NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell each scored dominating wins in Saturday’s heat races at North Wilkesboro Speedway and will start on the front row for Sunday night’s All-Star Race.

The heat races set the lineup for Sunday’s exhibition race. Keselowski was already assured the No. 1 starting spot by posting the fastest time in qualifying Friday.

Keselowski led 74 of 75 laps to win his heat race. Ross Chastain finished second, William Byron was third, Ryan Blaney finished fourth and Alex Bowman placed fifth.

Keselowski was the only car in the top five of the nine-car race that ran the same set of tires for the entire distance.

“Those guys that put tires on, they were really hard to hold off,” Keselowski said. “I had the preferred groove and just tried to use it to my advantage. We’ll see if that’s the case (Sunday).”

Keselowski said the track was racy.

“It’s definitely not a single groove racetrack,” he said. “They were running me real hard. We had good pace and that was a little bit of a dogfight, so I thought it was great racing.”

Keselowski has finished second in the All-Star Race three times. That’s tied for the most runner-up finishes without winning the event, which pays $1 million to the winner.

With Kyle Larson at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Justin Allgaier drove Larson’s No. 5 in practice and qualifying Friday.

Bell led 69 of the 75 laps to win the second heat Saturday.

“I knew (Friday) in practice that if they could get some rear grip in it, I felt like I had a lot of car potential,” Bell said. “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 (Sunday).”

The only laps Bell didn’t lead were when Chase Briscoe did not pit with the rest of the field, attempting the same strategy Keselowski used to win the first heat. Briscoe said it was his call to stay out.

It didn’t work. He didn’t get a good restart, got hung three wide and fell back outside the top five in the 10-car race before contact spun him on the frontstretch.

Logano finished second, Chase Elliott third, Kyle Busch fourth and Chris Buescher fifth.

All-Star Race starting lineup

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Christopher Bell

3. Ross Chastain

4. Joey Logano

5. William Byron

6. Chase Elliott

7. Ryan Blaney

8. Kyle Busch

9. Alex Bowman

10. Chris Buescher

11. Josh Berry

12. Daniel Suarez

13. Tyler Reddick

14. Chase Briscoe

15. Austin Dillon

16. Austin Cindric

17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

18. Harrison Burton

19. Kyle Larson (will move to the rear since Justin Allgaier qualified car)

20. Denny Hamlin

21. Winner of All-Star Open

22. Runner-up of All-Star Open

23. Fan vote winner

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 3rd

“I thought our No. 9 Amazon Prime Video Chevrolet was pretty good. I think it was worth fixing it. We knew we had a little bit of damage. We weren’t exactly sure to what extent or how much it was going to hurt us, but we just didn’t want to have to wonder about it. I certainly think it was the right call. To come from 10th to third was pretty good, with all things considered. We had a good pit stop and gained a couple spots on pit road, and we got a couple spots on track. We start sixth tomorrow, and we’ll try to go to work from there.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 4th

“In the truck, entering high and staying high in (turns) one and two, was sort of better for me. In the Cup car, I kept trying that and it was just too loose, so I had to be a lane down. That’s where I found the best speed, being a lane down, so what I learned in the truck didn’t really translate to the Cup car. But still getting the track time and being able to move around; knowing what to expect, feeling tire chatter and all that sort of stuff was helpful.

Overall, it was a good effort by this No. 8 SENIX Chevrolet team. We certainly want more. I felt like we fell off a little too much there at the end. We just got too tight. We’ll go to work on it and get ready for tomorrow.” 

GM PR

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (May 17, 2025) — The final lap of Saturday’s Window World 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway saw two lead changes, a side-by-side battle among teammates and a winner – Chandler Smith – who took the white flag in third place.

Smith emerged victorious after a breathtaking final-lap battle for victory with Front Row Motorsports teammate Layne Riggs and pole winner Corey Heim, which culminated in Heim spinning out in Turn 2 after contact with Riggs. Smith – who stayed on the bottom lane – drove past the carnage and withstood Riggs’ last-gasp effort entering Turn 3 to register a wholly unexpected victory.

The only lap Smith led on Saturday was the one that counted most.

In what was another enthralling chapter of Truck Series history at North Wilkesboro, Heim had the machine to beat and proved it for most of the afternoon, leading a race-high 162 of 255 laps. His downfall, however, was not pitting when Smith, Riggs and other leaders stopped during a caution period on Lap 214.

Heim went the final 111 circuits on the same set of tires – and nearly won the race in spite of it. The TRICON Garage driver managed his equipment to near-perfection, but Smith’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford slowly caught up to Heim over the final 20 laps. Smith appeared poised to pass him before a caution for Brent Crews’ spin with four laps remaining bunched the field and left Heim in control of the final restart.

