Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

“North Wilkesboro! Best short track on the schedule!”

It’s hard to disagree with NASCAR All-Star Race winner Christopher Bell after the sport’s stars put on one of the most electrifying midseason exhibitions of the event’s 41-year history. Over the final 28 laps around the 0.625-mile short track, Bell charged from sixth to battle door-to-door with defending series and All-Star champion Joey Logano, the two slamming fenders and leaning on one another for the $1 million prize.

Ultimately, Bell got the better of Logano, working over the three-time champion by running him up the track with 10 laps to go. But the fans are the ones who got the best end of the show Sunday night at North Wilkesboro Speedway. One of the oldest tracks on NASCAR’s calendar delivered an all-time, old-school, heavyweight bout between two championship contenders in an exhibition showdown. Is a points race next?

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Before we get ahead of ourselves, relishing the excitement of Sunday’s 250-lap throw-down showdown is top priority. Short tracks have a history of igniting short tempers, but that has been less common in recent years at the NASCAR Cup Series level. Exclude North Wilkesboro from that list, where in 2024 Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (and teams) exchanged post-race fisticuffs. This year, there were fewer physical altercations, but perhaps equal frustrations.

“I did all I could do to hold him off, and he got under me and released the brake and gave me no option,” a frustrated Logano told FOX Sports. “Kind of just ran me up into the wall, and if I could’ve got to him, he was going around after a move like that. I just couldn’t get back to him.”

Bell, all smiles and $1 million richer, was taken aback by Logano’s vocal displeasure.

“Joey was frustrated? He was frustrated? That is interesting. I genuinely would not have guessed that,” Bell said. “I had got to him a couple times before, and he made it very difficult on me, as he should. I got my run, and I took the moment, as I should. Yeah, I don’t think that I did anything that Joey has not done, and I’ve seen Joey do much worse.”

MORE: Logano laments Bell’s move | Bell responds

Disagreements — on the track or off — are a signature part of short-track racing. The duo made contact numerous times without physically driving either competitor into the SAFER barrier. And the result was, in part, thanks to soft Goodyear tires that mattered on a newer-but-quickly-aging asphalt surface. After sitting dormant from NASCAR national series competition from 1997-2022, North Wilkesboro’s aging asphalt sat worn, abrasive and largely overtaken by nature. That necessitated a repave before the 2024 edition of the All-Star Race, but the new pavement seems to be wearing quickly — which often leads to good racing.

“I’d say this tire is fairly matched up with the track,” Phil Surgen, crew chief of Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, said. “The year of age on the track, I think, is probably a bigger factor than what the tire was this year. And I’d say, another couple years and this place is going to be really racy, although it looked pretty good tonight. You’ve got a couple of lanes, three-wide at times, so it’s getting there with a little more aging.”

NASCAR All-Star Race action.
David Jensen | Getty Images

Indeed, there were multiple three- and even four-wide battles for position throughout the four Cup Series races this weekend — two All-Star heat races on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s All-Star Open and All-Star Race. There was full contact between competitors who fought tooth and nail for any advantage they could find. But they could also race each other with respect through a dominant top lane and a workable bottom lane that allowed for consistent side-by-side opportunities. That rapid evolution of the track surprised even Adam Stevens, winning crew chief of Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

“I did not see the bottom groove being as competitive as it was this time around,” Stevens said. “It seemed like it migrated middle (to) top last year, and you kind of had to be good there. But this time around, it almost seemed like middle-top of (Turns) 1 and 2 and lower in 3 and 4 could have been preferred, and then out of nowhere, Larson starts running the Homestead line almost and making time.

“This place is aging quickly and aging well and it’s got a lot of character, obviously, in more ways than one, and it races really competitive and gives you a lot of opportunities to do different things with your car and the driver to do different things behind the wheel to affect the balance.”

Couple that with an electric energy and sold-out crowd in rustic Wilkes County, and it made for a show fans and drivers loved alike — even for drivers who didn’t take home the $1 million prize.

“It looked like a great race for the win. I wish I could have been a part of it,” said fifth-place finisher Chase Elliott. “I thought the race was much better this year than last year, so that was cool to see. We had another great crowd here, great environment, for an All-Star Race, so hopefully everyone enjoyed that.”

