After mechanical misfire, Kyle Larson among fastest in Indianapolis 500 qualifying

Posted on May 18, 2024May 18, 2024 by Nate Ryan

INDIANAPOLIS – Qualifying started for the Indianapolis 500, and it took more than three hours (and one deflating misfire) before Kyle Larson had logged an official speed in the record book.

If that seems an agonizing and tense wait for making your debut at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, you don’t know Kyle Larson very well.

“I wasn’t too stressed out after not getting to complete that first run,” he said while standing at the base of Victory Circle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Yeah. I mean, to this point, it’s been a really fun experience. I’ve never gotten to compete in a qualifying day like this. So it’s honestly pretty relaxing. I feel like everybody talks about how stressful it is, which maybe if your car speed wasn’t there, it’d be more stressful. Or if we had another issue, then you’d begin to stress. “But I feel like when you do multiple runs, it just calms the nerves for me anyway.”

His blood might be pumping Sunday when the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion will be among the 12 drivers who take a shot at trying to win the pole position for the 108th Indianapolis 500. The Hendrick Motorsports star, who will attempt to become the fifth driver to race the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, posted the seventh-fastest four-lap average at 232.563 mph in his No. 17 Dallara-Chevrolet.

“Kyle’s one of the best drivers I’ve ever worked with for sure, without a doubt,” said Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward, a veteran of Formula One, who also has been the lead engineer for two-time IndyCar champion and defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden. “I can’t believe how well he’s done here. I’m over the moon, the team at Arrow McLaren is over the moon, and Hendrick Motorsports is absolutely over the moon with how things have gone from here. We’ll just keep trying to execute from here.”

The speeds of the Fast 12 will be reset for another round of four-lap attempts starting at 3 p.m. ET. Then, the fastest six drivers will square off for the Indy 500 pole in a final round that will begin at 5:25 p.m. ET.

Walt Kuhn | Penske Entertainment

And if he makes it through all of that, Larson then has to hop on a Hendrick jet and hustle to Sunday night’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. It’s wheels up for North Carolina at 6:20 p.m., about 25 minutes after the pole winner will be determined.

“It’s really cool, but it makes the windows a lot tighter for (Sunday),” Larson said with a laugh about making the Fast 12 in his Indy 500 debut. “But yeah, I think it’s something to be proud of, for sure, on my part a little bit. But qualifying is about the team. And they brought a fast race car. So I’m proud of everybody’s effort.”

It had been an inauspicious start for Larson and his three teammates at Arrow McLaren, which was unable to post an official qualifying speed until nearly three hours into the qualifying session.

RELATED: NASCAR, Indy 500 crossovers

As the sixth driver to make an attempt after qualifying started at 11 a.m. ET, Larson easily was on pace to secure a spot in the 33-car grid until the last of his four laps around the 2.5-mile oval. That’s when he suddenly lost power because of a plenum fire in his Chevy engine – a misfire that causes a drop in engine torque. The only remedy is to lift off the accelerator to extinguish the small fire. Larson did that, but he also pulled off the track instead of taking the checkered flag, which aborted his attempt.

“The car slowed down, and I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “And then there was miscommunication. I guess they told me just to complete my lap, but I thought they told me to abort the lap.

“If I had known what to do in that circumstance, I could have just lifted and went back to (the accelerator) and completed a below–average run, but at least it would have probably been enough to be in the show at that point. But it didn’t matter anyway.”

That’s because Larson cooly put together a swift second run that sandwiched him between the Hondas of eight–time IndyCar winner Colton Herta and six-time IndyCar polesitter Felix Rosenqvist. While he didn’t make any adjustments to his car, Larson had a smooth shifting pattern while hitting the buttons to adjust weight distribution on the straightaway before corner entry.

“I feel like I executed a better run (than the first time),” he said. “You’re just being more comfortable with hitting buttons and watching for shift lights and things like that, The first run, I mean I felt like I executed it good, too. I was just more like having to think about it and really pay attention more. So it just became a little bit more natural.”

He was multitasking at a top-end speed of nearly 240 mph with an extra 100 horsepower from an added turbo boost (which will be removed after qualifying weekend for the race). But Larson was surprised to be relatively unfazed by going faster than he ever had in a race car.

