After Shane van Gisbergen earned a shock pole for the Open race, it was time for the 20 All-Stars to go out and qualify for NASCAR’s annual exhibition race. Made up of two laps including a four-tire pit stop in the middle of it all, It takes every part of the team to go P1 at North Wilkesboro Speedway this weekend.

Several drivers sped on pit road, derailing their entire runs. This included SVG’s Trackhouse Racing teammates Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain, as well as Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, and Ryan Blaney.

But the No. 6 RFK Racing crew and driver Brad Keselowski were perfect. After what has been the worst start to a season ever for the former Cup Series champion, Friday provided some relief as he secured pole position with a wildly impressive lap, almost one full second quicker than the nearest competition. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty freaking cool man,” said Keselowski. “To win the pole for the All-Star Race — I’ve never done that. It’s one of the things I’ve never done in my career, and to do it by so much — like nine tenths — it’s a total team effort. The pit crew and [crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and the team gave me a rock solid car and said here you go, here’s the ball. I nailed the lap, and just really proud. Really happy for everybody.”

Beyond Keselowski, the No. 71 Spire Motorsports pit crew also had reason to celebrate. While driver Michael McDowell is in the Open, his pit crew had the fastest stop of any team, which earned them the honor of winning the Pit Crew Challenge. As a result, they will be awarded $100,00 and a pretty cool trophy. They beat the No. 99 Trackhouse pit crew by just 0.013s for the big prize.

Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

Christopher Bell qualified second, Alex Bowman third, Chase Briscoe fourth, and William Byron fifth. Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Elliott filled out the remainder of the top ten.

These drivers will be split into two heat races tomorrow, which will officially set the full lineup for the main event on Sunday, but no matter where he finishes in his heat race, Keselowski will still start from pole position for the All-Star Race.

Photos from All-Star Race – Practice

WILKES COUNTY, N.C. — The countdown to the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway has officially begun, drawing race fans from across the nation and beyond. The event is expected to attract thousands of visitors, providing a significant boost to the local economy.

Graig Hoffman, Executive Director of the NASCAR All-Star Race, highlighted the track’s historical significance. “NASCAR racing and racing in general was founded on that moonshine culture, this is ground zero for that here in Wilkes County,” he said. Hoffman also compared the venue to a legendary sports landmark, stating, “It’s like nothing else out there, this is the Wrigley Fields of NASCAR right here at North Wilkesboro Speedway.”

The recently restored speedway has contributed nearly $43 million to the statewide economy over the past two years. Local businesses are feeling the positive impact, with many benefiting from the influx of visitors.

Seth Cohn, owner of TwoBoros in downtown Wilkesboro, expressed his enthusiasm for the event’s economic benefits. “I have to say, from my perspective as a business owner, it’s been fantastic, I get to see these people come year after year, and it’s not just racing fans, it’s people who find us, they love us, and they come back year-round,” said Cohn.

Cohn shared a personal anecdote about the connections formed during the race weekends. “I had a couple that came in three years in a row, that came to see me every Tuesday, and they say ‘Hey, Seth how you doing? We’re to the left when you get to the campgrounds, just come by and see us,'” he said.

Tickets for the weekend’s events are still available for Saturday and Sunday.

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.

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

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.