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

Carson Hocevar has come under fire from NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. after his comments in Kansas last weekend.

Hocevar clinched the Craftsman Truck Series victory at Kansas Speedway after an intense last-lap battle with Layne Riggs. As he crossed the line to take the win, he ranted over the team radio about his rival – something which Earnhardt Jr. has not taken kindly to.

During the Dale Jr. Download podcast, he claimed:

“Riggs is older than him. Is he self-appointing himself some sort of veteran? Y’all heard that s**t. ‘Man, that kid’s gonna win a lot of races.’ What the f**k dude?

“You’re a kid. That was a very egotistical move. I think it’s an asinine way to look at things. …I know that Riggs is not in Cup, but in terms of ability, talent, I don’t really set them too far apart. You could put Riggs in the 77 [car] and eventually get reasonable results.”

As well as the team radio comments, the 22-year-old flipped off Riggs. Explaining the action, Hocevar said, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports:

“It was somewhat friendly, right? It was just kind…yeah, I don’t remember what I really did to be honest. No, if anything, I just wanted to remind him, really, of just like, hey, I still won, I guess. I don’t know.

“But at the end of the day, he did a really good job. He’s super, super talented. That group built a really fast truck. I remember watching Zane [Smith] go on to win against us in that truck.

“It’s all harm, no foul, and I’m sure my bird is real small to just hit and contact. So, it’s all friendly, and when I see him, I’m sure we’ll laugh about it.”

Riggs also commented:

“He won the race, and you know, I think he was mad at me. I think he flipped me off all the way down the frontstretch coming to the checkered, but how can you be mad when you win the race, right?

“But it’s all good. It’s great to race with them Cup guys, and I think that just proves that I’m going to be there one day.”

Riggs was later disqualified from the race.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Kansas Speedway results

1. Carson Hocevar – Running
2. William Byron – Running
3. Corey Heim – Running
4. Gio Ruggiero – Running
5. Stewart Friesen – Running
6. Brandon Jones – Running
7. Jake Garcia – Running
8. Kaden Honeycutt – Running
9. Grant Enfinger – Running
10. Daniel Hemric – Running
11. Ben Rhodes – Running
12. Matt Mills – Running
13. Matt Crafton – Running
14. Ty Majeski – Running
15. Dawson Sutton – Running
16. Tyler Ankrum – Running
17. Chandler Smith – Running
18. Connor Mosack – Running
19. Andres Perez – Running
20. Toni Breidinger – Running
21. Rajah Caruth – Running
22. Cody Dennison – Running
23. Spencer Boyd – Running
24. Jack Wood – Running
25. Morgen Baird – Running
26. Bayley Currey – Running
27. Tanner Gray – Out
28. Frankie Muniz – Out
29. Nathan Byrd – Out
30. Luke Baldwin – Out
31. Layne Riggs – Running – Disqualified

After Brad Keselowski earned pole position in qualifying on Friday, the rest of the grid was determined by a pair of heat races on Saturday. To put it simply, Heat #1 results decide the inside row for the All-Star Race while Heat #2 results decide the outside row with ten drivers in each heat.

On Sunday, the 18 drivers who are not yet locked into the All-Star Race will take part in their own race with the top-two finishers from the ‘Open’ advancing into the main event. Now for a breakdown of Saturday’s heat races:

Heat #1

Brad Keselowski, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

It’s been a difficult and at times nightmarish season for Keselowski, but the weekend at North Wilkesboro has offered him some relief. He held off all challengers to win the first heat race of the night, even though a couple of drivers got very close in trying to snatch the top spot away.

When the planned competition caution flew in the middle of the race, Keselowski stayed out while Ross Chastain and several others pitted, taking on a set of fresh sticker tires. Those drivers quickly charged through the field with Chastain drawing even with Keselowski in a fierce battle for the race lead. However, the tires ultimately overheated while running the bottom and he was left defending the runner-up spot for the remainder of the race.

He battled back-and-forth with William Byron and Ryan Blaney as the three drivers fought over the spot that would determine who starts third in the All-Star Race on Sunday. Chastain held on over Byron by just a nose while Blaney finished fourth and Alex Bowman fifth.

Josh Berry was sixth, Tyler Reddick seventh, Austin Dillon eighth, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ninth. Kyle Larson’s car did not take part in the heat race since its driver was busy qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 today. So, Larson will come from the last row of the grid on Sunday, which he also did one year ago.

“It doesn’t hurt,” said Keselowski after the win. “It’s been a good two days for everyone on this #6 crew … It’s good to be starting up front with this Ford Mustang. To be running fast, this is fun.”

Speaking about the tire difference, Keselowski added: “Those guys who put tires on were really hard to hold off. I had the preferred groove and just tried to use it to my advantage. We’ll see if that’s the case tomorrow.

Heat #2

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

Christopher Bell was in control of the second heat race from start-to-finish and no one was able to mount a real challenge against him. During the competition caution, nearly the entire field pitted for fresh rubber with most taking four, but Bell took two right-sides instead and narrowly avoided his tire changer on the way out.

Chase Briscoe was the lone driver who rolled the dice and chose to stay out. He inherited the race lead, but it did not last long as he quickly faded through the field. However, he could not get out of the way quick enough, spinning after contact from Daniel Suarez and hitting the door of Denny Hamlin.