WATCH: Bell praises North Wilkesboro’s revival

Bell agreed, noting the atmosphere was “bumping” all weekend. But perhaps there is a place down the road for North Wilkesboro as a points race rather than an exhibition event. In its current form, North Wilkesboro weekend splits the Cup Series field into All-Stars — this year, 20 of them — and hopefuls — this year, 18 of them. A full 38-car field for 400 laps around one of the most historic tracks in stock-car racing’s arsenal could produce its own drama if given the chance.

“We need more events like this, more races like this,” Bell said. “I love that we revived this race track. And now with Rockingham getting revived and had an amazing Xfinity race, I think just continuing to go to different race tracks, that’s the key for success. You can’t just beat the same race tracks up over and over and go to them twice a year.

“So I think continuing to diversify the schedule, get to where we’re going to every venue one time a year, and you’re going to see the crowds engage and have awesome electricity throughout the races. And yeah, it really is awesome to be a part of.”

Logano, for his part, was less thrilled after Sunday’s race.

“I’m glad you had a blast,” he said. “I’m pissed off right now.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Ross Chastain’s night in the NASCAR All-Star Race nearly ended before it was halfway through. A mid-race collision had snagged his No. 1 Trackhouse Chevrolet, and crew chief Phil Surgen told him to feel out the damage. Keep running if the car’s pace felt intact. Park it if not.

Forging on turned out to be the better outcome, giving Chastain a realistic chance at All-Star glory.

Chastain came back for a third-place finish, improbably rallying from contact in the 113th of 250 laps Sunday night at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The rally put him within sight of the decisive battle for the eventual win, one that Christopher Bell grabbed from Joey Logano with nine laps remaining. Those two held on to place 1-2 after their fender-scraping duel, a situation that Chastain was eager to join in the closing laps.

RELATED: All-Star Race results | At-track photos

“I am so thankful to have a shot,” Chastain said post-race on pit road, all while a rowdy bunch of fans who gathered at the catchfence chanted his sponsor’s name to get his attention. “I mean, we were spun out backwards. I was watching the tow truck drive up to me, trying to get it started and burned a set of tires right there with five laps on ’em, knowing that was going to put us at a deficit later — not even knowing if the car would roll. The (steering) wheel is off, so it definitely hit something on the left side, and whatever it did, it didn’t affect it too much. So, yeah, just glad that we had a shot. Those two needed to hit each other just a little bit harder for me to go get a million.”

Chastain’s race hinged on that on-track altercation, which came shortly after a Lap 100 break in the action. His No. 1 Chevy was on the high side in what became a three-wide contest for eighth place with Austin Cindric and Alex Bowman. The trio squeezed off Turn 2, and Chastain’s car and Cindric’s No. 2 Ford took the worst of it, with Chastain skidding to a halt near the pit-road entrance.

Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric collide in the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Ethan Smith | For NASCAR Digital Media

That slide forced the No. 1 crew to change tires, costing the team a set of fresh Goodyear rubber from its allotment. Two more caution flags flew — one for Brad Keselowski’s Lap 176 crash and another with the special promoter’s yellow that was added to this year’s All-Star format. Surgen opted to go with fresh tires on the first of those two cautions, so when the promoter’s flag flew on Lap 216, the No. 1 team had little choice on their strategy the rest of the way.

“It was unfortunate getting spun there but in the end, it kind of forced our hand to stay out at that last caution because we lost a set of sticker tires in the spin,” Surgen said. “Caution came out at like (Lap) 175 and we put our last set of stickers on, and we were pretty much forced to stay out after that. Had we had taken rights with the field there, I think we probably would have finished a few positions worse. So sometimes it works in your favor. We got the car a little bit better throughout the race. I think some of the damage may have actually helped the drivability there at the end, but yeah, it was nice to rally back.”

Backward as it may seem, the ground Chastain gained came after his most eventful moment. Chastain had started third and faded to ninth by the Lap 100 intermission, but kept pace with the front-runners once he righted the car after his backstretch shunt. Staying out after the promoter’s yellow gave him another track-position boost, and he held on, even with a battle-scarred car.

“I went backwards at the beginning of the race, and then I went forward after the crash, so I’d kind of settled into a spot where I thought I was going to be and then I got spun out,” Chastain said. “And from there, like, we took off, and I was behind the field on purpose, because I thought the rack was flexing or something in the steering. And then we got going, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just as fast as these guys,’ and I started passing them. I just love passing cars, and with my wheel all out of whack, and knowing my left side’s all torn up, we passed cars tonight.”

MORE: Chevrolet takes Manufacturer Showdown

Surgen said the No. 1 team would determine the full extent of the damage later. He said his initial hunch, though, was that a toe-link might have been slightly bent in the mid-race stack-up.

