Josh Berry, driver of the No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Wood Brothers Racing, secured his spot in the All-Star Race earlier this year with his first career victory, taking the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Berry spoke about being part of the main event earlier today at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

JOSH BERRY, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DOES NORTH WILKESBORO STILL FEEL AS IMPORTANT TODAY AS 2023 AND WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE WITH THIS TRACK? “Yeah, I think so. It’s been a lot of fun the last couple of years coming back here. They’ve done an amazing job with the facility. It’s probably one of the, if not the nicest short track in this area now, at least that you can take late model cars and race at, so a super good job. It’s been fun. I think all I’m looking for is as the track ages some and hopefully continues to widen out and creates more grooves and just races better.”

YOU HAVE A SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME. DOES THE GOOD RUN LAST NIGHT HELP AS FAR AS MOMENTUM FOR THE REST OF THE WEEKEND? “I don’t think I take a lot of momentum necessarily from last night, but I think we have a lot of momentum from how we’ve been running. Obviously, a couple missed opportunities here or there, but we’ve been really fast and that’s what it takes to win these races. We’ve just got to work on the execution things a little bit better. That starts today and if we can do that, I feel like there’s no reason why we can’t contend for this thing.”

WHAT IMPACT DO YOU THINK THIS TIRE WILL HAVE ON THE RACING, AND HOW SIMILAR DOES THE MARTINSVILLE TIRE FEEL FROM A STANDARD SHORT TRACK TIRE YOU’RE USED TO? “It’s hard to say. I think hopefully the Martinsville tire has more fall off. That’s really what we’re after. It’s gonna be hard to say if that’s the case. We’re racing at night time with cooler track temps and that will help tire wear, but I really don’t know what to expect. I don’t think it really compares much to last night. I mean, racing those cars at a place like this they tend to bring harder tires than what you would run at the average short track, just because of the speed, so it’s not really a direct comparison, but hopefully the Martinsville tire adds a little bit of fall off to it and creates some more strategy.”

DOES THIS TRACK STILL HAVE A LOT OF GRIP OR IS IT STARTING TO AGE A BIT? “It’s still got a lot of grip. I think it came in quicker. You tend to see with repaves with no rubber down they can be really kind of sketchy the first couple of laps until rubber gets put down, but it seemed like that was a little better, so I think it will be pretty normal. I don’t think the surface has changed a whole lot.”

WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES THE COCA-COLA 600 SUCH A COMPETITIVE RACE? “It’s the longest race in our sport and that opens up a lot of opportunities for comers and goers. You obviously have to have a good balance to start the race, but then it cools off and you’ve got to stay up with the track. It’s just a grind. For us, I’m really excited to get there with the speed we’ve had on the intermediates. I finished 10th there last year. Obviously, I would have liked to run the full 600 miles to get the full experience, but I think it’s a fun one. It’s a crown jewel. The prerace is a lot of fun and really special. We’re excited to get there.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE SPORT TO BE AROUND CHARLOTTE? “It’s home for nearly all of us, so to get to race at home and bring your friends and family, there’s always a good crowd. The pits are always packed, so that just makes it a little extra special.”

IT’S BEEN NEARLY A YEAR SINCE SHR ANNOUNCED ITS PLANS TO GO AWAY. WHAT GOES THROUGH OUR MIND AS YOU REFLECT ON YOUR JOURNEY THIS PAST YEAR SINCE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT? “It’s been a lot. A lot happened in 12 months from that point. The biggest thing is I’m just really thankful for this opportunity that I’ve been in with the 21 team. It’s been such a great fit for all of us and whenever you go through that transition you wonder how it’s gonna work and how it’s gonna be. Last year was hard. We went through this stretch through the summer and had some good runs, showed some potential. There were races we were in contention and then towards the end it got super hard just to be competitive and then you leave your season wondering how good you are at this stuff. To come into the 21 team and put in the work we did in the offseason just getting to know each other and to come out with the speed like we’ve had, it’s been a big deal. I’m just super proud of that and thankful for the opportunity to go drive for them. It’s been a lot of fun this season. It’s just crazy how quickly things can change, I guess.”

