What’s Happening?

With the truck race at North Wilkesboro officially in the books, it was time for the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series to set the field for tomorrow night’s All-Star Race. The front row was set yesterday during Cup qualifying/the pit crew challenge. Brad Keselowski scored the Pole after an abysmal season while 3-time winner on the year, Christopher Bell, clocked in P. 2. With this pole, Keselowski led the field in Heat 1 to the green flag while Bell started on point in Heat 2.

Similar to the Duels at Daytona prior to the 500, Heat 1 was set to determine the inside starters for tomorrow’s All-Star Race. Meanwhile, Heat 2 was to set the outside rows. Each Heat was a 75-lap shootout. So with all of that in mind, let’s break everything down. Here’s what we learned in today’s All-Star Heat races.

Fast Notes:

• The fastest two drivers in yesterday’s qualifying session secured their starting spots in tomorrow night’s All-Star race. So regardless of the results of the two heat races today, Brad Keselowski in the number 6 RFK Ford and Christopher Bell in the JGR 20 will lead the field to the green tomorrow night.
• Not participating in this race was the number 5 Hendrick Motorsports crew. After qualifying the car yesterday, Justin Allgaier headed home. Meanwhile, Larson missed the race due to his qualifying effort in Indianapolis. He will, however, be at the track tomorrow for the start of the All-Star Race. He will be starting in the back of the pack.
• Due to unapproved adjustments, Chase Elliott had to start the second heat from the rear. He rode there for the first half of the race before using pit strategy to leapfrog up to 3rd. He will start tomorrow’s All-Star Race from the 6th position.

Heat 1

Bad Brad Shines

2025 has been a tough pill to swallow for driver-owner Brad Keselowski. To date, he still has zero wins, zero top 5s, and zero top 10 finishes. His best finish this year was 11th at Las Vegas and he currently sits 33rd in points. On the points side of things, he’s pretty much in must-win territory if he wants to make the postseason. However, on Friday during time trials, Bad Brad and his number 6 crew really rose to the occasion. They locked up the pole position for tomorrow night’s All-Star race as well as for today’s Heat number 1. Then, today, the green flag dropped and Bad Brad never really looked back. He rocketed out front and looked like the Brad of old–the 2012 Cup Champion.

After pit stops, the 6 crew chose to stay out along with a handful of other drivers and it became very interesting to see if Keselowski could keep his number 6 Ford at the point. Despite a hard-charging challenge from William Byron and Tyler Reddick, Bad Brad was able to fend them off to win Heat 1. He led every lap and made a real statement this afternoon. It’s not a huge accomplishment but considering how bad this team has struggled this year, it had to do something to lift team morale.

Tires Matter But Only in the Short Term

During the competition caution, most of the field came down pit road to change tires. This had all of us sitting on the edge of our seats as three drivers stayed out. Those drivers who did not pit were leader Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, and Josh Berry. While Berry and Reddick faded as the run went on, Keselowski was able to fend off Byron and maintain the lead on older, warmer tires. This proved to us that the tires can hold up. However, older tires are slower to fire off than stickers. It also proved that, like most short track racing in the NextGen era, track position is king.

Heat 2

Track Position is Everything

Early in the second heat, we saw a disappointing trend emerge. Since 2022, the story of the NextGen car has been how great it has made intermediate races but it came at a price. With this car, dirty air and aerodynamics matter more than ever, particularly on short, flat ovals. Typically, at tracks like Wilkesboro, it is extremely hard to pass and we saw that once again here today. From the drop of the green flag, Christopher Bell rocketed out front and nobody ever really had anything for him. More or less, where a driver started was where they finished. The only exception to that being Denny Hamlin who, in that first stint, experienced some sort of issue and dropped from 3rd down to 10th.

After the competition caution, every driver except Chase Briscoe came down pit road. However, Briscoe was slow to restart and Bell got the jump on him. Like in the first heat, fresher tires were valuable on the short run but as the run went on, everything evened out. In the end, Bell’s track position could not be defeated. Like Keselowski, Bell won the second heat from the pole.

Wrap-Up

With the conclusion of the Heat Races, the starting lineup for tomorrow night’s All-Star Race is officially set. What do you think of this format, race fans? Do you like the heat race format or would you prefer a more familiar form of qualifying? What do you think about Wilkesboro hosting the All-Star Race? Do you like it? Would you like to see it move to a different venue? If so, where would you like to see them go next? Let us know your thoughts! And be sure to tune in back here tomorrow for our coverage of the Open and All-Star Races!