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.”

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

Photo: Fabian Lagunas/SRO

Random Vandals Racing’s Kenton Koch and Connor De Phillippi completed a sweep of the GT World Challenge America powered by AWS weekend at Sebring International Raceway with another controlling win in Race 2.

Koch drove the No. 99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO to a 2.104-second victory over the No. 18 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Alex Sedgwick following a late-race caution and restart.

It marked a perfect weekend for Koch, who also swept the weekend in Pirelli GT4 America as well.

Michai Stephens drove to a third place overall and Pro class result in the No. 34 JMF Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo that he shared with Mikael Grenier, while Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey finished fourth in the No. 51 Random Vandals BMW.

The No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW of Robby Foley led from the pole overall and went long into the opening stint prior to Foley’s pit stop and driver change to Justin Rothberg.

Rothberg emerged from the pits third overall and came under heavy attack from the No. 11 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Blake McDonald prior to the yellow for an accident by Jean-Frederic Laberge’s No. 92 LAB Motorsport by GT Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R with 20 minutes to go.

It led to a 15-minute shootout to the finish that saw Rothberg narrowly hold on for the Pro-Am class win to a hard-charging Philip Ellis.

Ellis, who came from 12th overall on the restart after his No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG was on an alternate driver strategy, charged past McDonald for second on the final lap and came up less than a half-second short of the Pro-Am win.

It came after Ellis’ co-driver Jeff Burton spun twice on the opening lap.

Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent teamed to finish fourth in Pro-Am.

The No. 88 Archangel Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo of Todd Coleman, which faced a five-second post-race penalty for a pit stop infringement, ran wide into the grass while second in Pro-Am in the closing ten minutes.

Coleman was classified in fifth in class at the checkered flag, ahead of the No. 2 Racers Edge Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Jason Bell and Michael Cooper.

The Am class No. 6 Dollahite Racing Ford Mustang GT3 of Scott Dollahite and Stefano Gattuso, meanwhile, finished 12th overall.

RESULTS: Race 2

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

The 2025 NASCAR All-Star weekend comes to a close today, Sunday, May 18, with the All-Star Open and All-Star Race set to take place at North Wilkesboro Speedway tonight.

The All-Star Open will be the first race to take place, seeing 100 laps of action around the 0.635-mile track, with the top two finishers earning themselves a spot in the All-Star Race main event.

The final spot in the All-Star Race will be determined by a fan vote, with that race then set to take place with 23 drivers and see 250 laps of racing action just hours later.

Look out for the ‘promoter’s caution’ too, which allows the event organizers to throw a yellow at their discretion during the event. The rule has proved controversial among some drivers and could really spice up the action.

Of course, last year’s All-Star Race was won by Team Penske’s Joey Logano, edging the likes of Denny Hamlin and Chris Buescher that day to take the W.

Although no points are on offer, there is a $1 million prize up for grabs for the winner of the All-Star Race, and it will certainly be interesting to see who comes out on top this time around.

With that said, let’s get into all of the timing and TV details you need to know ahead of today’s action.

READ MORE: NASCAR Results Today: Keselowski and Bell victorious as All-Star Race starting lineup set

NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Open start times

The 100-lap NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway is set to start today, Sunday, May 18, at 5 pm ET.

Here are the start times converted to your city and time zone.

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NASCAR Cup Series: All-Star Race start times

The 250-lap NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway is set to start today, Sunday, May 18, at 8 pm ET.

Here are the start times converted to your city and time zone.

READ MORE: Hendrick Motorsports announce Kyle Larson absence update ahead of All-Star Race

How to watch NASCAR on TV today

Today’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race action from North Wilkesboro Speedway will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1. Radio coverage will also be available via SiriusXM and MRN.

Broadcast details vary depending on your location. Please check below to see how you can catch the Cup Series action in your country.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series 2025: All-Star Race and All-Star Open starting lineups with penalties applied

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