The fate of the NASCAR All-Star Race largely rests on the whims of Marcus Smith, who is giving few hints about how he’ll deploy a new “Promoter’s Caution.”

It’s the latest goofy gimmick in an event defined by annual format changes designed to goose the competition in the name of fender-banging fireworks. At a randomly selected point Sunday night during the first 220 of 250 laps at North Wilkesboro Speedway, a yellow flag will fly and possibly wipe out a big lead while bunching the field for a race-altering restart.

The decision on when to throw the yellow rests solely with Smith, the president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, which owns the 0.625-mile track in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

“I’ll have a very special mystery guest with a little All-Star Race history of his own to help me out when it’s time to drop the yellow,” Smith said. “Hopefully, we’ll create a little chaos for the teams and some fun for the fans at the same time.”

It’s an attempt to restore some luster to the All-Star Race, which has lost touch with its no-holds-barred origins. The past two events at North Wilkesboro produced runaway victories for Kyle Larson and Joey Logano, who led 199 of 200 laps in 2024.

The most memorable event last year came after the race when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch engaged in fisticuffs after tangling for a mid-pack position. It was a far cry from the furious last-lap battles that once sent an All-Star Race winner to the emergency room (Davey Allison sustained a concussion in 1992 after crashing from contact with Kyle Petty at the checkered flag).

The Promoter’s Caution won’t guarantee a slam-bang ending, but it’s in the vein of an exhibition race with $1 million but no points at stake. While other pro sports have struggled to keep all-star events relevant, Cup Series drivers pride themselves on competing as hard as they would in a race with championship implications — and sometimes harder.

“The All Star Race is not just another race,” Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell said. “Everybody is more aggressive than a normal Sunday Cup race. Everyone has that win it or wear it attitude, and it races differently because of that.”

A sense of resignation from the All-Star Race’s annual format overhauls also makes it easier to accept the inanity of a random yellow.

“I have a hard enough time keeping up with all of the different format stuff,” Team Penske’s Austin Cindric said. “It doesn’t really bother me that much that we’re going to have a Promoter’s Caution because, unless I’m the caution, I can’t control it in any way. It’s just the racing gods, but maybe they’re on earth this time.”

Though its timing could cost him a win, Logano is fine with the Promoter’s Caution because “the All-Star Race presents the opportunity to try things outside of the box.

“I don’t think we should have a Promoter’s Caution in points-paying events,” he said. “But in this case, we do something different. It’s something everyone can talk about. And I just don’t know what they’re going to do. Are they going to put Marcus in the flag stand, and he’s just going to throw a yellow flag?”

The son of late NASCAR Hall of Famer Bruton Smith, who once lobbied for random yellows as the most bombastic promoter in Cup history, is coy about how the Promoter’s Caution will be unveiled.

“I’ve had no shortage of NASCAR experts from inside and outside of the garage giving me advice on what to do,” Marcus Smith said. “I’ve got a couple of scenarios in mind depending on what’s happening with the race. Or I could just go spur of the moment with my gut.”

Odds and ends

Christopher Bell (+350) is the BetMGM Sportsbook favorite, followed by pole-sitter Brad Keselowski (+600), Logano (+650), two-time defending Daytona 500 winner William Byron (+700) and Denny Hamlin (+800). Kyle Larson, who will start last after missing practice and qualifying while attempting to make the Indy 500, is listed at +1000. … Keselowski and Bell were the winners Saturday of the two 75-lap heat races that set the starting lineup for the All-Star Race. Keselowski already was guaranteed the top starting spot for Sunday night’s main event after qualifying on the pole position Friday. Bell will start second Sunday, followed by Ross Chastain, Logano and Byron. … After sitting essentially dormant for more than 35 years, North Wilkesboro Speedway is playing host to its third consecutive All-Star Race since a $20 million makeover. Keselowski wants to move a points race from Charlotte Motor Speedway’s “Roval” layout to North Wilkesboro Speedway and shift the All-Star Race back to Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval (the host from 1987-2019). “This needs to be a points racetrack,” Keselowski said of North Wilkesboro. “I’m very strong about the Roval has got to go.”

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AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Nate Ryan, The Associated Press

Kyle Larson was being honest Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I don’t like qualifying here,” he said, forcing a smile that spoke of respect for how challenging these runs can be. “(The runs) just get sketchier each time you go out.”

Unfortunate circumstances put the NASCAR Cup Series points leader in the qualifying line one more time than he desired on Day 1 of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying. The first run on the iconic 2.5-mile oval was straightforward since his Arrow McLaren crew loaded a significant amount of aerodynamic downforce on the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to get Larson back in a rhythm following a spin into the Turn 4 wall a day earlier.

Larson couldn’t describe what chassis changes were made, but he could tell that the car “cut through the wind a little better.”

