Automakers will have a special spotlight during NASCAR All-Star Weekend, with Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota all involved in the first-ever Manufacturer Showdown at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The competition within the competition will culminate at the checkered flag of Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race main event (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with one carmaker claiming the Showdown win — and bragging rights.
See below now for all the details on the format and how it works. Come back throughout the weekend to see which cars are part of the Showdown and, ultimately, which manufacturer claims the award.
FORMAT
Each manufacturer will be represented by a set number of Cup Series teams in the All-Star main event. The size of each manufacturer team will be determined by the automaker with the least amount of cars qualified for the 250-lap feature — which means the field won’t be fully locked in until after Sunday’s All-Star Open (5 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and Fan Vote, when the All-Star field is fully set.
The other two manufacturers will field the same number of teams, with the drivers selected based on their starting-lineup positions for the All-Star Race.
Teams will be scored against each other and not by their overall All-Star finish. The lowest combined total of finishing positions will be the winning manufacturer. In the event of a tie, the single best overall finishing position will determine the winner.
TEAMS
Team sizes and driver participants were determined after Sunday’s All-Star Open. John Hunter Nemechek’s second-place finish in the All-Star Open gave Toyota five cars in the All-Star Race and set the full field for the Manufacturer Showdown.
Chevrolet: Ross Chastain (Starts third), William Byron (Fifth), Chase Elliott (Sixth), Kyle Busch (Eighth), Alex Bowman (Ninth)
Ford: Brad Keselowski (Starts first), Joey Logano (Fourth), Ryan Blaney (Seventh), Chris Buescher (10th), Josh Berry (11th)
Toyota: Christopher Bell (Starts second), Tyler Reddick (13th), Chase Briscoe (14th), Denny Hamlin (20th), John Hunter Nemechek (22nd)
RESULTS
Chevrolet won the inaugural Manufacturer Showdown thanks to a flurry of late-race activity that saw a couple of Fords fade and a few Chevys surge.
With teams scored against each other, Chevrolet earned 26 points in a lowest-points-wins competition. Toyota’s five drivers finished with 42 points, while Ford finished with 52 points.
Below are the full points results (not where each driver finished):
Chevrolet: Ross Chastain 3, Alex Bowman 4, Chase Elliott 5, William Byron 6, Kyle Busch 8
Ford: Joey Logano 2, Chris Buescher 10, Ryan Blaney 12, Josh Berry 13, Brad Keselowski 15
Toyota: Christopher Bell 1, Tyler Reddick 7, Chase Briscoe 9, Denny Hamlin 11, John Hunter Nemechek 14
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — As chaos enveloped Sunday’s FaithFest Evangelistic Ministries 150 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, all Craig Lutz had to do was be patient.
Each on-track accident eliminated one potential contender after another, all while Lutz inched closer to the front of the field. By the time the race reached its closing laps, the only obstacle standing in the way of a victory for Lutz was the iconic 7NY piloted by Luke Baldwin.
Lutz and Baldwin battled intensely during the final laps for an opportunity to take the famed elevator ride up to North Wilkesboro’s Victory Lane. Lutz prevailed over the young Baldwin, earning a long-overdue NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory he considers one of the most prestigious of his career.
“I don’t know what to feel,” Lutz said. “This series is so tough, and you don’t know when the next one is. There’s so many good cars, [so] you need a lot of good luck to go your way. It damn sure did today.”
Prior to North Wilkesboro, Lutz’s most recent Modified Tour triumph came Aug. 17, 2022, when he parked Danny Watts Jr.’s No. 82 in Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park’s Victory Lane.
To break a winless drought approaching three years in duration, Lutz on Sunday had to come from the 17th starting position in the No. 46 owned by Russell Goodale, a car that guided him to his first three Modified Tour checkered flags from 2019-20.
With how competitive the field was at North Wilkesboro, Lutz knew it would take a combination of strategy and good fortune to obtain solid track position. The onslaught of yellow flags played into Lutz’s gameplan, as he had successfully worked his way inside the top 10 at the halfway point.
Luck then favored Lutz during the second half. He narrowly avoided the spinning car of Trevor Catalano in Turn 1 before catching another big break during the massive restart crash with 58 laps remaining that collected Justin Bonsignore, Matt Hirschman and Corey LaJoie, among others.
The only damage Lutz sustained in the incident came when he hit Tyler Rypekma’s rear bumper in the ensuing stack-up. With his car still relatively intact, Lutz went on the offensive by easily dispatching Stephen Kopcik and Austin Beers to take his first lead of the afternoon at Lap 103.