Though the car bore some of the wounds from a competitive short-track clash, Chastain secured a top-five result by adjusting on the fly. It’s a trait that Surgen says he’s grown to appreciate.

“That is characteristic of him. He’s always adapting,” Surgen said. “You get those moments to reset and just play with the cards you’re dealt. He’s good at that, and he was able to make something out of it at of the end.”

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

For many people, Harrison Burton will be a fresh face to put a name to as the former driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers hot rod is highlighted during Season 2 of “NASCAR: Full Speed,” now streaming on Netflix.

Competing in the Cup Series full-time since 2022, Burton’s third year sees the highest of highs and the lowest of lows for the 24-year-old wheelman.

Episode 2 of the five-part docuseries explores Burton’s background, highlighting his family’s history in the sport with father Jeff, uncle Ward, and cousin Jeb, who currently competes in the Xfinity Series. The episode also reveals that Burton will not return to Wood Brothers Racing in 2025 and the rest of his 2024 season is now an audition for rides elsewhere across any series at the national level.

FULL SPEED: See full Netflix hub

“When I first got the job, it was like, ‘this is great,'” Burton said. “We had some early success and it was like, OK, this Cup thing’s gonna be pretty easy. And then all of a sudden, I got hit by a ton of bricks of bad finish after bad finish after failure after failure. We didn’t turn it around enough. We had some good runs, but obviously not enough. Felt like I let people down. Then it was like, oh, there’s a weight off my shoulders because now I can just focus on going to the race track, and I have this amount of time. I know how much longer is left with the race team. We’re gonna make the best out of that time, and then see what comes next.”

His father Jeff Burton, a 21-time Cup Series winner, offered little pity for the situation his son was in during the season.

“I don’t feel bad for him,” Jeff said. “I think it’s an opportunity. This is life. Everybody goes through this [expletive]. What did I do wrong? What can I do better? And then go do it.”

A golden opportunity arose for Harrison at the Daytona summer race. With just two races left in the regular season before the playoff field was set, Burton needed a victory to make the 16-driver postseason and sat 34th in points.

On the final lap of the event, Burton led the outside lane and got a big push from Parker Retzlaff to pass Kyle Busch entering Turn 3. Throwing a handful of blocks on the two-time series champ behind him, Burton was able to take the checkered flag for his first Cup Series win and milestone 100th victory for Wood Brothers Racing. What made it even more special for Burton is that his dad was in the NBC booth calling the race alongside play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey, who famously delivered the call: “Jeff, you’re little boy has done it!”

“I cried in the race car,” Harrison said. “I’ve never, ever cried after a race win in my life.”

MORE: Harrison on ‘special’ relationship with father Jeff | Milestone win result of long journey for Burton, Wood Bros.

Through the Daytona win, Burton clinched his first playoff berth, but his postseason run was short-lived. A power steering issue for the No. 21 car at the Bristol Night Race put Burton in the garage and he finished 35th, which was not good enough to advance to the Round of 12.

During the offseason, Burton landed a ride with AM Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, in which he currently pilots the No. 25 Ford and sits 10th in the points standings after 12 races.

“I know he’s gonna be tougher through this,” Jeff said. “I know he’s gonna be stronger through this. I know he’s gonna be better through this, and it’s not the end of him. It’s not the end of his journey.”

Posted on by Staff Report

J&R Pre-Cast Inc 150

Seekonk Speedway

Saturday, May 31 | 8 p.m. ET | FloRacing

$104,304 posted awards

RACING PURSE BREAKDOWN

*1st place monies includes the $3,500 Special Award Whelen Engineering “Winner of the Race” award paid to winning driver.

Total: $70,701

1st-$11,092
2nd-$4,046
3rd-$3,110
4th-$2,275
5th-$2,264
6th-$2,227
7th-$2,215
8th-$2,204
9th-$2,192
10th-$2,180
11th-$2,169
12th-$2,157
13th-$2,145
14th-$2,133
15th-$2,122
16th-$2,110
17th-$2,048
18th-$2,012
19th-$2,000
20th-$2,000
21st-$2,000
22nd-$2,000
23rd-$2,000
24th-$2,000
25th-$2,000
26th-$2,000
27th-$2,000
28th-$2,000

($10,000 of the above purse is contributed by FloRacing.com)

