North Wilkesboro Speedway starting positions for the NASCAR All-Star heat races and All-Star Open

NASCAR Cup Series qualifying is complete at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the $1,000,000 to win race weekend. The results have been used to set the starting grid for two heat races and the All-Star Open.

View North Wilkesboro heat races lineups for the NASCAR All-Star Race below.

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CARS (PLM): Prac/Qual | Race
CARS (LMSC): Prac/Qual | Race
Trucks: : Prac/Qual | Race
Cup : Prac/Qual | Heat/Open Lineups | Heats/Open | All-Star Race

North Wilkesboro TV Schedule

Heat Races: 20 cars are locked into the NASCAR All-Star Race. Their time in qualifying has set the lineups for two heat races. The results of the heat races will set positions 1-20 in the NASCAR All-Star Race feature.

All-Star Open (LCQ): 18 drivers aren’t locked into the All-Star Race. They’ll race in the All-Star Open with the top 2 transferring into the All-Star Race.

Fan Vote: One additional driver will start the race based on the fan vote.

NASCAR All-Star
Heat 1 Lineup
May 17, 2025

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Alex Bowman

3. William Byron

4. Austin Dillon

5. Tyler Reddick

6. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

7. Josh Berry

8. Justin Allgaier

9. Ross Chastain

10. Ryan Blaney

View Qualifying Results

NASCAR All-Star
Heat 1 Lineup
May 17, 2025

1. Christopher Bell

2. Chase Briscoe

3. Joey Logano

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Chase Elliott

6. Kyle Busch

7. Harrison Burton

8. Chris Buescher

9. Austin Cindric

10. Daniel Suarez

View Qualifying Results

North Wilkesboro
Starting Lineup
NASCAR All-Star (Open)
May 17, 2025

Note: The top two finishers from the All-Star Open will transfer into the All-Star Race.

Pos | Driver | Best Time

1. Shane van Gisbergen
1:28.684

2. Carson Hocevar
1:28.884

3. Noah Gragson
1:29.596

4. Michael McDowell
1:29.610

5. Ryan Preece
1:29.688

6. Zane Smith
1:30.477

7. Justin Haley
1:30.495

8. John Hunter Nemechek
1:30.841

9. Ty Gibbs
1:30.917

10. Ty Dillon
1:31.444

11. Cole Custer
1:32.050

12. Erik Jones
1:35.597

13. Riley Herbst
1:39.650

14. Cody Ware
1:39.791

15. Bubba Wallace
1:39.690

16. AJ Allmendinger
1:50.942

17. Todd Gilliland
2:02.694

18. Chad Finchum
2:24.024

NASCAR All-Star Race
Starting Lineup
North Wilkesboro Speedway
May 18, 2025

1. Heat 1 (Winner)

2. Heat 2 (Winner)

3. Heat 1 (2nd Place)

4. Heat 2 (2nd Place)

5. Heat 1 (3rd Place)

6. Heat 2 (3rd Place)

7. Heat 1 (4th Place)

8. Heat 2 (4th Place)

9. Heat 1 (5th Place)

10. Heat 2 (5th Place)

11. Heat 1 (6th Place)

12. Heat 2 (6th Place)

13. Heat 1 (7th Place)

14. Heat 2 (7th Place)

15. Heat 1 (8th Place)

16. Heat 2 (8th Place)

17. Heat 1 (9th Place)

18. Heat 2 (9th Place)

19. Heat 1 (10th Place)

20. Heat 2 (10th Place)

21. All-Star Open (Winner)

22. All-Star Open (2nd Place)

23. Fan Vote Winner

Links

North Wilkesboro Speedway | CARS Tour | NASCAR

The full NASCAR Cup Series qualifying results from North Wilkesboro Speedway are in, with the lineups set for both of Saturday’s All-Star Race Heats and Sunday’s All-Star Open.

The two All-Star Race Heats will set the starting lineup for Sunday’s 250-lap All-Star Race, with 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski set to start Heat 1 out front, and Christopher Bell set to lead the way at the front of Heat 2.

Keselowski set the fastest time of all eligible All-Stars in Friday evening’s session, just edging three-time 2025 Cup Series winner Bell to do so.

