Christopher Bell loves North Wilkesboro Speedway, and Joey Logano hates the “Promoter’s Caution.”

Those were the main takeaways from the top two finishers in an action-packed NASCAR All-Star Race at the 0.625-mile oval in North Wilkesboro, N.C.

In a slam-bang affair that set a record for lead changes, Bell beat Logano by 0.829 seconds to earn his first All-Star Race victory. Bell, who won three consecutive Cup Series races earlier this season but had a previous best All-Star finish of 10th, delivered the third All-Star Race win for Joe Gibbs Racing.

“That right there is absolutely incredible,” Bell said. “North Wilkesboro, best short track on the schedule.”

He also is a fan of Marcus Smith, the president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports that owns North Wilkesboro Speedway. In a new All-Star Race wrinkle, Smith was allowed to choose when to throw a “Promoter’s Caution” that would bunch the field for a late restart.

Smith sent two-time Daytona 500 winner and Fox Sports personality Michael Waltrip to the flag stand to display the random yellow flag on Lap 217 with Logano leading by about a half-second ahead of Bell.

Logano, who was trying to win his second consecutive All-Star Race, elected to stay on track rather than pit during the caution, and the decision proved costly. Bell pitted for two fresh tires, restarted in sixth and needed only five laps to catch Logano. After a battle for first that lasted a dozen laps, Bell took the lead for good on Lap 241 of 250.

“I’m pissed off right now,” said Logano, who led a race-high 139 laps. “Just dang it, we had the fastest car. I’m trying to choose my words correctly on the caution situation. Obviously, I got bit by it, so I am the one frustrated.”

It was a stark turnaround for the defending Cup Series champion, who recently said he supported the “Promoter’s Caution” because “the All-Star Race presents the opportunity to try things outside of the box.” But he was questioning its validity after Sunday’s race.

“Yeah, I’m all about no gimmicks with the caution,” Logano said. “I am all about that. Me and Marcus Smith aren’t seeing eye to eye right now, okay? I’ve got to have a word with him.”

Ross Chastain finished third, followed by Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott.

The “Promoter’s Caution” was introduced to guarantee an exciting finish, but the All-Star Race hardly needed much help this year.

After lackluster showings in the first two outings, the All-Star Race delivered much more action in its third year at North Wilkesboro Speedway. There were 18 lead changes, breaking the mark of 13 (set in 2016) for the most in the event’s 41-year history.

Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski and Logano traded the lead twice in the first 10 laps and often ran side by side for the lead. There were six leaders and 10 lead changes in the first half of the race, which topped the total number of leaders (four) and lead changes (five) in the past two All-Star Races combined.

After leading 62 laps, Keselowski’s bid for his first All-Star Race victory ended with a crash on Lap 177.

All-Star Open results

Capitalizing on pit strategy, Carson Hocevar led the final 46 laps to win the All-Star Open earlier Sunday and advanced into the NASCAR All-Star Race.

Runner-up John Hunter Nemechek also advanced to the main event by finishing second in the 100-lap warmup race. Noah Gragson won an online fan vote to earn the final transfer spot to the All-Star Race, whose field will included 20 other drivers competing for $1 million.

Pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen finished 13th after leading the first 54 laps on the 0.625-mile oval. The New Zealand native, who is in his first full Cup Series season after winning three Supercar championships in Australia, fell from first to sixth on a four-tire pit stop during the halfway caution.

“I don’t know whether to smile or cry,” said van Gisbergen, who is ranked 35th in the points standings with one top 10 this season. “It’s been a dismal year for us, but I feel like we’re getting better every week. This shows it.”

More money

The All-Star Race winner’s share has been $1 million since the 2003 event, and some drivers have grumbled that an increase for inflation is well overdue.

“I definitely think it should get raised,” 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney said this week. “That’s the only thing about the All-Star Race I’d probably change. I don’t want to get greedy, but I think you can raise it to $3 million.”

Bubba Wallace said he’d suggest $5 million but would be good for a bump to $3 million.

“They’ve got more TV money, so why not,” Wallace said, referring to NASCAR’s media rights raising to $1.1 billion annually in a deal starting this year.

Up next

The Cup Series will race next Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race of the season. Bell won last year’s race, which was shortened from 600 to 374 miles by rain.

Kyle Larson missed the 2024 race after arriving late because the Indianapolis 500 was delayed by rain. The Hendrick Motorsports star again will attempt to become the fifth driver to race the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

The 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro had everything: Short-track bumping, tire strategy twists, and just enough controversy to keep fans arguing into the night. Christopher Bell walked away with the win, but the real story is how he got there. Was it a legit thriller or a manufactured mess?

• Did the race format help or hurt the action on track?
• How did tire strategy completely change the outcome, and burn some teams hard?
• What was up with the “promoter’s caution” and Michael Waltrip tossing a yellow?
• And was that bump from Bell on Logano classic short track racing, or just dirty?

Some fans loved the chaos, others think NASCAR needs to stop trying so hard to create drama. One thing’s for sure—this race has people talking. And drivers? Even more fired up than usual. Did the format deliver a true All-Star showcase, or just a gimmick with a checkered flag? Watch now and decide for yourself, then drop your take in the comments.

Watch Also:

The Brief

• INDYCAR racing is drawing fans of all ages.

• At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, racing fans young and old get one-on-one experiences with the drivers.

INDIANAPOLIS – It wasn’t a race to see who can meet the most drivers, but Hayden Jaskela had quite the starting position. He was one of the first to meet the man in the orange hat, Scott Dixon, INDYCAR SERIES driver.