Lutz’s only moments of reprieve came during the caution flags as he figured out how to hold off Baldwin on the restarts. The final sprint to the finish saw the two exchange contact on several occasions, but Lutz gained the upper hand over Baldwin with seven laps remaining by slightly nudging the No. 7NY in Turn 3, allowing him to pull away.
“That was wild,” Lutz said. “You never feel like you get a big enough jump on a restart. Luke did a hell of a job getting to me on the inside. He’s got a very bright future as we’ve seen the last couple of races. We were a little bit better and didn’t want to give that one up.”
Lutz’s charge was the deepest starting position for a Modified Tour winner since Patrick Emerling won at Stafford Speedway in 2021 after starting 23rd. Just like at Stafford that evening, Lutz needed to capitalize on the copious yellow flags to give himself an ideal opportunity to pursue a victory.
The increased notoriety Sunday’s FaithFest Evangelistic Ministries 150 received because of the NASCAR All-Star Race was not lost on Lutz. Having so many prominent individuals at North Wilkesboro only fueled his motivation to put together a stalwart performance and finally enjoy being a Modified Tour winner again.
Lutz had to endure a chaotic afternoon, but his patience was rewarded with a checkered flag at one of the southeast’s most cherished tracks.
“This race is probably the biggest one for us this season with NASCAR here [for the All-Star Race],” Lutz said. “To win this one is so amazing. It still doesn’t feel like it just happened, but it really did.
“I was supposed to work tomorrow, but I don’t think I am.”
Bonsignore rebounded from the restart crash to salvage a strong points day with a third-place finish. Jacob Lutz and Beers rounded out the top five.
The rest of the top 10 comprised of Kopcik, Tommy Catalano, Joey Braun, Jeremy Gerstner and Luke Fleming.
Seekonk Speedway is the next venue on the schedule for the Modified Tour on May 31. The J&R Precast 150 commences at 8 p.m. ET, with FloRacing set to provide coverage of all the on-track action.
For the third consecutive season, NASCAR All-Star Race Weekend takes place in North Carolina at North Wilkesboro Speedway, culminating with Sunday’s All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The 2025 rendition at the 0.625-mile track includes several noteworthy changes. Twenty-three drivers will compete in the main event, divvied between 20 automatic qualifiers, the top two finishers in the All-Star Open and the All-Star Fan Vote winner, awarded to the highest vote-getter who did not already race their way into the show.
Here is a breakdown of how the 23-car lineup in the main event is determined:
• Open and All-Star drivers will begin with a combined qualifying session, with the Pit Crew Challenge taking place during qualifying. Each car will have a three-lap qualifying effort, with a mandatory pit stop on the second lap acting as the Pit Crew Challenge. The fastest pit stop — measured by the elapsed time from timing lines one pit stall before a designated pit box — will determine the Pit Crew Challenge winner. The Pit Crew Challenge results determines the order of pit-stall selection, with the winning team electing its stall for the race first.
• The Qualifying speeds will determine the Open starting lineup and the lineup for each of the two All-Star heat races. The polesitter will start first in both the opening heat race and the All-Star Race itself.
• Each heat race is 75 laps. All laps count, and there will be a competition break at or around Lap 30. There will be one attempt at NASCAR Overtime if necessary. Heat 1 results will determine the inside row for the All-Star Race, while Heat 2 results will determine the outside row.
• The All-Star Open is 100 laps. All laps count, and there will be a competition break at or around Lap 50. There will be one attempt at NASCAR Overtime if necessary. The top two finishers plus the All-Star Fan Vote winner will transfer to the All-Star Race and start in the rear of the field.
• The All-Star Race is 250 laps, a 50-circuit increase from last year. All laps count, and there will be a competition break at or around the 100-lap mark. An additional promoter’s caution could also take effect. This must occur before Lap 220 and cannot be used if a naturally occurring caution happens after Lap 200. Overtime rules apply.
This page will continuously update to track lineups and results for the Heat races, All-Star Open and the All-Star Race. Be sure to bookmark this page for updates throughout All-Star Weekend.
Heat Race 1 Results
*Editor’s Note: Justin Allgaier qualified the No. 5 for Kyle Larson. The No. 5 car did not run the All-Star Heat Race.
