North Wilkesboro Speedway is hosting the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race this weekend.

Heading into the weekend NASCAR imposed a hefty penalty of Chris Buescher and his RFK Racing team after failing post-race R&D checks following Kansas. As a result, the Cup Series standings have been updated after he was docked 60 points.

Another change this weekend comes from Hendrick Motorsports. As Kyle Larson takes part in testing and qualifying for the Indy 500, Justin Allgaier will be stepping in for him at Hendrick Motorsports during practice and qualifying. Allgaier will also be on hand should Larson face any delays in getting to the North Wilkesboro track for Sunday’s race.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the Cup Series racing this weekend.

When is the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend?

Friday, 16 May

4.30 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series – Pit Road Qualifying Entry/Exit Practice

5 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series – Practice

6 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series – Qualifying (All-Star Pit Crew Challenge)

Saturday, 17 May

5.10 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series – All-Star Race Heat No. 1

6.15 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series – All-Star Race Heat No. 2

Sunday, 18 May

5 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series – All-Star Open

8 p.m. ET: NASCAR Cup Series – All-Star Race

How to watch the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend

On Friday, the pit road qualifying entry/exit practice and practice session are set to be broadcast on FS2, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Qualifying will be available on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

On Saturday, both heats of the All-Star Race will be on FS2, MRN, and SiriusXm NASCAR Radio.

Sunday will feature the All-Star Open on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, and the All-Star Race, which will be show on FS1, Max, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

What is the purse for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race?

The winning prize for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race is $1 million, which will go to the winning team.

NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open entry list

1. Noah Gragson – Front Row Motorsports
2. Justin Haley – Spire Motorsports
3. Ty Dillon – Kaulig Racing
4. Cody Ware – Rick Ware Racing
5. AJ Allmendinger – Kaulig Racing
6. Bubba Wallace – 23XI Racing
7. Todd Gilliland – Front Row Motorsports
8. Riley Herbst – 23XI Racing
9. Zane Smith – Front Row Motorsports
10. Cole Custer – Haas Factory Team
11. John H. Nemechek – Legacy Motor Club
12. Erik Jones – Legacy Motor Club
13. Ty Gibbs – Joe Gibbs Racing
14. Ryan Preece – RFK Racing
15. Chad Finchum – Garage 66
16. Michael McDowell – Spire Motorsports
17. Carson Hocevar – Spire Motorsports
18. Shane Van Gisbergen – Trackhouse Racing

NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race entry list

1. Ross Chastain – Trackhouse Racing
2. Austin Cindric – Team Penske
3. Austin Dillon – Richard Childress Racing
4. Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports
5. Brad Keselowski – RFK Racing
6. Kyle Busch – Richard Childress Racing
7. Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports
8. Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing
9. Ryan Blaney – Team Penske
10. Chris Buescher – RFK Racing
11. Chase Briscoe – Joe Gibbs Racing
12. Christopher Bell – Joe Gibbs Racing
13. Josh Berry – Wood Brothers Racing
14. Joey Logano – Team Penske
15. William Byron – Hendrick Motorsports
16. Tyler Reddick – 23XI Racing
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr – HYAK Motorsports
18. Alex Bowman – Hendrick Motorsports
19. Harrison Burton – Rick Ware Racing
20. Daniel Suárez – Trackhouse Racing

What are the NASCAR Cup Series standings ahead of the All-Star Race?

1. Kyle Larson – 469
2. William Byron – 434
3. Christopher Bell – 384
4. Chase Elliott – 378
5. Ryan Blaney – 362
6. Tyler Reddick – 357
7. Denny Hamlin – 346
8. Alex Bowman – 325
9. Joey Logano – 318
10. Bubba Wallace – 310
11. Ross Chastain – 300
12. Chase Briscoe – 278
13. Austin Cindric – 273
14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr – 258
15. Ryan Preece – 251
16. Josh Berry – 244
17. Kyle Busch – 244
18. John H. Nemechek – 234
19. Carson Hocevar – 230
20. Michael McDowell – 228
21. Austin Dillon – 227
22. Zane Smith – 227
23. Todd Gilliland – 227
24. Chris Buescher – 224
25. AJ Allmendinger – 218
26. Ty Gibbs – 217
27. Daniel Suárez – 209
28. Justin Haley – 206
29. Erik Jones – 196
30. Ty Dillon – 188
31. Noah Gragson – 181
32. Riley Herbst – 151
33. Brad Keselowski – 148
34. Cole Custer – 139
35. Shane Van Gisbergen – 138
36. Cody Ware – 68
37. Jimmie Johnson – 34
38. Corey LaJoie – 24
39. JJ Yeley – 9
40. Katherine Legge – 7
41. Casey Mears – 2
42. Burt Myers – 1
43. Chad Finchum – 1
44. Martin Truex Jr – 1