QUALIFYING AND SPECIAL AWARDS

  • $1,150 Hoosier Tire “Pole Award” per event award to the eligible driver with the fastest qualifying time eligible to participate under the Manufacturers’ Prize Money Conditions.
  • $1,000 Hoosier Tire “Hard Charger” per event award to the highest finishing eligible driver who advances the most positions from the start of the race to the end of the race. In the case of a tie, the highest finishing driver will receive the award.
  • $550 Sunoco Spec Fuel per race award divided: 1st-$300 5th-$150 10th-$100
  • $400 Phil Kurze “Halfway Leader” Award presented by Josten’s per event award to the race leader at the halfway point of the event, regardless if the race is running under green or yellow.
  • One set of Hoosier Racing Tires – Product Award valued at $1,000 to be awarded as follows: At the conclusion of the event, the race winner will draw a pill to randomly select which finishing position of 10th through 25th will win this award.
  • One set of Hoosier Racing Tires – Product Award valued at $1,000 to be awarded to the highest finishing new team participating in the race. New team is defined as a new Car Owner to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour or a Car Owner who has not participated during the past three (3) seasons of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. If there are no new teams that qualify for this award, a second pill will be drawn, by the race winner, and the tires will be awarded to a team that finishes between 10th and 25th positions.
Posted on by Zack Albert

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Joey Logano had reasons to be irked in multiples in Sunday night’s NASCAR All-Star Race, from a pit-strategy call that didn’t quite pan out, an arbitrary late-race caution flag and a decisive, bruising pass from eventual winner Christopher Bell.

The last of those troubles was the most climactic, with Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota running Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford up the track through both sets of corners. Whether the maneuver was fair or foul with $1 million at stake, Logano couldn’t quite say, but dropped a hint at the retaliation that he never got to serve up.

“I mean, it is what it is. I don’t know. Sure, sure. He did it good enough that I couldn’t get back to him, because I was going to show him what fair was,” Logano said. “Just couldn’t get there. Just couldn’t get there with the tires.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Logano’s bid for a second straight All-Star Race crown faded into the mountain air Sunday evening, offsetting an otherwise sterling performance at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Logano led a race-best 139 of the 250 laps, but a promoter’s-choice caution period — a new feature in the All-Star format this year — flew at Lap 216, negating a 0.580-second advantage and changing the complexion of the non-points event.

No. 22 crew chief Paul Wolfe opted to keep his driver out on track during that break, and four other teams chose the same strategy to skip pit road. Bell exited the pits with two fresh tires and lined up sixth for the final restart — the first driver on fresh rubber. From there, he picked his way to the front, chasing down a tire-disadvantaged Logano and eventually brushing his way past with nine laps left.

Bell’s view of their final on-track conflict differed, saying that Logano’s frustration was “interesting” and that “I genuinely would not have guessed that.” His overall assessment was that his race-winning tactics weren’t out of bounds.

“Well, I had got to him a couple times before and he made it very difficult on me, as he should. I got my run and I took the moment, as I should,” Bell said. “Yeah, I don’t think that I did anything that Joey has not done, and I’ve seen Joey do much worse. We will continue on.”

Logano scratched his head after exiting his car, having a quick debrief with Wolfe on pit road. Asked if the call was the right one, Logano was blunt.

“Obviously not. Duh. We got beat by that,” Logano said, managing a laugh. “… I mean, I felt like it was 50/50. I mean, we were going to put two (tires) on, and then, last minute, we decided to stay out. I thought six cars was going to be enough (buffer), you know. I said it’s a similar situation to what Brad (Keselowski) had in the heat race — 30 or so laps on the tires, he stayed, he was able to manage. But the difference is, it’s a heat race to the feature, and what are people willing to do in a heat race versus a million dollars and for the win at the All-Star Race. It changes the game a little bit. And we didn’t fire off as fast as we needed to the first eight laps of that run.

“So yeah, just, we didn’t make the right call, right? I mean, we go down together, right? We do all this stuff together. We had the best car and we did most everything, right? We just made one decision off. So we’ll take second. What’s second pay? Not a million, I guess.”

Wolfe shared in his driver’s disappointment.

“Yeah, it sucks because we had the best car, and somewhere along the way we made a bad decision, or it didn’t go the way we needed it to go — which, that’s not uncommon,” Wolfe told NASCAR.com. “Very seldom does the fastest car win these races, but yeah, I thought we would be able to hold them off and we had some buffer cars, but (Bell) got through them too quick and got to us. Didn’t give us enough time to come for the tires to kind of equal out. Joey drove his butt off, did all he could. That’s what it is.”