“The whole time when I found out about me doing the Indy 500. I was like, ‘Man, that boost is going to be crazy,’ ” he said. “And watching qualifying last year when you see the mph, you’re like, ‘Holy (crap)!’ Like that’s got to feel crazy, but when you have the grip there, it doesn’t feel like you’re going 20 mph faster. That’s what’s been like the weirdest thing for me to try and get used to is I‘ll make a run that doesn’t really feel that fast. And then I come in and our number is towards the top of the pylon. So it’s a little bit weird.”

Chris Owens | Penske Entertainment

He might feel a little more harried Sunday when he will be trying to qualify an Indy car in one state and race a stock car in another. Though the forecast has improved for Sunday at North Wilkesboro, Larson was hoping for a potential postponement of the All-Star Race to Monday night. He is scheduled to practice in traffic from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at the Brickyard.

However the schedule unfolds, Larson’s NASCAR team will be ready. On hand in Indy to witness Larson’s qualifying debut were Hendrick president Jeff Andrews and chief operating officer Jeff Gordon, a record five-time winner at the Brickyard. The No. 17 entourage drew a large crowd wherever they walked Saturday at Indy, but Larson was the center of attention.

“I definitely feel way more popular here just because I’m doing something unique,” he said. “I’ve tried to take as much time and sign autographs and take pictures for fans. I feel like I’ve signed more than a thousand autographs since I’ve been here, so it’s been enjoyable.

“It’s been special for me to experience this, but I think what makes it even more enjoyable for me is like getting to have all these other people experience it with me. Jeff Gordon, Jeff Andrews, and we’ll have Rick Hendrick here next week. My (Cup) team is going to come on Carb Day (next Friday). My family, my kids, friends, like anybody who’s close to me. Getting to come here and enjoy in the experience as well has been very nice.”

Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is the host of the NASCAR on NBC Podcast and also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.

Posted on May 18, 2024May 18, 2024 by Zack Albert

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Joey Logano starts from the best seat in the historic house for Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race, having put his No. 22 Team Penske on the pole position in Saturday’s unique qualifying session at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Logano will chase the $1 million prize from the front of the field in Sunday night’s 200-lap main event (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), but his pursuit of a third NASCAR Cup Series championship hasn’t had quite the same speedy results. Before on-track activity began Friday, the 33-year-old driver admitted that his tension level was as high as it has been this late in a season in recent memory.

“Yeah, in a while for sure, but there’s no running away from it. It is what it is,” Logano said. “We’ve just got to be perfect from here out.”

Logano sits at the midpoint of the 26-race regular season, just 17th in the Cup Series standings. He’s 18th in the provisional playoffs order, 30 points outside the elimination line for the 16-driver postseason field.

Logano has gone the last five races without a top-10 finish; his lone top-five result of the year — a runner-up at Richmond — came at the end of March. His hopes for breaking out of his recent rough patch at Darlington Raceway last weekend were thwarted by a late-race penalty for speeding on pit road.

Logano managed to take away some positives as he closes out the month of May — his early Darlington strength, the learnings from a North Wilkesboro tire test, RFK Racing’s upswing as a fellow Ford team, and in Team Penske’s performance in the Coca-Cola 600 last year, when teammate Ryan Blaney claimed the laurels at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Those markers have fed some of his optimism for reversing his current slide.

“I mean, any given weekend, we can be right there,” Logano says. “I mean, we ran in the top five most of the race last week, so I feel solid about that. I feel solid about this weekend and Wilkesboro after the test here. I think we should be pretty strong. And Charlotte, yeah, who knows, right? Blaney had a really good run there last year. Maybe we can hit on something there, too. There’s no doubt the mile and a halfs have been a weakness of ours, but you also look at what RFK has done in the last couple of weeks and you say, ‘well, the opportunity’s there.’ We’ve just got to go find it. Whatever that is, we’ve got to figure that out.”