Track: North Wilkesboro Speedway Location: North Wilkesboro, North Carolina Track length: 0.625 miles When: Sunday, 8 p.m. ET Where to tune in: FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Race purse: $2,421,400 Race distance: 250 laps | 156.25 miles Competition break: At or around Lap 100 Defending winner: Joey Logano, May 2024 Starting lineup: Brad Keselowski earns first All-Star pole
All-Stars rise to $1 million challenge with no points, all glory on the line
There are no season-long implications to take away from North Wilkesboro Speedway, no playoff guarantees nor points to gain.
No, the incentive on Sunday night is a cool $1 million to the winner of the NASCAR All-Star Race, a return to old-school, short-track racing with 250 laps scheduled around one of NASCAR’s oldest speedways.
All-Star Weekend celebrates the best of NASCAR Cup Series racing. The only 20 racers guaranteed entry into Sunday’s feature are winners from the 2024 and 2025 seasons (welcome, Harrison Burton and Josh Berry) in addition to active past Cup champions (hello again, Kyle Busch).
Three spots on the grid remain to be determined, though: Two are reserved for the top two finishers in Sunday’s All-Star Open (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM) and another for the winner of the Fan Vote, awarded to the highest vote-getter who didn’t already race into All-Star Race.
Through 40 prior years of the All-Star exhibition, there have been plenty of fireworks associated with the event — Dale Earnhardt’s “Pass in the Grass” at Charlotte in 1987; Rusty Wallace’s 1989 bump-dump-and-run on Darrell Waltrip; the Busch brothers’ 2007 tangle all come to mind. But in two years of playing host to the event, North Wilkesboro has established itself with its own lore, thanks to the 2024 fracas between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch that lit through the garage one year ago.
Short tracks spark short tempers, doubly so when all at stake is cold hard cash, consequences be forsaken. So with what will be 23 hungry racers in the field — and at least 15 searching for their first Victory Lane celebration of 2025 — don’t be surprised if contact determines who takes Sunday’s $1 million prize.
What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Sunday’s race?
Sunday’s showdown marks the third All-Star Race edition at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Even after a brilliant face-lift to tastefully modernize the 0.625-mile track, it remains a true throwback to an earlier era of stock-car racing.
This year, there’s a pseudo-throwback element to the All-Star format with the addition of an optional Promoter’s Caution, a yellow flag that may or may not fall before Lap 220 of the expanded 250-lap main event. It’s a scenario that several veterans in the garage have probably experienced at the grassroots level, drawing on an unspoken late-race expectation that a phantom caution period for a vague reason might jazz up the show. Sunday night, that will be baked into the race procedures.
“I think that we probably forget how often that might have happened back in the day racing local short tracks,” says Richard Boswell, crew chief of the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevy driven by Austin Dillon. “So we at least know it’s coming, and I think that it’s going to stack us up, right? It’s going to give everybody one last chance. I think it’ll be interesting to see the fall-off of this tire to see how many people, if the caution doesn’t come out till Lap 220, how many are willing to give up that position for a chance at a million bucks?
“So yeah, I think it’s cool. I think it’ll be fun to see how it all unfolds. I think that if I’m the leader of the race, I’m probably not going to like it, right? But if you’re not, then I think everybody else in the field is probably looking for a chance to up the ante, so to speak.”
One year ago, the All-Star format twist was the introduction of softer-compound “option” tires, giving teams an additional strategy component with their choice of Goodyear rubber — a limited allotment of option tires or the baseline “prime” tires. This year, just one tire selection is available — the same setup used earlier this year at Bowman Gray Stadium and Martinsville Speedway.
This tire is similar to last year’s option tires, with a slightly softer left-side compound for this season’s edition. The asphalt, too, is relatively new with a repave taking place during the 2023 offseason, meaning that the aging process is still in its early phases.
“It’s going to take more time, I agree. So maybe another year, it’s probably going to help us,” said James Small, crew chief for Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “And you’ll see, I think getting rid of the prime tire was a good step anyway, and this put us all on the option to take that out of the element, so at least it’s a straight-up race now. I think, like normal, qualifying is still going to be super-important, just trying to maintain from that point.”
Says Boswell: “I think anytime you get age in a track, you get a little bit of pace fall-off, right? So with pace fall-off comes cooler tires and hopefully less blistering of tires. But really, everybody blistered tires in 30 laps in practice at this event last year, but in the race, (Joey) Logano went 100 laps on both sets, right? So it definitely has to do with the repave and the aggregate of the surface, but I think the rubber that gets laid down affects it as well, so that helps things.”
The best remain the best. Each of the last nine All-Star Race winners are NASCAR Cup Series champions. Four of those drivers — Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney — scored All-Star wins before eventually claiming the title.
