After an action-packed weekend of racing between the NASCAR Modifieds, the CARS Tour, the Truck Series, and the Open, the time has finally come. On this Sunday night under the lights of the North Wilkesboro Speedway, it was, at long last, time for the best of the best to take to the track for an all-star showdown. Heading into this race, fans expected on beating and banging, hard-nosed short track racing and that was exactly what they got!
We knew going into tonight’s race that track position was king. With the current short track package, it is terribly hard to pass, meaning that strategy matters more and more in these races. What team was able to put it all together? And which came heartbreakingly short to winning it all? Let’s break it down. Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from tonight’s All-Star race at North Wilkesboro.
ALL-STAR ENGINES ARE FIRED. Who claims the $1M check tonight at North Wilkesboro?!? #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/7uUu5bJ8iz
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 19, 2025
Following the promoter’s optional caution, the field lined up to restart for a 29 lap shootout to the finish. Staying out were the Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. To this point, Logano had dominated the evening with Christopher Bell chasing him. The chase for the win was on after the restart–Logano on old tires, Bell on two fresh right sides. As Bell was trying to get around Logano, the 22 was backing them all up, allowing for Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain to come into the mix.
Despite his best efforts, Joey Logano couldn’t hold off Christopher Bell. With nine laps to go, Bell put the bumper to the number 22 to capture the lead for the first time tonight. As Logano faded, Bell started to drive away to win his first All-Star Race victory. With this victory, Christopher Bell and his number 20 team won a one million dollar check.
When Trackhouse first launched in 2021, nobody really knew where their ceiling was. That first year, they performed decently enough for a new team and things appeared to be moving in a good direction. Heading into the 2022 NASCAR season, they acquired the assets of Chip Ganassi Racing and Ross Chastain joined the fold. In ’22, it appeared as though the team was on their way to becoming a NASCAR Powerhouse. In their sophomore season, both of their teams visited victory lane with Chastain winning 2 races and Suarez scoring his first career victory at Sonoma in the summer.
Since then, it’s like they have, at best, plateaued and, at worst, declined in performance. In 2023, the Project 91 entry went to victory lane at Chicago and Chastain nabbed a couple of wins but exited the Playoffs in the Round of 12. At the same time, Suarez went winless. 2024 was yet another step down. Yes, Suarez won in thrilling fashion at Atlanta in the spring to make the Playoffs. But Chastain missed the postseason entirely, finishing 19th in points.
Now it’s 2025 and performance seems to have taken another step back. Shane van Gisbergen joined the team, driving the number 88 WeatherTech Chevy but he currently is outside the top 30 in points. Suarez’s best finish has been 2nd at Vegas but since then, he hasn’t remotely sniffed victory lane. And Chastain has been consistently mediocre all season long.
Things didn’t get any better this weekend as all three Trackhouse cars had issues. To start, Shane van Gisbergen started on the pole during the All-Star Open race earlier today. He led more than 50 laps but lost the lead on pit road. From there, he sank through the field like a stone. For the first half of the Open, he was in prime position to advance into tonight’s main event. However, they couldn’t get out of their own way. SVG missed the 2025 All-Star race, which is a blemish on his Trackhouse report card.
The first caution of the race flew as Daniel Suarez had a tire go down and plowed into the outside SAFER barrier. Fortunately, he didn’t receive too much damage. In a way, this has been Trackhouse’s season in a nutshell. They’ve been off in terms of speed compared to past years and, more often than not, they’re victims of circumstance. Lady luck hasn’t been on Suarez’s side all year long. And, when you take into account that he’s in a contract year and Connor Zilisch, a Trackhouse prospect, is waiting in the wings, many fans have started to speculate that Suarez could be the odd man out come season’s end. Showings like tonight aren’t helping his case any, either.
The best of the three this year has been Ross Chastain. But even he’s been down compared to his last few seasons. Long gone are the days of the Hail Melon. Chastain has been running quietly mediocre all year long. He’s even expressed frustration with ECR engines compared to Hendrick engines. His season didn’t get any better tonight. Though he was running inside the top 10, it just takes one unfortunate turn of events to make it all unravel. That turn came from Austin Cindric, who, not lifting, tagged Chastain in the corner. The number 1 Busch Beer Chevy went around, and just like that, he found himself in the back of the pack. With track position so important with this package, it was this incident that ultimately did him in.
Three drivers were able to transfer into the 2025 All-Star Race in the Open. The remaining fifteen drivers had to head home. The three drivers to transfer this year were Carson Hocevar and John Hunter Nemechek, the Open winner and runner-up, and Noah Gragson, the fan vote winner (for the third year straight). Overall, it was a fairly quiet night for our transfer drivers. The best finisher among them was Carson Hocevar, who brought his number 77 Spire Chevy home in the 11th position. Noah Gragson wasn’t too far behind him. Both of these drivers were sniffing the top 10 all night long. Gragson ultimately finished 13th.
The worst of the three was John Hunter Nemechek. Nemechek started the race in 22nd. He ran in the back of the pack all race, passing a car or two but no more. He finished in 19th.
After how fast the number 6 car of Brad Keselowski was last week at Kansas and how quick he was in qualifying, there was a lot of hope and anticipation in the RFK pits tonight. Starting from the pole, Keselowski rocketed out front and was starting to look like his old self. He led the first several laps before losing the lead on the restart. With older tires, he struggled to stay up front and started to fall back to the bottom half of the top 10.
Holding strong, he was starting to put a decent run together, just like last week. However, it all came undone on Lap 176. Racing hard in Turn 3, the number 6 car got loose and snapped straight for the outside wall. The impact was hard and it broke the, right toe link and the right front shock. The wreck ultimately ended Keselowski’s day, and he was forced to retire from the race. He was credited with a 22nd-place finish. That had to be a heartbreaking blow considering how much they’ve struggled this year and how fast they’ve been the last two weeks.
That’s it for All-Star weekend, race fans! What do you think about this race? Would you like to see a points race at North Wilkesboro? If so, where should the All-Star race be moved to? Would you like to see it go back to Charlotte? Let us know what you think! And be sure to come back here to DailyDownforce.com all week long as we prepare for the greatest weekend in motorsports–Memorial Day Weekend!
