The NASCAR Cup Series takes a week off from points racing for the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
This is the third year the event has been held at the historic track, which hosted Cup races from 1949-96. The Cup Series returned in 2023 for this exhibition race. Kyle Larson won the 2023 All-Star Race and Joey Logano won the race last year.
Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams heading to North Wilkesboro.
23XI Racing — Good news: Bubba Wallace’s average finish of 7.25 in four All-Star Race appearances ranks third among active drivers behind only Joey Logano (average finish of 6.07) and Kyle Larson (7.0). … Wallace is among is among the top five for the All-Star fan vote. Bad news: Wallace finished 33rd in each of the past two points races, dropping him from seventh to 10th in the standings. … Tyler Reddick failed to score a top 10 in the last four races. … Reddick has one top 10 in his last six Cup points races. … Riley Herbst failed to score a top-20 finish in six of the seven races leading into this weekend.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Noah Gragson has been voted into the All-Star Race by the fans in each of the last two years and is among the top five vote-getters heading into this weekend. … Todd Gilliland has finished 16th or better in five of the last six races entering the All-Star Race. … Zane Smith has six top-20 finishes in the last seven Cup races. Bad news: Gragson is 31st in the points at the All-Star break.
Haas Factory Team — Good news: Cole Custer has two top-20 finishes in the last three races. Bad News: Those are his only top-20 finishes this year.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Kyle Larson heads into the All-Star break as the points leader. … He also has scored the most playoff points this season, scored the most stage wins, led the most laps and is tied for most wins. … Oh yeah, Larson has more All-Star wins (three) than any other active driver and is one win away from tying Jimmie Johnson for most All-Star Race wins all-time. … Hendrick Motorsports has won a record 11 All-Star Races. … Chase Elliott enters the All-Star Race fourth in the points for the second year in a row. Bad news: William Byron lost the points lead due to a 24th-place finish last weekend at Kansas. … Byron has finished 19th or worse in each of the two All-Star Races at North Wilkesboro. … Alex Bowman has three finishes of 35th or worse in the last five races (the other results were top 10s).
Several challenges, including a new NASCAR rule, make the feat of running in those signature races in the same day much more difficult.
Hyak Motorsports — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. provided the highlight of last year’s All-Star Race with his confrontation with Kyle Busch after the event. Bad news: Stenhouse has finished last in each of the two All-Star Races at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Christopher Bell has finished first or second in five of the 12 points races this season, winning three times and finishing second twice. … Denny Hamlin has finished second in two of the last three All-Star Races. … Chase Briscoe has finished a season-best fourth four different times this year. … Ty Gibbs won last year’s NASCAR Open to earn a spot in the All-Star Race. He’s in the NASCAR Open this year. Bad news: JGR last won the All-Star Race in 2017 with Kyle Busch. … Ty Gibbs has finished 17th or worse in the last three points races.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: Twice AJ Allmendinger has won what is now called the NASCAR Open to advance to the All-Star Race. Bad news: Allmendinger has finished 36th and 38th in the past two races, dropping him from 15th to 25th in the season standings. … Ty Dillon has finished outside the top 20 in three of the last four points races.
From new events on the schedule in recent years to examining how to enhance the racing at some tracks and what changes, if any to make to how the champion is crowned keeps NASCAR looking ahead.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: John Hunter Nemechek has scored back-to-back top 10s, the second time he’s done that this year. Bad news: Legacy failed to have a car in last year’s All-Star Race after both Erik Jones and Nemechek failed to advance out of the NASCAR Open.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch holds the record for most laps led in the All-Star Race at 324. Bad news: Kyle Busch has failed to finish better than ninth in the last four All-Star Races. … Austin Dillon has not finished better than 17th in his last two All-Star Race starts.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Harrison Burton, who is eligible for the All-Star Race with his win last year at Daytona, will drive the No. 51 in the event. … This will mark the first time Rick Ware Racing has had a car in the All-Star Race. … Cody Ware will move over to the No. 15 and compete in the All-Star Open. … Ware goes back to the No. 51 after this weekend. The change is just for the All-Star Race since Burton, who races full-time in the Xfinity Series, didn’t have a ride in the exhibition race. Bad news: Ware ranks last among the 36 full-time drivers in points after 12 races.
RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski has finished second in the All-Star Race three times, tied with Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader for the most runner-up results without a victory in the event. … Chris Buescher finished third in last year’s All-Stat Race. … Ryan Preece is among the top five for the All-Star fan vote. Bad news: Buescher has finished outside the top 10 in four of the last six points races.
With six of the 14 races left in the regular season on either road courses or drafting tracks, the standings could change dramatically by late August.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Carson Hocevar is among the top five for the All-Star fan vote. Bad news: All three Spire drivers (Michael McDowell, Justin Haley and Hocevar) are in the NASCAR Open this weekend.
Team Penske — Good news: Joey Logano is the defending All-Star winner after he led 199 of 200 laps in last year’s event. … Logano has finished in the top 10 in the last 10 All-Star Races, a series record. … Ryan Blaney has finished no worse than sixth in each of the last five All-Star Races, including a win in 2022. Bad news: Austin Cindric, who is in the All-Star Race this year, finished last in the NASCAR Open a year ago after being in an incident during the event.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Daniel Suarez’s average finish in five All-Star Race appearances is 8.80, which ranks sixth among active drivers. … Shane van Gisbergen is among the top five for the All-Star fan vote. Bad news: Ross Chastain has not qualified better than 25th in the last five Cup races entering the All-Star break.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: His Las Vegas win earned him a spot in the All-Star Race. … Berry comes into the weekend after a sixth-place finish at Kansas last weekend. Bad news: That Kansas finish was his first top 10 since his Las Vegas win in March.
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