“It was good to go faster,” he said without much flair in his voice.

As the four-lap average of 230.053 mph ranked 16th of the 17 cars that had completed a run, Larson knew he had to give it another go. The team made adjustments that would help him go quicker, and he did, posting an average of 231.326 mph that elevated him significantly.

As it turned out, both qualifying runs would have been enough to earn a starting spot as the top 30 are now guaranteed a starting position in next week’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. But his efforts were rewarded as the first run would have slotted him 29th. Instead, he will roll off 21st and can bypass Sunday’s qualifying in favor of NASCAR’s All-Star race later in the evening at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina.

Larson was conflicted when asked by FOX Sports if he wanted to make a third attempt. He said he was “content” with his situation and didn’t seem eager to go again, a sign of just how difficult it was for he and others Saturday.

Larson is a racer through and through, and last year’s debut as an NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver resulted in a fifth-place “500” starting position and a solid run in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” although he finished 18th, one of 21 cars finishing on the lead lap. For his quick adaptation to this different form of motorsports, Larson was named the event’s Rookie of the Year.

2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson’s return to the “500” has similarities to that of Fernando Alonso. The two-time Formula One champion glided through his rookie May in 2017, qualifying fifth and leading 27 laps in the race. But in Alonso’s second try, in 2019, he was bumped from the field by Kyle Kaiser.

Larson has earned starting positions both years, but it has been far from smooth sailing. In last month’s Open Test at IMS, Larson got his first chance to drive a car using the engine boost that is offered in qualifying. On his first lap, he lost control and slammed the Turn 1 wall, his first such impact in one of these cars. He wasn’t injured, but the incident ended his second day sooner than he wanted. Then this week, as he again tried a hot lap with the boost, he spun in Turn 4, hitting the wall hard enough to necessitate more repairs.

The two accidents meant that Larson effectively went into qualifying without having made a four-lap simulation run, and he wasn’t confident in how to adjust for the additional weight that INDYCAR’s hybrid technology has added year over year.

“It was just a bit hectic in qualifying trim for us,” Larson said. “It was good to maintain some balance and get at least some speed, but it was slow.”

Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan is overseeing Larson’s program this month, and he said the team purposefully kept the car in a conservative setup to help the star driver.

“We wanted to give him something he could work on and not have it surprise him like (when he crashed),” 2013 “500” winner Kanaan said. “Look, it’s amazing that those (incidents) didn’t faze him at all, but the car has to be (predictable), and that’s not easy on a day with this wind and how tricky (the rear of the car is) the (heavy) hybrid.”

On a scale of 1 to 10 based on difficult conditions at IMS, Kanaan rated Saturday as an 8. Even for a driver with Larson’s immense talent, that’s a lot to negotiate for someone with so little INDYCAR experience.

Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon said he couldn’t be more impressed with how Larson has handled this month’s challenges – weather, hybrid and bouncing back from crashes.

“I’ve never seen him rattled about anything,” the NASCAR legend said. “Kanaan was telling me right after what happened in (the Open Test) that Kyle was itching to go again. That’s him.

“Yeah, things have been tough (this year), but you’d never know it by talking to him.”

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell each scored dominating wins in Saturday’s heat races at North Wilkesboro Speedway and will start on the front row for Sunday night’s All-Star Race.

The heat races set the lineup for Sunday’s exhibition race. Keselowski was already assured the No. 1 starting spot by posting the fastest time in qualifying Friday.

Keselowski led 74 of 75 laps to win his heat race. Ross Chastain finished second, William Byron was third, Ryan Blaney finished fourth and Alex Bowman placed fifth.

Keselowski was the only car in the top five of the nine-car race that ran the same set of tires for the entire distance.

“Those guys that put tires on, they were really hard to hold off,” Keselowski said. “I had the preferred groove and just tried to use it to my advantage. We’ll see if that’s the case (Sunday).”

Keselowski said the track was racy.

“It’s definitely not a single groove racetrack,” he said. “They were running me real hard. We had good pace and that was a little bit of a dogfight, so I thought it was great racing.”

Keselowski has finished second in the All-Star Race three times. That’s tied for the most runner-up finishes without winning the event, which pays $1 million to the winner.

With Kyle Larson at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Justin Allgaier drove Larson’s No. 5 in practice and qualifying Friday.

Bell led 69 of the 75 laps to win the second heat Saturday.

“I knew (Friday) in practice that if they could get some rear grip in it, I felt like I had a lot of car potential,” Bell said. “The guys did an amazing job on just making the car better overnight and it was really refreshing to get out there and just cruise those first 30 laps.

“Then, I didn’t know how it was going to work with having Joey (Logano) right behind me, but this thing was on rails. I’m really happy and excited about the opportunity (Sunday).”

The only laps Bell didn’t lead were when Chase Briscoe did not pit with the rest of the field, attempting the same strategy Keselowski used to win the first heat. Briscoe said it was his call to stay out.