Posted on May 18, 2024 by Brandon White

Miller Lite Salutes Wayne Anderson 200

Riverhead Raceway

Practice results

Pos	No.	Name	Sponsor	Best Tm	Best Speed	In Lap	Laps	Diff
1	46	Craig Lutz	Riverhead Building Supply	11.889	75.7	19	20
2	81	Mark Stewart*	Cromer’s Market/Keith Grimes	11.907	75.586	17	19	0.018
3	16	Ron Silk	Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes	11.917	75.522	19	19	0.028
4	22	Kyle Bonsignore	Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto	11.946	75.339	17	17	0.057
5	1	Patrick Emerling	Fleetworks Inc	11.95	75.314	19	28	0.061
6	49	Chris Young*	Earth’s Splendor	11.959	75.257	29	29	0.07
7	66	Timmy Solomito	USNE Power/Kennedy Realty	11.962	75.238	17	19	0.073
8	24	Justin Brown	Kennedy LI Realty/Motorcycle Mike Esq.	11.972	75.175	19	21	0.083
9	3	Jake Johnson	Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks	11.975	75.157	17	19	0.086
10	64	Austin Beers	G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric	11.975	75.157	19	27	0.086
11	96	Matthew Brode*	Peter Clark Motorsports	11.991	75.056	16	18	0.102
12	00	Tom Rogers	BNP Machine/SSRP	12.001	74.994	17	17	0.112
13	60	Matt Hirschman	Elite	12.002	74.988	29	29	0.113
14	56	Trevor Catalano*	Catalano Motorsports	12.028	74.825	22	30	0.139
15	19	Anthony Sesely	Franzosa Trucking Co/Karchner Warehousing	12.059	74.633	24	25	0.17
16	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications, Inc.	12.061	74.621	19	30	0.172
17	2	J.R. Bertuccio	Gershow Recycling	12.067	74.584	16	17	0.178
18	7	Doug Coby	Baldwin Automotive	12.069	74.571	17	19	0.18
19	32	Tyler Rypkema	Musco Lighting/Northeast Drilling	12.072	74.553	21	21	0.183
20	54	Tommy Catalano	FX Caprara	12.087	74.46	20	22	0.198
21	34	JB Fortin	A&R Material/CYA Screen Print/Johns Fuel Oil	12.1	74.38	18	18	0.211
22	18	Ken Heagy	Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant	12.185	73.861	6	19	0.296
23	84	Tyler Catalano*	Catalano Motorsports	12.231	73.584	21	29	0.342
24	02	Allan Pedersen*	Checker/Won Manufacturing	12.255	73.439	18	19	0.366
25	05	John Beatty, Jr.	Elite Sound Studios Inc.	12.262	73.397	15	18	0.373
26	88	Roger Turbush	Rheem	12.272	73.338	10	10	0.383
27	45	Jack Handley, Jr.*	Hydro Action/Suffolk Precast	12.304	73.147	24	24	0.415
28	4	Tim Connolly	Connolly Companies, LLC	12.507	71.96	16	17	0.618
29	26	Gary McDonald	Lakeland Avenue Landscape Supply	12.686	70.944	16	17	0.797
30	01	Melissa Fifield	Pine Knoll Auto Sales	12.785	70.395	27	27	0.896

Posted on May 18, 2024May 24, 2024 by Staff Report

Torrential rain and intermittent lightning have altered Saturday’s All-Star Weekend schedule at North Wilkesboro Speedway, leading to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race being postponed and both 60-lap qualifying heats in the Cup Series being canceled.

Saturday’s Truck Series race will pick up action on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The Wright Brand 250 began on time and was halted after 81 of the scheduled 250 laps were completed. The race was stopped by a brief shower and lightning, and a downpour near 3:30 p.m. ET drenched the 0.625-mile track.

Due to both 60-lap qualifying heats for Sunday’s All-Star Race being canceled, the lineup will be set according to Saturday’s qualifying results, per the NASCAR Rule Book. That means Team Penske driver Joey Logano starts from the pole position, flanked by Brad Keselowski beside him. Christopher Bell, whose No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team won the Pit Crew Challenge, will line up third. Daniel Suárez and Chris Buescher complete the top five.

Sunday’s All-Star race time remains at 8 p.m. on FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The All-Star Open event, in which the top two drivers advance to the All-Star Race, is slated for 5:30 p.m. ET.

Rain also canceled Craftsman Truck Series qualifying Saturday morning, forcing the lineup to be set according to the NASCAR Rule Book and placing series points leader Christian Eckes first for the green flag. Eckes led the first 62 laps before Ty Majeski took control to win Stage 1.

Rain showers bookended a brief midday period of sunshine, which allowed NASCAR All-Star Race qualifying to take place.