Meanwhile, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe set the third and fourth fastest times of the All-Stars and will therefore start on the front rows of Heats 1 and 2, alongside Keselowski and Bell.

The starting lineup for Sunday’s All-Star Open was also set at North Wilkesboro on Friday, with Shane van Gisbergen pipping Carson Hocevar to pole in that session.

The top two drivers from the All-Star Open on Sunday will qualify for the main All-Star Race later that evening.

Elsewhere, Michael McDowell’s No. 77 crew won the Pit Crew Challenge, bagging $100,000 in doing so.

With that said, let’s take a look at Friday’s qualifying results in full and the starting lineups for both All-Star Race Heats and the All-Star Open.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series 2025: All-Star Weekend start times, schedule and how to watch live on TV

NASCAR Cup Series: Who is on pole for the All-Star Race Heats?

After Friday evening’s qualifying session from North Wilkesboro Speedway, here are the starting lineups for Saturday’s All-Star Heat Races.

All-Star Race Heat No. 1 starting lineup

All-Star Race Heat No. 2 starting lineup

READ MORE: Star driver plummets in playoff standings after brutal late penalty

NASCAR Cup Series: Who is on pole for the All-Star Open?

After qualifying on Friday evening, here is the starting lineup for Sunday’s All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

READ MORE: NASCAR announce major Cup Series penalty after Kansas

Related

The first day of track action for the Emilia-Romagna e del Made in Italy Grand Prix saw McLaren shine once again. In both free practice sessions, Oscar Piastri led Lando Norris at the top of the time sheets. The championship leader stopped the clocks in 1’16”545 in FP1 and then went over a second quicker to record a 1’15”293 in FP2. The gap between the Australian and his team-mate was a mere 32 thousandths in the first session and 25 in the second.
THE DAY ON TRACK

The C6, the softest compound in the 2025 range made its official debut today in Imola. During the two hours of practice the Hard was not used, not even for the scrubbing-in lap that some teams are prone to do. It indicates that the C4 will play a pivotal role in Sunday’s race. The Soft and Medium tyres were used in exactly equal measure, with each completing a total of 2,307.230 kilometres, over 470 laps.
SIMONE BERRA – PIRELLI CHIEF ENGINEER

“There was a great deal of interest in the C6’s debut, from us as much as from the teams and drivers. After all, the Soft for this Grand Prix has never been run on these cars and the last time it was used on track dates back to the end-of-year test session held at Abu Dhabi back in December.

“At first glance, the impression is positive. The C6 proved to be an excellent qualifying tyre, allowing the drivers to push for the whole lap, without experiencing a drop in performance in the final sector. Furthermore, with careful management of the cooling phase, it proved capable of delivering at least one more competitive flying lap. In FP1, we even saw it complete a string of laps without any graining appearing.

“In FP2 all teams did long runs on the Medium which displayed relatively low degradation thanks to a strong level of pace management. Given that the track will still rubber-in more and that temperatures on Sunday should not be excessively high, combined with the layout of this track having the longest pit lane on the calendar, it’s likely the teams will go for a one-stop strategy. It’s no coincidence that no one used the Hard compound today, clearly preferring to keep the C4 for Sunday, also to be prepared for a Safety Car period, which is a frequent occurrence at Imola. On paper, a two-stop cannot be ruled out, far from it, but we are well aware that the teams and drivers are skilled at tyre management and with time lost in pit lane amounting to a long 27 seconds, that becomes a very important factor.”

FORMULA 2

Dino Beganovic (Hitech TGR) is the pole man of the Imola round. The Ferrari Driver Academy’s Swede took the number one slot in the most closely contested qualifying ever seen in the category, given that the top three were covered by just six thousandths of a second. Beganovic posted a 1’27”419, with Colombia’s Sebastian Montoya (PREMA Racing) three thousandths slower and France’s Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) at six thousandths.

For the first European round of the FIA Formula 2 championship at Imola’s Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit, the available compounds are the Soft and Supersoft. Compared to 2024, the hardest compound on offer is a step softer and will therefore be subject to greater degradation. Last year, 16 of the 22 drivers went down this route, but they were out of luck because, surprisingly, there was no call for the Safety Car to leave pit lane.