It didn’t work. He didn’t get a good restart, got hung three wide and fell back outside the top five in the 10-car race before contact spun him on the frontstretch.

Logano finished second, Chase Elliott third, Kyle Busch fourth and Chris Buescher fifth.

All-Star Race starting lineup

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Christopher Bell

3. Ross Chastain

4. Joey Logano

5. William Byron

6. Chase Elliott

7. Ryan Blaney

8. Kyle Busch

9. Alex Bowman

10. Chris Buescher

11. Josh Berry

12. Daniel Suarez

13. Tyler Reddick

14. Chase Briscoe

15. Austin Dillon

16. Austin Cindric

17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

18. Harrison Burton

19. Kyle Larson (will move to the rear since Justin Allgaier qualified car)

20. Denny Hamlin

21. Winner of All-Star Open

22. Runner-up of All-Star Open

23. Fan vote winner

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 3rd

“I thought our No. 9 Amazon Prime Video Chevrolet was pretty good. I think it was worth fixing it. We knew we had a little bit of damage. We weren’t exactly sure to what extent or how much it was going to hurt us, but we just didn’t want to have to wonder about it. I certainly think it was the right call. To come from 10th to third was pretty good, with all things considered. We had a good pit stop and gained a couple spots on pit road, and we got a couple spots on track. We start sixth tomorrow, and we’ll try to go to work from there.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 4th

“In the truck, entering high and staying high in (turns) one and two, was sort of better for me. In the Cup car, I kept trying that and it was just too loose, so I had to be a lane down. That’s where I found the best speed, being a lane down, so what I learned in the truck didn’t really translate to the Cup car. But still getting the track time and being able to move around; knowing what to expect, feeling tire chatter and all that sort of stuff was helpful.

Overall, it was a good effort by this No. 8 SENIX Chevrolet team. We certainly want more. I felt like we fell off a little too much there at the end. We just got too tight. We’ll go to work on it and get ready for tomorrow.” 

GM PR

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (May 17, 2025) — The final lap of Saturday’s Window World 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway saw two lead changes, a side-by-side battle among teammates and a winner – Chandler Smith – who took the white flag in third place.

Smith emerged victorious after a breathtaking final-lap battle for victory with Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs and pole winner Corey Heim, which culminated in Heim spinning out in Turn 2 after contact with Riggs. Smith – who stayed on the bottom lane – drove past the carnage and withstood Riggs’ last-gasp effort entering Turn 3 to register a wholly unexpected victory.

The only lap Smith led on Saturday was the one that counted most.

In what was another enthralling chapter of Truck Series history at North Wilkesboro, Heim had the machine to beat and proved it for most of the afternoon, leading a race-high 162 of 255 laps. His downfall, however, was not pitting when Smith, Riggs and other leaders stopped during a caution period on Lap 214.

Heim went the final 111 circuits on the same set of tires – and nearly won the race in spite of it. The TRICON Garage driver managed his equipment to near-perfection, but Smith’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford slowly caught up to Heim over the final 20 laps. Smith appeared poised to pass him before a caution for Brent Crews’ spin with four laps remaining bunched the field and left Heim in control of the final restart.

With 70 more laps on his tires than the rest of the lead pack, Heim tried to work the high line and hold off Riggs’ unexpected charge from third. Riggs slid under Heim coming off Turn 4 and, as the two entered Turn 1 on the final lap, contact sent Heim spinning. The fracas was a welcome sight for Smith, who dashed under Riggs, held off his teammate’s lunge into the final corner and emerged with his second victory of the season.

Riggs ended up second with Tyler Ankrum third, Daniel Hemric fourth and Grant Enfinger fifth. Ty Majeski, Gio Ruggeiro, Kaden Honeycutt, Kyle Busch and Sammy Smith completed the top 10.

Heim finished 17th after the contact with Riggs sent him spinning toward the inside of the track, while the Front Row duo continued out front.

Heim’s 162 laps led marked a career high – a dominant performance despite not winning the race, nor Stages 1 or 2. Ruggeiro won Stage 1, while Enfinger claimed Stage 2.

“We fought and clawed today,” Chandler Smith said. “Just getting toward the front of the pack shows how good this Ford F-150 was today. I wasn’t as good as the 11 (Heim), but we had the tire advantage on him. That last restart, I did everything but the right thing. My teammate, Layne Riggs, executed it perfectly – but I’m happy we could bring one home for Front Row Motorsports.”

“I feel like (Heim) got loose into (Turns) 3 and 4 and gave the bottom up,” said Riggs. “We were side-by-side and I didn’t fence him. I slid up the track, but I gave him a lane. That’s North Wilkesboro for a Truck win. I feel like if the roles were reversed, it’d probably be the same thing.”