Posted on May 18, 2024May 19, 2024 by Zack Albert

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — It’s early still, but the introduction of tire choices to NASCAR Cup Series short-track racing has shown some promise.

A compelling 50-minute practice session Friday afternoon at North Wilkesboro Speedway had teams and drivers on their heels and learning, trying to understand the nuances of Goodyear’s “prime” tire — the control tire with yellow sidewall lettering — and the softer, faster but less durable “option” tire with red lettering. The freshly paved racing surface at the historic 0.625-mile track has added yet another variable.

The session offered a glimpse into the strategy potential for Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) and the All-Star Open qualifier (5:30 p.m. ET on the same networks). But the tire experiment under the heading of a special non-points event could also have potential applications at other tracks measuring one mile or less, should the event be a success.

Again, it’s early, but the indicators are positive so far, with Goodyear pushing the limits on performance and wear.

“I think absolutely there’s something to be learned here,” said Denny Hamlin, the 2015 All-Star winner. “We ran a tire that no way they would ever feel comfortable with us running, especially on a new paved track like this, and we ran over 40 laps and we didn’t see any cords or anything. So I’m very happy with what we saw, and certainly, hopefully they can take learn something from here to take to a Phoenix or something. The biggest thing I noticed is that we had left-side heat. That’s something that we have not had on our short-track cars in quite some time. And so with the left sides getting hot, that’s going to make new tires matter, it’s going to make passing easier. So I think as long as they stay as aggressive as they can on the left sides, this is a step in the right direction and then good job for Goodyear.”

Teams opened the session with split decisions on tire choice, and the red-lettered tires showed as-advertised speed and grip, but with a measure of fall-off. Other teams kept tabs on their own wear, but also on their neighbors’ tires along pit road. Drivers also reported that both tires lay rubber well on the fresh pavement, and that helped the middle grooves up off the bottom lane widen out more quickly.

MORE: All-Star Race 101

Sunday night’s All-Star main event is scheduled for 200 laps, with intermissions set for Lap 100 and Lap 150. Will running the first 100 laps without pitting be feasible, and when will option tires be the right call? Some uncertainty still remains.

“I don’t think the strategy is very clear yet,” said Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who won the All-Star Race in 2016. “We got 50 minutes of practice I went through a set on and ran as long as they felt comfortable out there, or as much time as they had to run that many laps, and looking at the data afterwards, it’s still not super clear what you would do. A lot of it depends on what place you’re running and all that, but it’s not as clear as you may think when it comes to when you’re going to put the softs on, or the option tire. I don’t know. There’s a lot of question to it.”

That unpredictability could make Sunday’s All-Star event a strategy grab bag, but the tiremaker’s renewed approach to being aggressive with the balance of grip, speed and durability also could pay dividends in the long term. Two months ago, Hamlin won a topsy-turvy Cup Series showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway when tire wear was unexpectedly high, forcing drivers into management mode with their race-ready rubber and receiving positive reviews on how the event played out.

Recapturing that intrigue to enhance short-track racing with NASCAR’s Next Gen racer has been a focus ever since, and the added wrinkle of multiple tire choices with varying characteristics could be, well … a prime option down the road.

“It just seemed like this is a good opportunity to see if maybe this is a solution, add something of that risk-and-reward element that’ll improve the overall racing,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “So if it’s successful or at least we get some direction, then obviously we’ll get our heads together with NASCAR, with the teams, and determine if this something we might want to pursue for the future.”

Posted on May 18, 2024 by Staff Report

See above where your favorite driver will pit in Sunday’s All-Star Race in the NASCAR Cup Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Additionally, see below where your favorite driver will pit in Sunday’s All-Star Open (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on May 18, 2024May 18, 2024 by Staff Report

After being moved to Saturday afternoon due to weather postponement, the Pit Crew Challenge kicked off a slate full of All-Star festivities for the day at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

This year, it was Joey Logano grabbing the pole for Sunday’s All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), while last week’s Darlington winner Brad Keselowski will also start on the front row in second.

Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing crew executed a 13.223-second pit stop, successfully defending their crown as that same crew won the challenge last year with the No. 54 of Ty Gibbs.