This was the only incident of the entire night as Bell set sail for the remainder of the race, taking the win over Joey Logano and Chase Elliott. Kyle Busch and Chris Buescher filled out the rest of the top five while the remainder of the top ten was as follows: Suarez, Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, Hamlin.

“Maybe the Mobil 1 Camry is a million-dollar Camry,” smiled Bell after the win, guaranteeing him the outside of the front row. “It’s feeling really good. I knew yesterday in practice that if they could get some rear grip in it, I felt like I had a lot of car potential. 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 tomorrow.”

All-Star Race lineup

Photos from All-Star Race – Heat

Earlier this year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Josh Berry earned his first career Cup Series win, taking the iconic No. 21 Wood Brothers machine to Victory Lane. He also has five wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but it was the CARS Late Model Tour where he truly made a name for himself.

Berry won the 2017 CARS Late Model Stock championship, collecting 22 wins in just 56 starts (most all-time). The CARS Tour got some primetime treatment on Friday night with FOX Sports 1 broadcasting the entire Window World 100 at North Wilkesboro live, which immediately followed qualifying for the NASCAR All-Star Race.

It’s a rare treat for the CARS Tour, and Berry hopes we get to see more of that in the future.

“It’s obviously really cool to get them on FS1,” said Berry during a media availability at the track. “The biggest thing, to me, is just the racing is good. Hopefully, tonight puts on a good show, but they go to tons of different tracks around here that put on really good racing, so the biggest thing is I just hope it draws a good audience and gets people excited about it to where they can do it more often.”

The race got off to an awkward start with about 15 cars involved in a Lap 2 pileup, but it found its rhythm soon after that with Landen Lewis capturing the win.

Berry critical of ARCA

Race winner William Sawalich

Photo by: NASCAR Media

“I’ll be honest,” continued Berry. “I watch ARCA races and they’re horrible. CARS Tour puts a way better product on to be on TV and they deserve a spot like that. I think hopefully tonight they do that. Hopefully, they don’t get too crazy – everybody getting wild on television. Hopefully, we can get the races started and stay on time, but I’m excited to see how it does. I think it’s a great product. The series is obviously really competitive. It’s more competitive than ever and way more competitive than even when I was a part of it, so it’s a lot of positives for that deal. Hopefully, they knock it out of the ball park.”

The CARS Tour race featured 36 cars, with 15 finishing on the lead lap. Objectively speaking, it’s fair to say that the tour does put together far stronger fields than ARCA on most weeks. 26 cars started the most recent event at Kansas, but many of those were terribly off the pace and parked their cars within the first 30 laps. Only ten drivers have started each of the first four races of the year. In 2024, just eight drivers ended up running the full season. 

Even still, Berry’s comments irked some people the wrong way with some criticizing him for tearing one series down while trying to lift another up. He does have some first-hand experience in ARCA as well, albeit limited, running two races in 2018 and 2022.

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Justin Allgaier accomplished his main goal in driving Kyle Larson’s car in practice and qualifying Friday at North Wilkesboro.

He didn’t put a scratch on the car.

His other goal was to help the team prepare the car for Larson to drive in Sunday’s All-Star Race.

“I felt like long-run pace, we were really good,” Allgaier, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, told NBC Sports. “When I look at lap 30 or 40 (on a run), our pace was right where we needed it to be.”

Several challenges, including a new NASCAR rule, make the feat of running in those signature races in the same day much more difficult.

Allgaier drove Friday for Larson, who was in Indianapolis as he prepared to drive in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day later this month. Larson was uninjured in a crash in practice Friday. Larson qualified 21st on Saturday for the Indianapolis 500.

Larson will not be at North Wilkesboro on Saturday. He will be in Indianapolis to qualify his car for the Indy 500. Hendrick Motorsports stated this week that Larson’s team would not take place in Saturday night’s heat race at North Wilkesboro. There was no need for the team to run because Larson will start at the rear of the All-Star Race due to the driver change.

Michael McDowell’s pit crew wins $100,000 bonus for the fastest four-tire stop.

So how does another driver prepare a car for Larson, the Cup points leader? Drive the car like one does and let the team adjust for Larson’s characteristics? Try to drive the car as Larson normally does?

“I think you’ve got to find the limit, find the limit of the tire and let them know where the limits are of the tire and then let them make adjustments that they feel would fit Kyle’s driving style or not,” said Allgaier, who drove Larson’s car in last year’s Coca-Cola 600 when Larson was delayed by rain in the Indy 500. “I think Kyle notoriously doesn’t complain about a loose race car nearly as much as probably most others do.

After dominant performances the past two years, the exhibition event will have a new format and length.

“… I think, for me, we exposed some areas in practice. I don’t know if I’d call them weaknesses but things we made adjustments and it made a significant change in balance. That gives them ammunition to be able to go when the race starts of understanding when we change this, make this adjustment, it’s going to change in the car.

“Kyle adapts so well to whatever is thrown at him. I would say that they’re going to want to free (the car) up a little bit for Kyle, especially managing traffic.”

Larson will start at the rear of the 23-car field since he missed qualifying. He also missed qualifying last year (Kevin Harvick drove the car) to be at Indianapolis and started at the rear of the All-Star field. Larson finished fourth in last year’s All-Star Race. He is a three-time winner of the event, including a victory at North Wilkesboro in 2023.