NASCAR Preview: All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Race Weekend

DIVEBOMB Motorsport
9 hours ago
5 min read

Written by Gabriel Tsui & Krystal Diane

In the sole exhibition event of the season, the Cup Series travels to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway for the All-Star race. The Truck Series also travels alongside, but their event will be for points.

Located in North Carolina, North Wilkesboro Speedway was initially built in 1947 and hosted two races per season from 1951 up until 1996, when NASCAR’s market expansion project left the track abandoned.

In late 2022, however, Speedway Motorsports re-opened the track with improved facilities, and racing returned to the legendary track. As of 2025, the track hosts the Cup Series All-Star weekend, a Truck Series race weekend, SMART Modified Tour and CARS Tour racing.

Below are the start times for each event plus lap count:

Trucks: Saturday, 17 May, 13:30 local (18:30 UK) – 250 laps
Cup (Open Qualifiers): 18 May, 17:30 local (22:30 UK) – 100 laps
Cup (All-Star Race): 18 May, 20:00 local (01:00 UK) – 200 laps

Below are the defending winners of each race:

Trucks: No. 11 - Corey Heim (TRICON Garage)
Cup (Open Qualifiers): No. 54 - Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Cup (All-Star Race): No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske)

Cup Series: All-Star Race Preview

Written by Gabriel Tsui

Following a dominant performance by Kyle Larson in Kansas, the NASCAR field returns to North Carolina for the All-Star weekend in North Wilkesboro. With a million big bucks on the line, who will find themselves with some extra money and a bit of an ego boost at the end of the weekend?

Track Preview

The track has 0.625 miles (1.01 kilometres) of asphalt, with 14 degrees of banking on the turns. The drivers will be rolling around for 100 laps in the qualifier race, with the top two finishers and the voted fan favourite advancing to the main race, a 250 lap shootout for the one million USD prize.

Weather report indicates the weekend will be mostly cloudy, with temperatures hovering around 28 degrees Celsius (83 degrees Fahrenheit). The race will commence on the Sunday of May 18th, with the open race (qualifier) starting at 17:30 Eastern (14:30 Pacific, 00:30 British) and the main race beginning at 20:00 Eastern (17:00 Pacific, 03:00 British).

Race Predictions

Last year, Ty Gibbs came around to win the All-star open, while Joey Logano dominated the main race, leading 199 laps of the 200 laps to take home a million dollars. With an additional 50 laps to this year’s race, the outcome could be entirely different.

Since North Wilkesboro is a relatively wide track with less traffic (less than 25 drivers will qualify to the main race), we often see more side by side, back and forth racing. With the race also being a point-less exhibition race, drivers are more inclined to race aggressively, as shown in last year’s All-star race. Ricky Stenhouse Jr was wrecked out of the race by Busch, and the two engaged in a friendly exchange of insults and knuckles post-race.

That being said, the pick for the race is Toyota’s Denny Hamlin, who is a master around the short track, took second place in last year’s All-star race. This year, he has won races in Martinsville and Darlington, while finishing second in Bristol. The prediction is that he will take top-five in qualifying, moving up to the lead in the initial stages of the race, dominate the rest of the race, and take home a much needed million dollars.

Three things to look out for

Will Gragson win a third straight fan-favourite vote?

Since the 2004 season, NASCAR allows for a voted driver to compete in the main All-star race. NASCAR fans have voted for Noah Gragson in 2023 and 2024, and the recent result is pretty optimistic for the 26-year-old. The current top-five in no particular order is Shane Van Gisbergen, Noah Gragson, Carson Hocevar, Ryan Preece, and Bubba Wallace.

Gragson has an opportunity to be elected as a fan favourite representative for the third time in a row; the results of the vote will be revealed after the open race and prior to the main race.

Can Ty Gibbs repeat All-star open success?

In last year’s open race, Ty Gibbs shut out his competition in the open race, leading the entire open race to secure a ticket to the main race. After failing to find a win leading up to the All-star weekend, Gibbs finds himself in a situation where he needs to drive himself into the All-star race. We will see if he can repeat his dominance, or would a challenger out pace the 22-year-old for the ticket to the main race?

Can Harrison Burton surprise in return to the Cup?

After losing his seat at Woods Brothers Racing, it was not expected for Harrison Burton to drive in the Cup Series in the near future. However, Burton and Rick Ware Racing partnered up in the No.51 for a one-off appearance in the All-star race. Burton is currently tenth place in the Xfinity championship standings, with multiple top-ten finishes. We will see if Burton can carry his success in Xfinity to this weekend.

Truck Series: Window World 250 Preview

Written by Krystal Diane

Corey Heim dominated last year’s edition and is back with TRICON Garage looking to go two-for-two. But the field in 2025 is deeper and meaner. Several drivers are coming into this race with something to prove. This isn’t just a points race, but it’s pride, it’s momentum, and it’s bragging rights. And when that’s all that’s on the line, nobody’s giving an inch.

Race Predictions

This weekend’s pick to win is Rajah Caruth. He’s been right there all year, flirting with a win, and looked stupid fast at Texas a few weeks ago. WIlkesboro isn’t similar in layout, but it’s still a rhythm track, and Caruth has that cool, clean aggression that works when everyone else is panicking on old tires.

Two storylines to look out for

Young and chasing more

Jake Garcia. He’s been quietly stacking experience the past two seasons and could be due for a breakout.Garcia’s style fits the rhythm of Wilkesboro: smooth inputs, smart tire management, and the ability to survive a late restart brawl. If he sneaks into the top 5, don’t say you weren’t warned.

Is it Ben Rhodes’ time?

This season hasn’t exactly been a highlight reel for Ben Rhodes. Aside from two top-fives in Martinsville and Bristol, the rest of his runs see him hovering in the low-twenties. But Wilkesboro has that chaos energy, the kind of track where you can bulldoze your way back into the conversation. If Rhodes shows up ready to fight and isn’t afraid to use the bumper, this could be his opportunity to make his first big impression of 2025.