He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …
BRAD KESELOWSKI. Selecting the polesitter for this section doesn’t exactly feel like we’re going out on a limb. However, Keselowski is still searching for his first NASCAR All-Star Race win after three runner-up efforts, with two at Charlotte and one at Texas. His past history at North Wilkesboro hasn’t been great, finishing outside the top 15 in both attempts so far. But the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford was third-quickest on 10-lap averages in Friday’s practice session and was fast enough to earn the pole position. Perhaps this is the year he takes home $1 million.
Speed reads
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. • All-Star hub: Key information, links, results through the weekend | Read more
• Tip of the pit-road Spire: No. 71 Spire Motorsports team rockets to Pit Road Challenge win, $100,000 bonus | Read more
• Meet the Bells: Christopher Bell, wife Morgan star in Season 2 of Netflix’s “Full Speed” | Read more • Buescher, RFK Racing penalized post-Kansas: Driver, team react to L1-level penalty | Read more
• Turning Point to Wilkesboro: Hidden trends from first 12 races of 2025 | Read more
• All-Star action: Best photos, scenes from North Wilkesboro | View gallery
• NASCAR Classics: Relive the best moments from historic North Wilkesboro | Watch races
• Paint Scheme Preview: All-Star looks through the garage | View gallery
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Brad Keselowski checked the second box on Saturday.
Having won the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race, Keselowski backed up his victory in Friday’s time trials with a win in Saturday’s first All-Star heat race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Already guaranteed the top starting spot, Keselowski will lead the field to green in Sunday’s $1-million-to-win exhibition event (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Christopher Bell, second in Friday’s qualifying, secured the other front-row starting position with a decisive victory in the second heat.
Though the box score shows Keselowski leading 74 of 75 laps in the first heat, his victory wasn’t easy.
During the competition caution at Lap 31, Keselowski stayed on the track on old tires, as did Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon and Josh Berry. William Byron, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman pitted for new tires at the break.
Over the final 38 laps, both Byron and Chastain took turns challenging for the lead, but Keselowski stubbornly held his position in the superior top lane and held off his challengers.
“That’s what this is supposed to be,” Keselowski said. “It’s supposed to be a fun race, and I think I ran beside the 45 (Reddick), the 1 (Chastain), the 24 (Byron) for at least a dozen or maybe two dozen laps. It was a good battle.
“I’m glad that we came out on top, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be, right?”
On Lap 54, Chastain nosed ahead to lead the lap as he and Keselowski raced side by side, but Chastain’s advantage was short-lived.
After finishing second in a 10-lap drag race against Byron, Chastain will start third in the All-Star Race, as the finishing order for the first heat set the inside row grid positions for the main event.
In the second heat, which established the starting order for the outside row on Sunday, Bell led every green-flag lap. He surrendered the top spot only during a two-tire stop under the competition caution called on Lap 31, when Chase Briscoe stayed on the track and led six laps under yellow.
Unlike Keselowski in the first heat, Bell didn’t face any meaningful challenges for the lead. He finished 2.085 seconds ahead of runner-up Joey Logano, the winner of last year’s All-Star Race.
“It was really refreshing to be able to get out there and just cruise those first 30 laps,” Bell said. “I didn’t know how it was going to work out with Joey having four tires right behind me, but this thing (the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) was on rails.
“I’m really happy and excited about the opportunity tomorrow.”
Logano will start fourth on Sunday night, with third-place finisher Chase Elliott behind him on the outside of Row 3, fourth-place finisher Kyle Busch on the outside of the fourth row, and so forth.
Chris Buescher, Daniel Suárez, Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton and Denny Hamlin finished fifth through 10th in the second heat. Hamlin fought severe handling issues with a car that had difficulty turning through the corners.
In the first heat, Byron finished third, followed by Blaney, Bowman, Berry, Reddick, Dillon and Stenhouse. Justin Allgaier, who practiced and qualified Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet on Friday, did not compete in the heat, so the No. 5 car sat dormant Saturday.
After qualifying 21st-fastest in Saturday’s time trials for the May 25 Indianapolis 500, Larson will race his car at North Wilkesboro on Sunday.
Larson and the 19 drivers who competed in the heats on Saturday are already locked into the All-Star Race. Two more drivers will be added to the rear of the field from the All-Star Open, scheduled for 5 p.m. ET Sunday (FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM).
An additional driver will be selected through the All-Star Fan Vote, which Noah Gragson has won for the last two years.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect penalties issued to two Team Penske entries Monday, bumping Larson from 21st on the grid to 19th.