MORE: Every All-Star Race winner

Whether Logano could’ve driven on to victory without the promoter’s yellow in a relatively clean race is up for hypotheticals. As the clock ticked down to a looming Lap 220 deadline, the suspense morphed into a question of when, more than if.

Even though most drivers and many in the packed house knew it was coming, the odds-on eventuality didn’t soften the impact.

“When you lead that many laps, you have the fastest car and a gimmick caution beats you, it just sucks,” Logano said. “But it is what it is. You move on and be happy that we had the best car the last two times we’ve been here. Wish we had two wins, though.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Fireworks lit up the sky, and smoke billowed from the tires of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as Christopher Bell celebrated his first victory in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

On Sunday night, Bell climbed from his car to a standing ovation. Scratch that — virtually everyone in the packed grandstands already had been standing for the final 28-lap green-flag run, as Bell battled Joey Logano side-by-side and finally cleared last year’s winner for the lead on Lap 241 of 250.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

At that point, Bell had better right-side tires than Logano, who had stayed out under the promoter’s caution signaled by unofficial flagman Michael Waltrip on Lap 216.

Bell pitted for two tires under the yellow, restarted sixth on Lap 223 behind five cars that stayed out and quickly advanced to second with a pass of Ross Chastain on Lap 227.

From that point, it was game-on for Bell, who pursued Logano relentlessly. On Lap 241, Bell pulled even with Logano, drifted out toward the wall, taking Logano with him and completed the decisive pass. His winning margin was 0.829 seconds.

“North Wilkesboro, how about that one?” Bell shouted after climbing from his car with the smoke still lingering from his celebratory burnout. “That right there is absolutely incredible. North Wilkesboro, best short track on the schedule.”

The victory was the first for a Toyota driver since JGR’s Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in 2017.

Logano, who led 199 of 200 laps in last year’s All-Star Race victory at the historic 0.625-mile short track, led a race-high 139 laps on Sunday to 28 for Bell. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford held a comfortable lead when the yellow flag for the promoter’s caution — a new wrinkle introduced by Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith — slowed the action, forced a pit-stop choice and bunched the field.

“I’m pissed off right now,” Logano said. “Just dang it, we had the fastest car. The Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was so fast. You get to … I’m trying to choose my words correctly on the caution situation. Obviously, I got bit by it, so I am the one frustrated, obviously …

“I’m all about no gimmicks with the caution. I am all about that. I’m a little … me and Marcus Smith aren’t seeing eye to eye right now, OK? I’ve got to have a word with him.”

The caution and the tire disadvantage ultimately prevented Logano from winning his second straight All-Star Race and third overall.

“Thought maybe we could hold him off, but the 20 had a good enough restart, cleared too many of them too fast,” Logano said. “I couldn’t get away in time. It took me six, seven laps to get my car up and rolling again.

“I did all I could do to hold him off, and he got under me and released the brake and gave me no option. Kind of just ran me up into the wall, and if I could’ve got to him, he was going around after a move like that. I just couldn’t get back to him. Just too much to try to make up with the tire deficit.

“Just frustrated after you lead so many laps and the car is so fast and you don’t win, it hurts quite a bit.”

SHOP: Winner gear

It hurt even more because first prize money for the exhibition race is $1 million, and second place pays a small fraction of that amount. Bell was happy to line his pockets with the lion’s share of the purse.

It was the quality of the competition, however, that excited Bell the most.

“Man, that was an amazing race,” he said. “There were so many guys up there racing for the lead. We saw two-wide, three-wide for the lead. It’s just a pleasure to race here, and especially whenever you get to drive this Mobil 1 Toyota Camry.

“These boys (the No. 20 crew) have done such a good job on this thing. I told them going into it, this was the best car we’ve had in a long time. Joey was fast. He gave us a lot of competition, and the 12 (Ryan Blaney) was really good there and the 9 (Chase Elliott). They had competitive cars. The strategy — we knew it would be all over the place and it fell our way.”

Bell acknowledged that the urgency of passing Logano in the closing run forced him to push the issue.

“He did a great job of trying to keep me behind him, and I knew that once I got that run off Turn 4, it was like alright, I’m going to have to be a little more aggressive and kind of leaned on him and got him out of position.

“I knew once I got the lead, I had the tire advantage so I should be able to cruise, and it worked out that way.”

On the same tire strategy as Logano, Chastain held third at the finish, followed by Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman, Elliott and William Byron. Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.

