The Cup Series heats up tonight as drivers will battle it out on the track at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race. No points on the line, just good ol’ short track beating and banging with a mouth watering $1,000,000 on the line for the winner. Sunday night short track racing under the lights with the best of the best taking part is one of the best feelings this sport has to offer.
North Wilkesboro Speedway is an absolute gem of a track. A 0.625 paved oval in the heart of North Carolina, North Wilkesboro was first opened in 1947 and hosted NASCAR annually from 1949 to 1996 before closing down for over 20 years and eventually reopening for good in August 2022. North Wilkesboro has 13 degrees of banking in the turns and 3 degrees of banking on the straightaways. It has also subtly frustrated many drivers throughout the years, as the front stretch slopes downhill while the backstretch slopes uphill, not to mention the difficulty drivers face trying to make passes on a short track in general. The major change that the track underwent since last year’s All-Star race was a repave, which has led to newfound grip all around the track. Passing still comes at a premium, but this repave has certainly helped the cause.
To find success at North Wilkesboro, you need to get that track position. Track position is king on short tracks, so if you can get yourself into the top 5, you’re going to stand a great chance of holding your ground due to the difficulty in passing. Even more important is staying patient. To set up a pass, sometimes it may take 5-10 laps to fully complete it. In a race that is only 200 laps, those laps will tick off quickly, which will only heighten the pressure drivers feel to move forward on track. Tempers will flare and a post-race fight almost feels like a lock with so much money and bragging rights on the line. Lastly, just manage your equipment. You’re going to be beating and banging off of other cars. Things can get tight when you’re racing side-by-side into the corner. 200 laps can feel extremely long if you damage your car early and your handling heads south on you. Just make smart moves and give yourself a chance to have a chance at the end of the race.
Each year, the format for the All-Star Race seemingly changes. Here’s the format for this year:
All-Star Open Format: 100 laps, all laps count and there will be one attempt at overtime, if needed. Teams can use any of the three tire types available for the start of the race and must make a 4 tire pit stop at the caution on lap 50.
All-Star Race Format: 200 laps, all laps count, standard overtime rules in place. Teams have 4 sets of tires, 2 regular sets and 2 softer sets. Everyone must start the race on the soft tire and have a 4 tire pit stop on the lap 100 caution. Drivers will have the option to pit as well on the lap 150 caution, but are not required to do so.
Drivers will also have 3 types of tires at their disposal for the race: the regular “prime” tire, a softer “option” tire that uses the rubber used on the rain tires and the rain “wet weather” tire. As mentioned above, drivers must start the All-Star Race on the soft tire and can decide which tire to use from there on the lap 100 caution.
The All-Star Race was first held in 1985 and has been contested at 5 different tracks: Charlotte Motor Speedway (1985, 1987-2019), Atlanta Motor Speedway (1986), Bristol Motor Speedway (2020), Texas Motor Speedway (2021-2022) and North Wilkesboro Speedway (2023 to present). With the best of the best of the sport racing in this event, a true list of All-Stars (I think I’m funny…) have emerged as winners, including Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Terry Labonte, Rusty Wallace, Davey Allison, Geoff Bodine, Jeff Gordon, Michael Waltrip, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, just to name a few. Jimmie Johnson has won the All-Star Race the most, finding Victory Lane 4 times in his career. Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larson have each won this event 3 times, while Davey Allison, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick have two victories each in this race.
Last year’s edition was won by Kyle Larson, who put on an absolute smoke show, by coming from 16th place and leading 145 of the 200 laps to win the All-Star Race for the third time in the last 5 years. 23XI Racing teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick finished second and third, Chase Briscoe finished fourth and Chase Elliott rounded out the top 5. Polesitter Daniel Suarez finished in 7th place after leading the first 55 laps.
Coverage of the All-Star Open can be seen on Fox Sports 1, with green flag coverage beginning at 5 PM EST. Coverage of the All-Star Race can also be seen on Fox Sports 1, with NASCAR RaceDay beginning at 7 PM EST and green flag coverage beginning at 8 PM EST.
Which Drivers Will Advance From The All-Star Open:
The polesitter? Such an inspired choice. Hear me out. Ty Gibbs showed a lot of speed during Practice, ranking inside the top 10 on 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 lap averages, which shows that he has a car that will take off well and hold on steady as the run goes on. Second, track position is king. In the limited number of races contested in both the Cup Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, we all have seen firsthand that passing is difficult, unless you’re Kyle Larson, of course. In last year’s All-Star Open, the two drivers who started on the front row were the two drivers to advance to the All-Star Race, which shows that having track position is vital, especially with just 100 laps being run in the Open. Lastly, remember how we just said that the two drivers who moved on last year started on the front row? Well, Ty Gibbs was one of them. Where is Ty Gibbs starting the All-Star Open this year? From the front row. I predict that history will repeat itself and Ty Gibbs will race his way into the All-Star Race for the second straight year.
