Carson Hocevar wins All-Star Open; Nemechek advances from second; Gragson wins fan vote

Carson Hocevar led the final 46 laps to win the All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway, advancing into the All-Star Race main event.

John Hunter Nemechek finished second to claim the other transfer spot from the 100-lap warmup race.

“It’s super big for this group, this team,” Hocevar told FS1’s Regan Smith. “It’s great to win. Especially being challenged by tires there. I had my hands full. We definitely have to go to work here on my race car because I didn’t really like it. But it’s a good sign we didn’t really like it and were still pretty quick there.”

ALL-STAR OPEN: Click here for results l Click here for penalty report l Click here for race notes

Twenty-three drivers will race for the $1 million prize with winning the exhibition race.

Noah Gragson claimed the third and final transfer spot by winning an online fan vote.

“It means a lot,” he said after finishing 17th in the Open. ” I’m very grateful to have all of the support from the fans and I feel like we’ve got a pretty good race car. We struggled. I lost power steering in the Open race, so we’re gonna try and get that better for the All-Star Race. It’s such a cool atmosphere here and such a cool experience. I’m very lucky to be able to be a part of it.”

Ty Dillon finished third, followed by Ty Dillon, Erik Jones and Michael McDowell.

Pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen finished 13th after leading the first 54 laps on the 0.625-mile oval. The Trackhouse Racing driver fell to sixth by taking four tires on a pit stop at the halfway break. Hocevar took the lead as one of five drivers who took two tires during the All-Star Caution.

“I don’t know whether to smile or cry,” van Gisbergen, who is ranked 35th in the points standings, told FS1’s Jamie Little. “It’s been a dismal year for us. But I feel like we’re getting better every week. This shows it. It was awesome to lead some laps. I was out front driving like a grandma and felt like it was easy. But I still felt like the tires were going to off. We took four. Once I was back (in traffic), no grip, and I put myself in some bad spots, too. It was awesome to lead laps. We’re getting better.”

After slamming into Todd Gilliland twice on the cooldown lap, van Gisbergen drove his No. 88 Chevrolet into Gilliland’s No. 34 Ford in the pits. Gilliland and van Gisbergen then had a civil conversation outside their cars.

“I gave him a little spray,” van Gisbergen said. “It is what it was. He wasn’t happy. Whatever.”

All-Star Open results

1. Carson Hocever, No. 77 Chevrolet,
2. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
3. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
4. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
5. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
6. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
7. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
8. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
9. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
10. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
11. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
12. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
13. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
14. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
15. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
16. Cody Ware, No. 15 Ford
17. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
18. Chad Finchum, No. 66 Ford