Ready to meet an INDYCAR driver

What we know

When FOX6 News asked him why Dixon is his favorite driver, he said, “My middle name’s Scott, and he’s also a redhead.”

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Jaskela joined other young people at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, who cheered for Dixon, like Titus Repp.

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“He signed a car for me,” said Repp, a 10-year-old INDYCAR SERIES fan.

While some fans had their eyes on the future of INDYCAR, one man was looking back.

What they’re saying

“Here I am, kind of honoring my dad,” said Dylan James, a new INDYCAR SERIES fan. “He passed last year.”

James is from New Zealand, like Dixon.

“I think it’s going to be emotional,” said James. “He loved the spectacle of epic sports events; he went to several, never to the Indy 500, so it’s a big deal to be remembering him this way.”

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It’s a father-son bond Doug Boles knows well. He’s the president of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I grew in a family where my dad actually worked in the sport, so it was kind of all I’ve really ever known, especially this place, the Indianapolis 500,” said Boles. “We just had this connection around the sport.”

Racing brings unity

Dig deeper

As the 109th Indianapolis 500 approaches, Boles said he is looking forward to the unity the race brings.

“I look forward to seeing the families, the generations of families that have been coming to the speedway so often,” said Boles.

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Jaskela is already a part of the special tradition. He admires drivers, like Dixon, who make history with every lap.

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“I hope he wins,” said Jaskela.

The Source

The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News with assistance from INDYCAR and FOX Sports.

TRICON Garage (TRICON) will once again join forces with longtime partner Black’s Tire Service (BTS) for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. BTS will serve as the primary sponsor for Tanner Gray and the No. 15 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and will be highlighting its charitable partner, the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina as part of the effort.

Black’s Tire, which celebrated its 95th anniversary in 2024, has more than 70 locations in both North and South Carolina remaining a local, family owned and operated tire seller and wholesaler. Most recently, BTS was featured on the No. 15 for the Black’s Tire 200 at Rockingham Speedway in April.

Headquartered in Lake Waccamaw, NC, Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina (BGHNC) has served more than 7,500 children as a nonprofit agency. Its mission is to provide a wide array of services for children and youth who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect or other family challenges. BGHNC offers adoption, family and therapeutic foster care in 26 counties, success coach services to prevent children from coming into foster care, and child and family therapy, as well as Carolyn’s Kaleidoscope Child Advocacy Center in Whiteville and residential care on the campus at Lake Waccamaw.

“The founder of Black’s Tire, Crowell Black, was on our original board of trustees, Ricky Benton II currently serves on our board of trustees today, and through the years, BTS fundraising has had a huge impact on continuing our programs of care through Boys and Girls Homes,” said Marc Murphy, President and CEO, Boys and Girls Homes. “We simply could not serve as many children without the support of BTS.”

“In addition to highlighting our charitable partnership with BGHNC, we are excited to feature 24 of our loyal partner dealers on the bed of the truck for this big event,” said BTS Chairman of the Board, Ricky Benton Sr.

Black’s Tire will be hosting its annual Boys and Girls Home charity golf tournament on Thursday, September 18. Those interested in supporting the cause and sponsoring a hole or a golf team can reach out to Amy Jenkins at [email protected].

The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 from Charlotte Motor Speedway will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 on Friday, May 23 at 8:30 P.M. ET, with radio coverage provided by the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TRICON PR

BARROWS — Three weeks ago, Tom Anderson’s car was battered and broken.

He was in a much different position Saturday, May 19, on the winner’s stand with the checkered flag in hand after winning the 15-lap Hobby Stock feature event at North Central Speedway.

Anderson’s car went into the wall during the season opener, April 26, and came to a rest on the front straightaway after the first lap with major damage. He returned with a top-five finish Saturday, May 10.

Starting from the second position in Saturday’s feature, Anderson raced to the win in front of Chris Seidel and Mark Johnson. With the win, Anderson is in sixth position in the points race.

Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Mark Martini was a winner for the third time in four races in the Sport Mod Class and Aaron Johnson duplicated that with his third win in the Modified feature event.

Ashton Schwinn got his second win of the season in the Mod Four feature and Baylen Rooker won for the first time this season in the Sport Compact class.

Curt Myers was the Super Stock feature winner and Cole Greseth won for the Street Stocks.

Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch

For the first time since the season-opening Daytona 500, NASCAR will reach 40 entries for a Cup Series race. Along with the usual 36 charted teams, four open entries will take part in NASCAR’s longest race on Memorial Day Weekend.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and four-time Coke 600 winner Jimmie Johnson will be one of those open entries, driving the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota. It will also be Johnson’s 700th career start.

Trackhouse Racing will enter a fourth car with rising star Connor Zilisch driving the No. 87 Chevrolet, making his second career start in the Cup Series but his first on an oval. Zilisch skipped the most recent Xfinity race at Kansas due to a back injury, but he has been cleared to return to competition this weekend.

Garage 66. (formerly MBM Motorsports) will enter the No. 66 Ford Mustang with Josh Bilicki as the driver while NY Racing Team will enter the No. 44 Chevrolet. No driver has been officially announced for the NY Racing Team entry, but it’s likely to be J.J. Yeley.

There are also 40 entries for the NASCAR Xfinity race, which will feature the following Cup stars: William Byron, Austin Dillon, and Chase Briscoe. Of note, Katherine Legge will also be participating after skipping this year’s Indy 500 in favor of gaining more stock car experience.

There are 34 entries for the Truck Series, bringing the total to 114 for the three national divisions. Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain are the only full-time Cup drivers in the field, but B.J. McLeod will also be taking part after putting a deal together with Spire Motorsport.

2025 Coca-Cola 600 entry list