Over the past decade, B.J. McLeod has started 146 NASCAR Cup races, driving underfunded equipment, but doing as one of the most respected field-fillers in the sport. His best finish was seventh, which came in the summer race at Daytona in 2022.

McLeod is a driver/owner at Live Fast Motorsports and competed full-time before selling his Cup charter to Spire Motorsports for around $40 million dollars. Since then, he has been running a limited schedule in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series.

A huge opportunity 

However, the 41-year-old has never gotten the chance in truly competitive equipment … until now. Spire Motorsports is offering McLeod the opportunity to pilot one of their Trucks in next weekend’s race at Charlotte. He has 41 starts in the Truck Series with a best finish of 15th, but hasn’t competed in the series since the 2021 season.

At Charlotte, he will drive the No. 07 Spire Chevrolet Silverado with ‘Pigeon Forge Racing Coaster’ as the primary sponsor, which is a new business venture of his.

“Getting to race again in the NASCAR truck series with an incredible team is an honor,” said McLeod. “It’s a perfect partnership with Pigeon Forge Racing Coaster — speed, adrenaline, and pure excitement — both on the track and in the mountains. We’re ready to put on a show for the fans and make this ride one to remember.”

Spire is one of the strongest teams in the Truck Series since acquiring Kyle Busch Motorsports’ operation in 2023. This year, that same No. 07 truck has already visited Victory Lane with Kyle Larson at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Spire also earned a 1-2 finish in the most recent Truck race at Kansas with Carson Hocevar piloting the No. 7 to victory and William Byron finishing second in the No. 07. Along with Larson and Byron, Nick Sanchez and Sammy Smith have also driven the No. 07 truck this year.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — For just the second time in its history, the Indianapolis 500 is a sellout. Well, almost.

Doug Boles, president of the NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, announced Friday that a sellout is “imminent” and he expects the remaining grandstand tickets to be sold by the end of the day.

The first — and until now, only — grandstand sellout was in 2016 for the 100th running.

“The sheer size and scale of this crowd is going to be massive,” Boles said. “The 109th Running will be a full-scale, nonstop spectacle that draws the eyes of the world to Speedway, Indiana.”

Boles says the track will continue to sell general admission tickets until supplies run out.

Tickets have been in high demand all spring, with less than 10,000 grandstand seats available at the end of April. Brian Kaltenmark, senior marketing director for IMS, said May 1 that sales were up 4% year-over-year.

With packed grandstands and space for 100,000 fans in the infield, race day attendance could hit 350,000 — more than enough for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” to continue its reign as the largest single-day sporting event in the world.

A sellout doesn’t just mean more people at the track — it means the race will be shown live on TVs across central Indiana for just the fourth time in 75 years.

The speedway implemented a local TV blackout in 1951 after two years of live broadcasts, believing the race would draw bigger crowds if people could not stay home and watch it. Officials promised to lift the local TV embargo if the race ever sold out — and both of those things happened in 2016. The blackout was lifted again in 2020, when the race was held in August due to the coronavirus pandemic, and a third time last year following a four-hour rain delay.

The “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is still 9 days away, but plenty of fans will be at the track on Friday for “Fast Friday.” In the final practice session before qualifications, cars will receive a turbocharger boost to reach the speeds they will run during qualifying on Saturday and Sunday.

Practice is scheduled to run from noon to 6 p.m. The qualification draw is set for 6:15 p.m. in Pagoda Plaza.

The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 25. Join WISH-TV’s Daybreak starting at 5 a.m. for live coverage from IMS.

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