Saturday’s scheduled All-Star Heat races were canceled due to severe weather at North Wilkesboro. Sunday’s main event lineup will be set based on Saturday’s qualifying results, per the NASCAR Rule Book. The All-Star Open race lineup, meanwhile, was set based on owner points after Friday’s qualifying session was canceled due to rain. View the All-Star Race starting lineup here.

ALL-STAR OPEN STARTING LINEUP

STARTING SPOT	CAR NUMBER	DRIVER
1	54	Ty Gibbs
2	48	Alex Bowman
3	14	Chase Briscoe
4	23	Bubba Wallace
5	10	Noah Gragson
6	2	Austin Cindric
7	4	Josh Berry
8	38	Todd Gilliland
9	42	John Hunter Nemechek
10	77	Carson Hocevar
11	43	Erik Jones
12	41	Ryan Preece
13	7	Corey LaJoie
14	31	Daniel Hemric
15	3	Austin Dillon
16	51	Justin Haley
17	21	Harrison Burton
18	15	Kaz Grala
19	71	Zane Smith
20	66	Timmy Hill

Posted on May 18, 2024May 18, 2024 by Reid Spencer

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — During a qualifying session that incorporated a four-tire pit stop under the aegis of the Pit Crew Challenge, Joey Logano won the pole position for both Saturday evening’s No. 1 Heat Race and Sunday’s $1-million-to win NASCAR All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Logano ran the required three laps, including the pit stop, in 89.754 seconds (75.206 mph), beating fellow Ford driver Brad Keselowski (74.884 mph) for the top starting spot by 0.386 seconds.

RELATED: Open, Heat lineups set | At-track photos

Logano is the only driver locked into a starting position for Sunday’s All-Star Race. The rest of the field is scheduled to be set through Saturday’s two heat races.

Logano’s crew was fifth fastest on the pit stop. The winner of the Pit Crew Challenge — and first choice of pit stalls for the All-Star Race — was the over-the-wall gang on Christopher Bell’s Toyota, posting a stop of 13.223 seconds, edging Keselowski’s crew by 0.010 seconds.

The same crew won last year’s Pit Crew Challenge with a different Joe Gibbs Racing driver: Ty Gibbs.

“This qualifying session is the most fun session of the year,” said Logano, the sixth of 17 drivers to attempt a run. “And it really takes the whole team, right? The car’s got to go fast, we’ve got to execute onto pit road well, the spotter’s got to do a good job helping me get through my lights (indicating pit road speed) and being on the same page with me there.

“I’ve got to be able to stop in the stall. The pit crew’s got to do their part, and then back up onto the race track. So it really takes every crew member.”

Bell had the third fastest overall time (90.169 seconds), followed by Daniel Suárez (90.199 seconds).

Notably, Bell’s crew was elated to do its part in the No. 20 Toyota’s successful qualifying effort.

MORE: North Wilkesboro schedule

“I’m blessed to be with a good group of guys,” said rear tire changer Mike Hicks. “I couldn’t do this if I didn’t have a good supporting cast. Those guys are the best on pit road, and we’ve got a stud for a driver.”

“What can you say? This is two in a row for these guys, and they’ve been awesome,” Bell added. “I’m incredibly happy for them and honored to be their driver.

“I was able to stop on my marks. That’s been a huge topic of conversation in our meetings, in making sure you get to the sign deep enough and get the tires locked up, so they can get on the lug while you’re stopping.

“That’s obviously a big part of it—and taking off as soon as that jack drops. And that was a hell of a lot of fun.”

The conclusion of All-Star Open qualifying was canceled due to weather Friday evening, which means the NASCAR Rule Book will set the field.

Ty Gibbs and Alex Bowman will start on the front row in Sunday’s All-Star Open (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The top two finishers in the All-Star Open, including the Fan Vote winner, will transfer to Sunday night’s All-Star Race in Wilkes County (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Pit times will also determine pit-stall selection for the races on All-Star Weekend.

Contributing: Staff Report

Posted on May 18, 2024May 19, 2024 by Zach Sturniolo

NASCAR All-Star Race

(⏰ Sunday, 8 p.m. ET | FS1 | MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | NASCAR 101

Location: North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Track length: 0.625 miles
All-Star Race purse: $3,784,525
Winner’s prize: $1 million
Race distance: 200 laps | 125 miles
Segments: 100 | 150 | 200
—
Starting lineup: Joey Logano to lead the field
Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit
Defending winner: Kyle Larson, May 2023

Key things to watch

Friday sessions

Ty Gibbs was quickest in Friday’s 50-minute practice session at 124.001 mph on the freshly repaved North Wilkesboro Speedway, but the 21-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing phenom will still need to race his way into Sunday’s main event. Behind Gibbs on the speed chart were Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace. | Full Friday recap

Big story line

Which All-Star is set to shine the brightest?