THREE OF THE FOUR OF YOU GUYS ARE IN A PLAYOFF SPOT RIGHT NOW. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN WITH THE JOURNEY ALL OF YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH? “It’s hard to say. Obviously, we’re faster and I don’t know why. There was tons of amazing people there. I don’t really know why it’s been so different, but we’re just more competitive. I think last year a lot of people looked at us as underperforming and now we’re overperforming. It changes just like that. The perception has changed completely. Like I said, I think we’ve all fallen into really good positions with great teams and I’m thankful for that. Thankfully, we all did enough last year to find those opportunities and come out on the other side of it.”

HOW MUCH PRIDE TO YOU TAKE IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE LATE MODEL STOCK CAR SERIES AS THE ALL-TIME WINNER, AND WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO CUP SERIES FANS AS TO WHY THEY SHOULD WATCH TONIGHT ON FS1? “It’s obviously really cool to get them on FS1. 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. I’ll be honest. 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 then 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.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE IDENTITY FOR THIS ALL-STAR RACE SHOULD BE MOVING FORWARD? “I think most of us would have liked to have seen something to change it up a little bit. I think the run what you brung deal was way far out of expectation. I think it was too far out, but I’m sure teams would have been interested in doing some sort of change to just see what happens. I feel like they’ve done that in year’s past to get a data point for how to improve the racing, so I don’t know. Obviously, it was on their radar if they were considering to do that kind of race. It was on their radar to do something different, but maybe the timetable just didn’t work out to get it all figured out. I think this race should be an opportunity for us to maybe try things under a race setting, whatever that is – whether it’s tires or aero or horsepower or anything along those lines, just to see if we can help the product. We’re all still gonna be just as competitive and race just as hard and all the teams are gonna work just as hard. There’s a million dollars on the line. It’s not like it’s gonna change anything. We’ll just see if something sticks, I guess.”

WHAT’S THE FRUSTRATION LEVEL NOW AND HOW DIFFERENT IS IT HAVING TOUGH FINISHES WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING WELL? “The frustration is considerably less compared to last year. Being competitive is the biggest thing. That’s the hardest thing to figure out is how to be fast and lead these races and get yourself in contention, and we’ve done that a lot. It’s frustrating to make mistakes and those mistakes fall on me, but all we can do is just continue to put me in that position and keep working on those things and getting better and the finishes will come. We’re fortunate to have that win in the bank and, like I said, I’m not very frustrating with how it’s been going. To be leading the race at Texas. We see when you hit that bump I wrecked, but it was a learning thing to learn what we need to do better the next time. Last week stings more because I think we had a chance at that one if I didn’t speed on pit road, so that one stung a little bit more, but, all in all, our whole team is doing a great job. Our cars are fast and we’ve just got to do the little things a little bit better and we’ll be up there.”

IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO BE IN THE TOP 16 IN POINTS WHEN THE PLAYOFFS START EVEN THOUGH YOU ALREADY HAVE A SPOT CLINCHED? “Yeah. It’s a different point system from what we’ve had in year’s past, but it’s still a way to rank your season. We want to be up there as high as we can and be more consistent being there. That’s the way you take the next step into being a championship contender or championship favorite. It’s the speed and the consistency, so if we’re able to keep clawing up the standings, I think that’s another sign that we’re continuing to progress and we’re gonna try to do the best that we can each and every week and score as many points as we can.”

Ford Performance PR

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — ECR Engines is closing in on a cause for AJ Allmendinger’s blown engine last weekend at Kansas Speedway, a failure that led to the driver’s radio rant against the engine company that Richard Childress serves as Chairman and CEO.

Allmendinger’s engine blew after six laps last weekend. After the engine blew, Allmendinger said on his team’s radio: “Hey ECR, you guys (expletive) suck.”