With 70 more laps on his tires than the rest of the lead pack, Heim tried to work the high line and hold off Riggs’ unexpected charge from third. Riggs slid under Heim coming off Turn 4 and, as the two entered Turn 1 on the final lap, contact sent Heim spinning. The fracas was a welcome sight for Smith, who dashed under Riggs, held off his teammate’s lunge into the final corner and emerged with his second victory of the season.

Riggs ended up second with Tyler Ankrum third, Daniel Hemric fourth and Grant Enfinger fifth. Ty Majeski, Gio Ruggeiro, Kaden Honeycutt, Kyle Busch and Sammy Smith completed the top 10.

Heim finished 17th after the contact with Riggs sent him spinning toward the inside of the track, while the Front Row duo continued out front.

Heim’s 162 laps led marked a career high – a dominant performance despite not winning the race, nor Stages 1 or 2. Ruggeiro won Stage 1, while Enfinger claimed Stage 2.

“We fought and clawed today,” Chandler Smith said. “Just getting toward the front of the pack shows how good this Ford F-150 was today. I wasn’t as good as the 11 (Heim), but we had the tire advantage on him. That last restart, I did everything but the right thing. My teammate, Layne Riggs, executed it perfectly – but I’m happy we could bring one home for Front Row Motorsports.”

“I feel like (Heim) got loose into (Turns) 3 and 4 and gave the bottom up,” said Riggs. “We were side-by-side and I didn’t fence him. I slid up the track, but I gave him a lane. That’s North Wilkesboro for a Truck win. I feel like if the roles were reversed, it’d probably be the same thing.”

HK Powersports Opening Day
White Mountain Motorsports Park – N. Woodstock, NH
Saturday, May 17, 2025
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Fisher Auto Parts Flying Tigers – ACT Tri-State / Central Asphalt Paving 75

1. 36VT Jason Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT
2. 07VT Sam Caron Milton, VT
3. 31VT Logan Powers Middlesex, VT
4. 01VT Michael Martin Craftsbury, Common, VT
5. 19VT Eric Messier Hinesburg, VT
6. 23NY Cam Gadue Highgate, VT
7. 4NH Shane Sicard Barton, VT
8. 26VT Luke Peters Groton, VT
9. 23VT Matt Potter Marshfield, VT
10. 29VT Owen Cheney Moretown, VT
11. 56VT Chris Laforest Barre, VT
12. 15NH Brendan Moodie Wolcott, VT
13. 1VT Scott Coburn Barre, VT
14. 43VT Kyle Willis Derby Line, VT
15. 8VT Mike Billado Grand Isle, VT
16. 24NY Robin Wood Plattsburgh, NY
17. 49VT Austin Sicard Gilmanton, NH
18. 57NH #Todd Derrington Littleton, NH
19. 34VT Jim Paquette Alburgh, VT
20. 36NH Nathan Hamblett Derby Line, VT
21. 78VT Tyler Pepin Barre, VT
22. 22WC Mike Clark Littleton, NH
23. 82VT #Steven Violette Barre, VT

All other Feature Racing Rained Out – WMMP Officials will release updated schedule this week (5/19-5/23)

Photo: Brian Cleary/SRO

Kyle Washington clawed his way closer to the lead of the GT America powered by AWS championship with a convincing victory in the second race of the weekend at Sebring International Raceway.

Washington, in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, scored his third series win of the season, starting from pole and driving to a 7.591-second win over Saturday race winner Memo Gidley in the No. 56 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

Washington, who claimed his sixth consecutive podium finish, provisionally gained ten points on SRO3 class leader Justin Rothberg, who finished third on Sunday and has seen the Turner Motorsport driver’s lead reduced to just two points.

Mirco Schultis came home fourth in his No. 70 Mishumotors Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R after the German driver got around the No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ross Chouest on Lap 5.

The two Corvettes ran nose-to-tail for virtually the entire 40-minute contest.

GT4 class honors went to the No. 69 JTR Motorsports Engineering Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 of Anthony McIntosh, following an early race battle with series debutant Michael Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick, in the class pole-sitting No. 89 89x Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, led the early stages in a hard-fought race with McIntosh until he dropped a wheel in the grass and spun into a tire barriers on Lap 6.

It marked the first weekend sweep for McIntosh, who takes over the class points lead as a result.

The No. 20 FASTMD with Remstar Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Farhan Siddiqi, racing as an Invitational entry this weekend, did not start Sunday’s race after the car sustained damage in yesterday evening’s Pirelli GT4 America race.

RESULTS: Race 2

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John