A trip back to Wilkes County means a chance for one All-Star Cup driver to win $1 million under the lights at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway.

At 0.625 miles long — five-eighths, for those who prefer fractions — North Wilkesboro sets short tracks into the spotlight once again during what has been a thrilling 2024 season to date. But what can this year’s short-oval races tell us about what to expect in Sunday’s 200-lap feature?

Through 13 points-paying events, the Cup Series has raced at five tracks that measure 1 mile or shorter: Phoenix Raceway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Martinsville Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway. The winners? Denny Hamlin (Bristol, Richmond, Dover), Christopher Bell (Phoenix) and William Byron (Martinsville).

With four short-track wins on its resume, Joe Gibbs Racing may be set to shine brightest with Hamlin, Bell and 2017 Cup champ Martin Truex Jr. all locked into Sunday night’s big race. Also in line may be sophomore sensation Gibbs, who raced his way into the show from the All-Star Open last year and will be tasked to do the same on Sunday evening. He’s still looking for that first trip to Victory Lane, and while this would not serve as a points-paying win, a $1 million payday in an exhibition event sure wouldn’t hurt.

Let’s not forget the defending All-Star winner, though, Kyle Larson. The 2021 champion won that year’s All-Star Race at Texas and swept NASCAR’s North Wilkesboro return in the Craftsman Truck Series and the All-Star exhibition. Since he spent Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis attempting to qualify for the Indy 500, Larson will start from the rear Sunday in an attempt to storm through the field and pull off the repeat.

History tells us…

A second straight win for Larson will be difficult, but not impossible. According to Racing Insights, Larson is the All-Star Race’s only repeat winner in the past 11 editions — and has racked up three of the past five (2019, 2021, 2023).

No one has won consecutive All-Star Races, however, since Davey Allison accomplished the feat in 1991 and 1992. Brad Keselowski, last week’s winner at Darlington Raceway, is on the other end of the spectrum. The RFK Racing co-owner and driver has never won the All-Star Race in 15 starts but has finished runner-up three times — most in the event without winning the feature — and led a combined 120 laps — the most of any driver who has not won it.

He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…

Tyler Reddick. Opening at 12-1 odds, Reddick may not be the longest shot we’ve highlighted in this space, but an exclusive field produces limited options — especially in a field stacked only with NASCAR’s best. Reddick finished third in last season’s All-Star Race in a 2-3 finish for 23XI Racing, and on Friday, ranked eighth in 10-lap averages during practice. By Sunday, Reddick’s odds had improved to 10-1. | All-Star odds

Speed reads

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• Turning Point: Trends from Darlington, arriving in North Wilkesboro | Read article
• Getting up to speed: New All-Star format, tire options explained | Read article
• Not the usual suspect: Logano on what it’s like to be outside the playoffs this late | Read article
• Pit Crew Challenge: Logano lands pole; No. 20 team takes Pit Crew Challenge | Read article
• Breaking streaks: Brad Keselowski, RFK explain ‘heck of a ride’ back to Victory Lane | Read article
• Prime’s time: Prime Video to begin live Cup broadcasts with 2025 Coke 600 | Read article
• An explosive return: TNT Sports returns in June 2025 with Saturday night show at Atlanta | Read article
• Tournament talk: In-Season Tournament to debut with TNT races in 2025, award $1 million prize | Read article
• ‘A great addition’: Drivers react to bracket-style tournament to come in 2025 | Read article
• Mission 600: Chris Buescher makes ‘eye-opening’ journey to Parris Island | Read article
• Larson’s Indy-Charlotte double: Current Cup points leader shows blistering pace in Fast Friday practice | Read article
• Crossing over: Historic overlaps between NASCAR and the Indianapolis 500 | Photo gallery
• All-Star memories: Take a trip through iconic moments | Photo gallery
• NASCAR Classics: Picks to click from All-Star video archives | Read article
• Paint Scheme Preview: Schemes for Trucks, All-Star Open and All-Star Race | Pick your favorite
• Power Rankings: Gibbs continues to rise in sophomore season | Latest driver rankings

Fast facts ⏩

Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.