When a team member asked if he had lost an engine, Allmendinger replied on the radio: “Yeah, shockingly.”

The engine failure was the second of the season for Allmendinger. Those have been the only two engine failures for ECR in the Cup Series.

ECR provides engines for Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing and Beard Motorsports.

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

Childress told NBC Sports on Friday at North Wilikesboro that he had yet to talk to Allmendinger but expressed his displeasure with Allmendinger’s comments, noting how other drivers have reacted on a team’s radio after an engine failure.

“The 12 (Ryan Blaney) blew up two times,” Childress said. “The 48 (Alex Bowman) blew up (one time). They never said anything. It’s how you want to run your mouth.”

Childress said he wanted to talk to Allmendinger when there was a definitive answer to the engine’s failure.

“I want to know what happened to the engine,” Childress said. “When (Allmendinger) jumps out (of the car at Kansas), he don’t even know if the belt come off the oil pump or what.”

Adding to the frustrations for Allmendinger is that the engine failure marked the second consecutive race he failed to finish. A crash ended his day at Texas in the previous race. Those two finishes dropped him from 15th in the points to 25th heading into next weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Joey Logano won last year’s All-Star Race, leading 199 of 200 laps.

Danny Lawrence, vice president of alliance operations for ECR Engines, told NBC Sports that debris may have caused the issue with Allmendinger’s engine last weekend at Kansas.

“It was a bearing issue,” Lawrence said. “We at RCR and ECR have a quality control department. They’re struggling to figure out exactly what happened. They’ve sent the bearings off to be analyzed, but the initial (cause) looks like lack of lubrication.

“That engine had ran at Darlington. We’re not so sure that we didn’t have some kind of foreign material, something, an oil line or something happened for (the) lack of lubrication.”

Lawrence said what caused the failure with two of the eight bearings should be known this week.

As to what could have got in the line, Lawrence is unsure.

“We have filters on the oil going in, we have filters on the oil coming out,” Lawrence said. “So it’s baffling, but Richard is holding a strong arm (saying) ‘I want answers to be able to show (Kaulig Racing President) Chris Rice and (team owner) Matt Kaulig. We’re going to know exactly (what happened) and try to make sure this never happens again.”

Heading from the high banks of Kansas Speedway to the up and downhill straights of North Wilkesboro, for the Window World 250 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Here are all the details for Saturday’s Truck Series race.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Window World 250 at North Wilkesboro Preview

Last time out in Wilkes County, it was Heim-Time again. It was Corey Heim besting veteran Grant Enfinger and Layne Riggs to get his third win of 2024. Can the clock strike Heim-Time again at North Wilkesboro? Or will we see our third different winner of this race in its third year?

Race Preview:

The Window World 250 is the tenth race of the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series season. It is a 156-mile, 250-lap race around the 0.625-mile speedway. Stage cautions will fall on laps 70 and 140, and the checkered flag on lap 250. A total prize purse of 782,900 dollars is up for grabs at the end of the race.

The Track: North Wilkesboro Speedway

North Wilkesboro Speedway, located in Wilkes County, North Carolina, is one of NASCAR’s original tracks, opening in 1947 and hosting its first NASCAR race in 1949. The 0.625-mile track is known for its unique uphill and downhill straightaways. It became a beloved venue in stock car racing before closing in 1996 due to changes in the NASCAR schedule. After years of neglect, the speedway was revived in 2023, hosting the Cup Series, Truck Series, Modified Tour, and the CARS TOUR.

The Craftsman Truck series first raced at North Wilkesboro in 1995, with Mike Bliss winning that race. Since then, four races have been run. Bliss, Mark Martin, Kyle Larson, and Corey Heim all have one win apiece. Heim also holds the track record with an 18.431-second lap.