Noah Gragson is in the midst of a career resurgence after a dismal rookie campaign last year with Legacy Motor Club, earning 1 top 5 and 5 top 10’s this season behind the wheel of the #10 car for Stewart-Haas Racing. Gragson actually qualified for the All-Star Race last year after winning the Fan Vote, so he does have some experience racing at North Wilkesboro. Gragson finished 7th in the All-Star Open before ultimately finishing 23rd in the All-Star Race. There is definitely much more optimism for this year though. Gragson showed solid pace during Practice, ranking inside the top 10 on 15, 20 and 25 lap averages. Gragson has also found success on tracks that are 1 mile in length or less this season, finishing 6th at Dover and 12th at Richmond, showing he is able to put together solid runs on this style of track. Gragson will start the All-Star Open in 5th place and I predict that he will methodically work his way towards the front and punch his ticket to the All-Star Race.
Which Driver Will Win The Fan Vote:
In the midst of his rookie campaign, Carson Hocevar has certainly outperformed expectations to date, earning 1 top 10 and 6 top 20’s, good enough to sit 25th in the Point Standings while driving the #77 for Spire Motorsports. Hocevar hasn’t really had much short track speed this season, so driving his way into the All-Star Race really isn’t a realistic option. Hocevar has ultimately taken a more “creative” approach. In addition to pushing online for fans to cast their vote for him, he has enlisted other drivers to campaign on his behalf. Hocevar had Cameo videos made by Austin Dillon, Kaz Grala and Anthony Alfredo “endorsing him” and encouraging theirs to vote for him. Why would other drivers be encouraging fans to vote for Hocevar and not for themselves? Well, in the description, someone named “Carson” was asking for them to make a video endorsing him for an election in school. The language used could easily be interpreted as an endorsement to vote for Carson Hocevar in the All-Star Race as well. For Hocevar, mission accomplished. He continues to raise awareness for both himself and Spire Motorsports and I predict that his efforts will be enough to win the Fan Vote for the All-Star Race,
2024 has not been a particularly good one for Wrecky Spinhouse, I mean, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., with just 2 top 10’s (both on drafting tracks) and 3 top 20 finishes in 13 starts. Qualified in part thanks to his victory in the DAYTONA 500 last season, Stenhouse is not much of a short track ringer this season, with his best finish on that style of track being a crispy 29th place finish at Martinsville. Stenhouse actually did have solid speed in Practice, ranking inside the top 15 in 5, 10, 15 and 20 lap averages, but thanks to a poor qualifying session, will roll off from 16th position tonight. Stenhouse finished dead last in the All-Star Race last year after starting from 19th. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be a non-factor once again and finish outside the top 15.
Dark Horse:
Although he is still looking for that first career win in the Cup Series, Ty Gibbs is not experiencing that sophomore slump. Quite the opposite, actually. Gibbs has 4 top 5’s and 7 top 10’s this season and is fresh off of a career best second place finish at Darlington. That #54 car is oozing speed and Gibbs certainly has a fast hot rod this weekend, ranking inside the top 10 on 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 lap averages. Gibbs’ best finish at a short track this season has been a 9th place finish at Bristol, but he has some past success at North Wilkesboro, as he started from the Pole, led 53 laps and claimed one of the two transfer spots in the All-Star Open last year before ultimately finishing 9th in the All-Star Race after starting from the 23rd position. I already predicted that Gibbs would punch his ticket to the All-Star Race by claiming one of the two transfer spots in the All-Star Open, but I’ll go a step further by predicting that Gibbs will bring home another top 10 finish in the All-Star Race.
Top 10:
After a dismal 2023 campaign, Chase Elliott has found his old form and rebounded in a big way in 2024 by finding Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway. With 1 win, 5 top 5’s, 6 top 10’s and 0 finishes outside the top 20, Elliott has put together what is arguably his most consistent season to date. Elliott has shown solid speed on short tracks this season, finishing 3rd at Martinsville, 5th at Dover, 5th at Richmond and 8th at Bristol and is geared up for more success this weekend at North Wilkesboro. Elliott had solid speed in Practice, ranking inside the top 5 on 5, 10 and 15 lap averages and inside the top 10 on 20 and 25 lap averages. Elliott started this race from 13th last season and drove his way to a final finishing position of 5th. He’ll be looking to follow the same story arc this evening, as he will roll off from the 15th position tonight. Passing will be difficult, so being a legitimate threat for the win may take a bold strategy on pit road, but with his speed, another top 10 finish in the All-Star Race is a lock.
Winner:
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. “I beat your favorite driver.” Oh yeah, you love to hate on him, but Denny Hamlin is having a career year right now and it is all thanks to his short track success. Hamlin has 3 wins, 5 top 5’s and 6 top 10’s, including 3 straight top 5 finishes and is seemingly firing on all cylinders right now. His 3 victories came at: Bristol, Richmond and Dover, all shorter tracks of 1 mile or less in length. Hamlin is showing why he is so good on this style of track already this weekend, ranking 6th on 5 lap averages, ranking 2nd on 10, 15, and 20 lap averages and pacing the field on 25 and 30 lap averages. Hamlin finished 13th here last year after qualifying in 9th and once again, Hamlin had a poor qualifying session yesterday, as he will roll off from 11th position at a track where track position is king. Despite that little hiccup, Hamlin has great speed in his car and will undoubtedly work his way forward. The best drivers always show up for the biggest races and with his recent short track dominance, there is no doubt in my mind that Denny Hamlin will take home the victory at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the All-Star Race, as well as an incredible $1,000,000 payday!
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