In one of the most celebrated days on the racing calendar, 34 cars took to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Saturday for the first day of qualifying for the May 25 Indianapolis 500.
NASCAR Cup Series championship leader Kyle Larson turned in a solid performance with a pair of four-lap qualifying attempts, earning him a 19th-place starting position on the 33-car grid.
While that showing doesn’t advance Larson’s No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet into Sunday’s Top 12 qualifying session to determine the polesitter and the first four rows of the race, it does ensure the 2021 Cup Series champion will have a chance at making history for the second consecutive year.
A week from Sunday, the 32-year-old Californian will compete in the Indianapolis 500, then fly immediately to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he will race in the Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 — only the fifth driver ever to run racing’s celebrated Memorial Day “Double.”
The late John Andretti, Robby Gordon, three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and former series champ Kurt Busch join Larson on that short list, with Stewart’s 2001 finishes of sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte best among them all.
Larson and his Arrow McLaren team have certainly put in the work toward success this week. He spun out and had contact with the wall during “Fast Friday” practice in anticipation of qualifying. Larson was fine physically, and the team was able to make repairs to his car in time for him to return to the track as the session ended for a shakedown.
He went out early in Saturday’s day-long qualifying session, but it was his second attempt mid-afternoon that boosted his position and safely secured his presence on the grid. He went from 27th in speed on his first qualifying run to 16th-best with three hours remaining in opening day qualifying — but ultimately that speed was bettered in the remaining time.
“We’re in the race,” said a smiling Larson, who started fifth in last year’s Indy 500. “After the first run I was a little nervous we’d be one of the guys battling for the final spots. Obviously, we would have loved to have been in the Fast 12 again but overall, a good day, we got two runs in.
“It was fairly comfortable, just slightly less comfortable than what I felt last year in qualifying. I just got a little bit of a free moment into (Turn) 2 on the last lap but other than that I felt pretty balanced. I was happy with that. Obviously, with the balance it comes with a little bit lack of speed, but I didn’t crash and that was a plus.”
Larson, who now heads back to North Wilkesboro Speedway for Sunday night’s NASCAR All-Star Race in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, certainly didn’t seem overly concerned with this seventh-row position on the grid for this year’s 500.
“I’m sure it will be a bit crazy as the race typically is back there,” he said. “I had a bad restart early last year and fell back to near that position and we were able to fight our way back forward. Just execute some good laps and hopefully we’ll have a good result.”
Reigning championship leader Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou — who ran the fastest single lap of the week — set the fastest four-lap average speed of the opening day of qualifying, a mark of 233.043 mph in the No. 10 CGR Honda. The effort was only a slight tick better than Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin (233.013 mph), last year’s Indy 500 polesitter.
Also advancing to the second round of qualifying were two-time defending Indy 500 winner and McLaughlin’s Penske teammate Josef Newgarden, Larson’s Arrow McLaren teammate Pato O’Ward and the 2008 race winner, CGR’s Scott Dixon. Prema Racing’s Robert Shwartzman was sixth fastest on the day and the only rookie to advance to the Round of 12.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, two-time Indy winner Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Takuma Sato and A.J. Foyt Racing’s David Malukas also advanced with a pair of former Indy 500 winners in Penske’s Will Power and Andretti’s Marcus Ericsson, along with Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard rounding out the top 12.
These dozen drivers will run again Sunday, with the top six advancing to the Firestone Fast Six to determine the most famous pole position of the season.
The importance of the achievement was evident in qualifying. The action started nearly immediately Saturday with Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong in a big crash during the morning practice, followed shortly by another incident involving a perennial championship contender, Andretti Global’s Colton Herta, who hit the wall and flipped his car during an early qualifying attempt.
Both teams were able to make repairs throughout the day and Armstrong and Herta each made qualifying attempts in the closing hour.
Herta, a former front-row Indy 500 starter, rallied to a 29th-place qualifying effort with a remarkable run — ironically bumping his teammate, former Indy 500 polesitter Marco Andretti, into the Last Chance Qualifier on Sunday. Four drivers — Andretti, Armstrong, Rinus VeeKay and Jacob Abel — will vie for the final three positions on the last row of the grid at 5:15 p.m. ET.
Sunday’s Top 12 qualifying and Last Chance Qualifying will be broadcast on FOX Sports (4-6 p.m. ET).
NOTE: On Monday, the Nos. 2 and 12 Team Penske groups for respective drivers Josef Newgarden and Will Power were penalized and will drop to the rear of the starting grid for the Indianapolis 500. Larson originally earned the 21st starting spot but instead will start 19th on Sunday.