Craftsman Truck Series Points Standings:

Here are the points standings for the Craftsman Truck Series following Kansas Speedway:

1. Corey Heim: 412
2. Chandler Smith: 348
3. Daniel Hemric: 327
4. Tyler Ankrum: 312
5. Grant Enfinger: 295
6. Ty Majeski: 285
7. Jake Garcia: 274
8. Kaden Honeycutt: 256
9. Layne Riggs: 248
10. Ben Rhodes: 245

READ MORE: Carson Hocevar Outclasses Truck Series Regulars to Win at Kansas

Drivers to Watch:

We have a couple of drivers from other series making a start in the Trucks on Saturday. The All-time wins leader in Trucks, Kyle Busch, will drive from Spire Motorsports in the #07 Chevy. Sammy Smith from the Xfinity Series will drive Spire’s #7 Chevy. The #66 Ford will be piloted by Luke Baldwin, as he makes several starts in the Truck Series.

Let’s pick winners for Saturday’s race. Corey Heim is the big favorite for the race. Last year’s winner, P6 in the 2023 race. He has been on fire this year, with a 3.75-place average finish in the last four races. BetUS has his odds at +200, second to our next pick.

Kyle Busch is still the king of the Truck Series. He showed the field that he is still ‘him’ at Atlanta in February. I think Kyle will show the field and the fans at North Wilkesboro on Saturday, he still has it. Different truck and different crew, but it will be the same old Kyle Busch behind the wheel. Look for Busch on Saturday.

For the Fords in this race, I’m looking at two different drivers. Both have been good, but consistency has been an issue lately. Layne Riggs ran third in the 2024 race, but has had two bad points finishes recently. A crash at Texas and then a DQ at Kansas have been bad for momentum. If things go right, look for Riggs and the #34 Ford on Saturday. The other Ford? Ty Majeski. Majeski ran second to Larson in 2023, eleventh in 2024, but 2025 has not been the season the defending champion has needed. If everything goes good, I think Majeski can be a contender for the race win.

How To Watch The Truck Series at North Wilkesboro:

Saturday, May 17:

• Practice
  • 9:30 AM EST
  • Coverage is on FS2
• Qualifying
  • 10:35 AM EST
  • Coverage continues on FS2
• The Window World 250
  • 1:30 PM EST
  • Coverage switches to FS1, and on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Stay connected with Last Word on Motorsports for all the racing news from North Wilkesboro

Main Photo: IMAGO/Icon Sportswire

Recording Date: 5/20/2023

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

NASCAR Cup Series cars have unloaded in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The short track of North Wilkesboro Speedway is set for a round of practice and a unique qualifying format for the All-Star Race.

View North Wilkesboro qualifying results for the NASCAR All-Star Race below.

North Wilkesboro Menu
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

All-Star qualifying is a three lap process. On lap two, drivers head for the pit lane to make a four tire pit stop then return to the track for a third lap. The combination of all three laps will be the qualifying time.

10 second penalties are on deck for pit lane violations.

Open Qualifying will set the lineup for the All-Star Open. The top two cars from that race will transfer to the tail of the All-Star Race.

Qualifying will also set the lineup for the cars already locked into the All-Star Race. Those cars will be split into two heat races based on today’s results.

Shane van Gisbergen will start from the pole position in the All-Star Open. His three lap qualifying run was clocked at a time of 1:28.684.

Brad Keselowski will set the front row for the first heat races after setting a time at 1:27.362. Christopher Bell was 2nd in qualifying with a time of 1:28.252 and he’ll lead heat two to the green flag.

Michael McDowell’s crew wins the pit crew challenge for the fastest pit stop. They’ll be handed a $100,000 bonus.