• The winner of the All-Star Race went on to win the championship in two of the last four years and 12 times total.
• Hendrick Motorsports drivers won the All-Star Race three of the last four years. The team’s 11 All-Star Race wins lead all teams.
• Toyota is winless in the last six All-Star Races. Chevrolet won four of the last six with Ford winning the other two.

Posted on May 17, 2024 by Zack Albert

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — The full schedule for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series hasn’t been made final yet, but one intriguing aspect is already taking shape, with the potential to bring a new audience to the season within the season.

This week’s announcement of an in-season tournament for TNT Sports’ five-race segment of next year’s schedule has the promise of intrigue and subplots to the yearlong championship hunt. With 32 drivers in an elimination-style bracket format, it’s a form of the NCAA Tournament’s March Madness that has its own offshoot. Call it NASCAR’s Midsummer Madness.

The Cup Series arrived Friday at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where the NASCAR All-Star Race (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) will award the winner a $1 million check. Another $1 million prize will await the tournament champ after next season’s bracket plays out.

“I mean, I think it’s going to be a great addition to the sport,” said Christopher Bell, driver of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota. “And it’s certainly going to open up the strategy a lot, because it really creates a head-to-head racing scenario where if the yellow flag comes out, you might just do the opposite of the guy that you’re racing — regardless of what that does to your finishing position. So I think it’s going to be awesome for the sport, and it’s going to be really fun to pay attention and see how it influences the race.”

The tournament is set for a June 28 start with a Saturday night show at Atlanta Motor Speedway to open the TNT Sports portion of the schedule. The network will air NASCAR events for the first time since 2014, and its part of the Cup Series slate comes after a five-race stint for broadcast newcomer Amazon Prime. The final three of those races will set the field of 32 for the tournament.

More details are still to come about seeding process, the rest of the format, and the four races that will follow Atlanta. Denny Hamlin, long a proponent of the tournament-style system, said what won’t change is the fundamentals of the race; the extra head-to-head element just adds another layer, and the parallels with fantasy sports have the potential to draw casual fans.

“All it is is a competition within a competition,” Hamlin said after Friday’s Cup Series practice at North Wilkesboro. “So you’re hopefully going to have the storylines, the things to talk about, the drama of a high seed beating a low seed, those things matter. In a sport where sometimes its news is tough on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I think you’re going to have things to talk about. Certainly in the world where I believe that football took off in many, many, many years ago is getting people involved in fantasy. All of a sudden, people cared about their fantasy teams, not their favorite teams. And this creates something like that, where you’re going to have a Chase Elliott fan rooting for Denny Hamlin one week because they’ve got me in their bracket. I mean, it’s going to create those storylines.

“And certainly, you’re going to have friends talking amongst each other about … they’re going to create their own groups of brackets. So I just think it’s really, really positive, and it’s certainly the jumping-off point of where I think other sports have grown, and we’re just now getting there.”

The spotlight will be an extra coverage point for the sport’s new broadcast teams at TNT and Prime, which have already made a splash by signing Dale Earnhardt Jr. as an analyst.

“I think it’s probably something a new TV partner wants to dive into, right?” said Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, the defending Cup Series champ. “It kind of gives them something to promote and put on TV for both TNT and Amazon. So that’s good, and it’ll be exciting.”

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Speculation has already begun about the potential of extra incentives for the tournament winner — whether it be playoff points, a postseason berth (if not already clinched) or another prize that extends outside of the five-race span. The additional seven-figure payday may be incentive enough.

The races will be run with at least 36 teams as usual, but the bracket format may potentially pit teammates 1-on-1 against each other, set up showdowns between rivals, and open the door for a Cinderella to take down a powerhouse and advance to the next round. It’s already a tantalizing side note to the overall competition.

“When it comes down to it, I’ve had experience with Triple Truck Challenge and Dash 4 Cash and yeah, it’s impossible not to pay attention to the other people,” said Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain. “I’m greedy, I’m selfish, I want to win. I want to win points, I want to win lap time, and I want to win money. So of course when we get there, we’ll know who we’re racing against.”