Carson Hocevar won the All-Star Open to begin Sunday’s festivities and transferred into the $1 million showdown where he finished 11th after starting 21st. John Hunter Nemechek earned the final transfer spot from the Open, finishing 19th in the main event. All-Star Fan Vote winner Noah Gragson finished 13th.

Kyle Larson, fresh from Saturday’s 21st-place qualifying effort for the Indianapolis 500, turned his first laps in the No. 5 Chevrolet on Sunday night. After a two-tire stop on Lap 178, he was running third when he slapped the wall on Lap 214 and finished 21st, three laps down.

The Cup Series returns to points-paying action next Sunday with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the first race of the Prime Video era (6 p.m. ET, Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NOTE: Post-race technical inspection concluded without issue, confirming Bell as the race winner.

Posted on by Staff Report

Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford, won the All-Star Race Fan Vote on Sunday and transferred into the main event at North Wilkesboro Speedway (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Gragson will join Carson Hocevar and John Hunter Nemechek, who finished first and second in the All-Star Open, respectively, as the final entries into Sunday’s race for the $1 million prize.

RELATED: All-Star Fan Vote winners | North Wilkesboro schedule

This is the third consecutive year Gragson has won the fan vote, also triumphing in 2023 and 2024. Gragson finished the 2023 All-Star Race in 23rd; in 2024, Gragson finished just outside the top 10 (11th). To date, Kasey Kahne is the only winner of the fan vote who has also triumphed in the All-Star Race, doing so in 2008.

“It means a lot,” Gragson said after exiting his No. 4 Mustang. “Really grateful to have all the support from the fans, and feel like we’ve got a pretty good race car. We struggled with … I lost power steering there in the Open race, so we’re going to try and get that better for the All-Star Race. But it’s just such a cool atmosphere here. It’s such a cool experience, and very lucky to be able to be a part of it.”

The All-Star Race Fan Vote is a tradition that began in 2004. Ken Schrader won the first vote, with additional recipients through the years including Kyle Petty, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Danica Patrick.

RELATED: All-Star Race lineup tracker

Posted on by Staff Report

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.

RELATED: All-Star Weekend schedule | Paint Scheme Preview

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

Posted on by Brandon White

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.

RELATED: Complete Mods results from Wilkesboro

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.

Posted on by Staff Report

FaithFest Evangelistic Ministries 150

North Wilkesboro Speedway

  • Race results
Pos Car No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff.
1 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 150 —
2 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 150 0.387
3 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 150 1.128
4 14 Jacob Lutz* Advantage Trucks/Washtronic’s/Anastasi Trucking 150 1.233
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electric/Lumiere Electrical/AP Marquadt & Sons/Dell Electric/Andrew James Interiors/Hughes Motor 150 1.492
6 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 150 1.6
7 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 150 1.821
8 79 Joey Braun* EME Industrial/Stutts Marina/Highmark 150 2.258
9 55 Jeremy Gerstner Garage Doors of the Triad/Jerry Hunt Supercenter/Cherokee Underground 150 3.908
10 40 Luke Fleming Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts/Perkins & Associates/Hodges Realty/Simmons Powersports 150 5.654
11 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 150 7.643
12 05 Teddy Hodgdon* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 149 1 Lap
13 4 Ryan Newman IGA/First Sanitation/The Ragg Co./Fairvalue/Findley Properties/Mathis Equipment 148 2 Laps
14 77 Corey LaJoie Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 147 3 Laps
15 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 142 8 Laps
16 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power/Eighty-Two Services 129 21 Laps
17 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 117 33 Laps
18 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 107 43 Laps
19 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/Northeast Drilling 105 45 Laps
20 02 Joey Coulter SRI Performance/Bilstein Shocks/PFC Brakes/Molecule/Simpson 94 56 Laps
21 37 Jake Crum Platinum Utility Group/Mount Airy Toyota 94 56 Laps
22 60 Matt Hirschman Pee Dee Motorsports 92 58 Laps
23 15 Joey Cipriano III Dependable Energy/The Bass Planting Company 92 58 Laps
24 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 83 67 Laps
25 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating Inc 80 70 Laps
26 12 Brian Sones* DW Machine & Fabricating Co./Bergen Industries 74 76 Laps
27 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Solutions 66 84 Laps
28 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 31 119 Laps
29 38 Bobby Labonte Cook-Out 18 132 Laps
30 36 Dave Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises/Eastport Feed 17 133 Laps
31 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 2 148 Laps