Bob Pockrass
FOX NASCAR Insider
The NASCAR All-Star Race will be a 200-lap event at North Wilkesboro Speedway with only one break and only one key element: Drivers will have to make sure they don’t go so fast that their tires wear out.
Drivers will be allowed to switch to stick tires only once in the final 100 laps of the May 21 event, the first Cup event at the .625-mile track since 1996. It will be broadcast live on FS1 with the ‘Open All-Star preliminary at 5 pm ET and the main event at 8 pm ET.
Since it was NASCAR’s “field of dreams” time, NASCAR chose not to have too many segments or investments as it has in previous all-star races. The winner’s purse will remain at $1 million.
A pit contest will determine the lineups for the 60-lap heat races on May 20, which will set the starting order for the main event. For drivers who do not automatically qualify for the main event, there are two spots open to the top two finishers in the 100-lap Open race, and then a final spot among the remainder will be determined by fan vote.
NASCAR did not change its eligibility requirements to get seven-time Cup champion and current part-time driver Jimmie Johnson in the main event — all are 2022-23 winners and All-Star winners and Cup champions who compete full-time.
That puts these drivers in the main event: Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones. , Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the last 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrassand register at FOX Sports NASCAR Newscast with Bob Pockrass.
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