never looked back, taking the checkered flag and transferring to the All-Star Race.

After the Open, there was still one spot left to fill in the All-Star Race field -- the fan vote driver. Chase Elliott didn't finish second this time. He won the fans' hearts and rounded out the field racing for the $1 million prize.

Matt Kenseth started on the pole for the All-Star Race, but quickly dropped to the back of the pack once the green flag fell.

Kurt Busch went for a spin early.

Kevin Harvick showed no signs of slowing down this season, winning Stage 1.

The other driver who's done plenty of winning in 2018, Kyle Busch, claimed Stage 2.

Kasey Kahne's hopes at another All-Star Race victory took a hit when his No. 95 met the wall during Stage 3.

Shortly after, Alex Bowman's first All-Star Race ended after backing into the wall, setting up for an Overtime finish to end Stage 3.

But, like they say — cautions breed cautions. The biggest crash of the night happened when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. made contact, taking out innocent bystanders Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, and Brad Keselowski.

To end Stage 3, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, and Kevin Harvick swapped the lead -- but to close out the stage, Harvick passed Suarez with little time to spare, setting up for the final 10-lap sprint to the finish.

Joey Logano and Kyle Larson tangled on the frontstretch in the closing laps, sending Larson's No. 42 through the grass.

In the end, it was 'The Closer,' continuing his utter dominance in 2018, winning the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race and claiming the $1 million prize. Kevin Harvick's just showing off at this point.

Now, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series prepares for 600 miles of action at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Will Harvick contend for points-paying victory No. 6?