Tyre management will be extremely difficult, especially with the Supersoft, even though its performance life will last one or two laps longer compared to its 2024 version.

FORMULA 3

Rafael Camara (Trident) will start Sunday’s race from pole. The Brazilian set a best time in qualifying of 1’32”206, beating Mexico’s Santiago Ramos (Van Amersfoort Racing) by 236 thousandths and Denmark’s Noah Stromsted, also with Trident by 244 thousandths.

As was the case last year, the compound chosen for Imola is the Medium. The 2025 cars seem to help the drivers manage thermal degradation. This characteristic could assist them in dealing with graining, which in the 2024 Feature Race began to make itself felt on the tyres before half-distance. In fact, that aside, the top three finishers all proved adept at managing tyre performance.

In general, degradation, although high, will be consistent. In the 2024 Sprint Race, there were no fewer than 6 neutralisations, which is to be expected at a track like Imola. The track is a good training ground for young drivers who have to deal with a complex mix of corners and braking points at what is a very technical circuit with very few overtaking opportunities.

Pirelli PR

Michael McDowell’s No. 71 Spire Motorsports crew earned the $100,000 grand prize in Friday evening’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Pit Crew Challenge at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Crew members Brandon Chapman (fueler), Dax Hollifield III (jackman), Luke Bussel (tire carrier), Max Marsh (front changer) and Ty Boeck (rear changer) all contributed to the winning stop at 12.587 seconds.

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The No. 71 crew bested Trackhouse Racing’s No. 99 crew (12.600 seconds) and the No. 4 crew (12.669 seconds) from Front Row Motorsports to claim the prize.

RELATED: Live lineup tracker | At-track photos: North Wilkesboro

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Nos. 19 (12.695 seconds) and 20 (12.709 seconds) crews rounded out the top five. Christopher Bell’s No. 20 crew entered the day as the two-time defending champions of the Pit Crew Challenge.

On-track action for the Cup Series resumes Saturday evening at 5:10 p.m. ET for the All-Star Heat Races (FS2, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

This story will be updated.

Van Gisbergen was fastest among All-Star Open competitors in the three-lap qualifying session featuring a four-tire pit stop. The Rookie of the Year contender clocked in with a time of 1 minute, 28.685 seconds.

The top two finishers in Sunday’s All-Star Open will join the field for the All-Star Race following the Open. The Fan Vote Winner will also join the lineup for Sunday night’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

-Photo credit: Jim Fluharty, HHP for Chevy Racing

Qualifying on All-Star Race weekend is unique within NASCAR. Drivers will complete a full lap at speed before diving onto pit road for a four-tire pit stop in the middle of the second lap. At the end of that lap, the entire time it took from start to finish of the run is each driver’s qualifying time — and yes, there are penalties for things such as loose wheels and speeding in the pit lane.

The first drivers on track were the 18 selected for the All-Star Open, which is the race to make the main event. The top-two finishers will advance into the All-Star Race with a third joining them as the Fan Vote recipient.

Well, one of the drivers currently ranked in the top five for the Fan Vote — Shane van Gisbergen — went out and put his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet on pole position. SVG appeared to gain most of his time while braking into the pit lane, but having a fast pit crew helped as well.

“Yeah, I think we finally got all the things right,” said van Gisbergen, who had never even seen this track before today. “Qualifying has been a weakness. My lap was pretty good, coming in was good, pit stop guys were insane so really good for them. Thanks to WeatherTech, thanks to the Trackhouse pit crew, and we’re up front for tomorrow.

“I’ve never started at the front for an oval so I don’t know what to do there. I have to learn the rules and see how we go.”

In the Cup Series, the New Zealander’s best start on an oval is 17th, which came at Talladega Superspeedway last year. He will be joined on the front row by Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar, who is also one of the top five drivers in the Fan Vote right now.

Noah Gragson qualified third, Michael McDowell fourth, and Ryan Preece fifth. Zane Smith, Justin Haley, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, and Ty Dillon filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Later on, Brad Keselowski earned pole position for the All-Star Race while McDowell’s pit crew won the Pit Crew Challenge. 

Photos from All-Star Race – Practice