North Wilkesboro
Qualifying Results
NASCAR All-Star Race
May 16, 2025

Pos | Driver | Best Time

1. Brad Keselowski
1:27.362

2. Christopher Bell
1:28.252

3. Alex Bowman
1:28.361

4. Chase Briscoe
1:28.649

5. William Byron
1:29.120

6. Joey Logano
1:29.257

7. Austin Dillon
1:29.619

8. Denny Hamlin
1:29.921

9. Tyler Reddick
1:30.170

10. Chase Elliott
1:30.450

11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
1:30.473

12. Kyle Busch
1:31.223

13. Josh Berry
1:31.240

14. Harrison Burton
1:34.432

15. Justin Allgaier
1:34.949

16. Chris Buescher
1:38.272

17. Ross Chastain
1:38.886

18. Austin Cindric
1:39.056

19. Ryan Blaney
1:40.337

20. Daniel Suarez
1:46.930

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

NASCAR All-Star
Heat 2 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

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

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

North Wilkesboro
Practice Results
NASCAR All-Star
(Open + All-Star)
May 16, 2025

Pos | Driver | Best Time

1. Tyler Reddick
18.198

2. Chase Elliott
18.233

3. Bubba Wallace
18.237

4. Christopher Bell
18.265

5. Erik Jones
18.271

6. Ross Chastain
18.274

7. Brad Keselowski
18.290

8. William Byron
18.294

9. Kyle Busch
18.307

10. Joey Logano
18.313

11. Josh Berry
18.320

12. Ty Gibbs
18.321

13. Austin Cindric
18.327

14. Todd Gilliland
18.349

15. Daniel Suarez
18.361

16. John Hunter Nemechek
18.364

17. Ryan Blaney
18.373

18. Denny Hamlin
18.390

19. Riley Herbst
18.400

20. Ty Dillon
18.416

21. Justin Haley
18.420

22. Ryan Preece
18.421

23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
18.423

24. Justin Allgaier
18.434

25. Chase Briscoe
18.437

26. Noah Gragson
18.440

27. Carson Hocevar
18.441

28. Shane Van Gisbergen
18.447

29. Zane Smith
18.471

30. Chris Buescher
18.476

31. AJ Allmendinger
18.487

32. Alex Bowman
18.500

33. Michael McDowell
18.512

34. Harrison Burton
18.529

35. Austin Dillon
18.549

36. Cole Custer
18.580

37. Cody Ware
18.682

38. Chad Finchum
19.212

Links

North Wilkesboro Speedway | CARS Tour | NASCAR

In a groundbreaking move, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace is set to showcase his partnership with gaming giant Logitech in the upcoming 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race. This collaboration marks a significant shift in the world of racing, where virtual simulations are becoming increasingly intertwined with real-world performance.

Logitech, a pioneer in sim racing technology, has been a driving force in revolutionizing the way drivers train and compete. Their partnership with eNASCAR has elevated the sport to new heights, with Logitech G serving as the official partner of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series event since 2021.

For Wallace, this collaboration with Logitech goes beyond just a sponsorship deal. It represents a fusion of high-performance racing and cutting-edge gaming culture, where skills are honed both on the track and behind the screen. As Wallace himself attests, the partnership with Logitech has not only enhanced his racing experience but also bridged the gap between virtual and real-world racing.

The upcoming NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro will see Wallace behind the wheel of a special Logitech-branded car, featuring a striking blue color scheme that is sure to turn heads on the track. This partnership is a testament to the growing influence of sim racing in the world of NASCAR, as drivers like Wallace leverage advanced technology to push the boundaries of their skills.

But Wallace is not the only driver embracing the virtual realm. NASCAR legends like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin have also been vocal advocates of sim racing, recognizing its impact on the sport’s evolution. As the NASCAR industry continues to expand, so does the gaming industry, paving the way for a new era of racing that blurs the lines between virtual simulations and physical victory lanes.

As fans gear up to witness Wallace in action at the NASCAR All-Star Race, Logitech remains committed to delivering top-notch performance and innovation to its partners. The convergence of real and virtual worlds in NASCAR not only enhances the fan experience but also opens up new avenues for drivers to train and compete at the highest level.

In a world where sim racing meets physical triumph, collaborations like the one between Bubba Wallace and Logitech G are reshaping the landscape of modern-day racing. As the NASCAR Cup Series continues to embrace innovation and technology, partnerships like these underscore the pivotal role that sim racing plays in shaping the future of the sport.