Category: NASCAR Cup PR

• The 2024 NASCAR All-Star Open will mark Spire Motorsports’ fifth attempt to qualify for the NASCAR All-Star Race. Justin Haley earned a bid in the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race, and finished 14th, by virtue of his win in the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Corey LaJoie posted the team’s best finish in the NASCAR All-Star Open when he raced to a fourth-place finish in the 2022 edition at Texas Motor Speedway. Last year, in the division’s celebrated return to North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, former teammate Ty Dillon and LaJoie finished eighth and ninth, respectively. The Mooresville, N.C., team fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NCS with LaJoie, and fellow drivers Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
• Live Coverage of NASCAR’s annual All-Star Race festivities will be televised live on FS1 Sunday, May 19, beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Both the NASCAR All-Star Open and the NASCAR All-Star Race will broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Corey LaJoie – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Corey LaJoie heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway behind the wheel of the No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
• Lajoie started 24th and finished 16th last weekend at Darlington Raceway.
• In his lone NCS starts at North Wilkesboro Speedway, LaJoie started third and finished ninth in last year’s NASCAR All-Star Open.
• Gainbridge Insurance Agency, LLC (“Gainbridge”), a Group 1001 company, is an insurtech which strives to offer products that are simple, intuitive, and backed by smart technology with no complexity or hidden fees. Gainbridge empowers consumers to take control of their financial future with solutions that are accessible to everyone no matter their budget or financial knowledge. Gainbridge’s digital-first distribution model underpins its mission to reach all communities, including those that have been historically underserved by the national financial system.
• Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Open will mark LaJoie’s seventh attempt to race his way into the All-Star Race. His best finish came in 2022 when the event was held at Texas Motor Speedway where he finished fourth.

Corey LaJoie Quotes
There are no points on the line this weekend and you’re looking to race for a big pay at one of NASCAR’s most storied race tracks. What’s your plan to get into the All-Star Race?
“North Wilkesboro is going to be fun. I haven’t made a big push for the fan vote this year because I want to drive my way in there through the All-Star Open and earn our spot. The new asphalt will change how it races and how we approach our set up. No points on the table this weekend, so it’ll be elbows up with our Gainbridge Chevrolet.”

Zane Smith – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• No. 71 Focused Health Chevrolet driver Zane Smith hopes to race for $1 million Sunday night in the 40th-annual NASCAR All-Star Race held for the second consecutive year at the 0.625-mile North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• Before the Spire Motorsports’ driver joins the 17-driver All-Star field, Smith must finish first or second in the 100-lap Open race Sunday that precedes the All-Star Race.
• The All-Star Open will have a caution at lap 50, at which teams must perform a four-tire pit stop. Drivers and teams will choose from three types of Goodyear tires on hand — a baseline “prime” tire, a softer “option” tire, and wet-weather tires should conditions warrant.
• At the end, three Open drivers will advance to the All-Star Race – the top two race finishers and the Fan Vote Winner.
• While the rookie driver has never appeared in an All-Star event, he raced at North Wilkesboro last year in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series logging track time he hopes to use this weekend.
• Cast your Zane Smith All-Star vote at www.nascar.com/fanvote. Vote up to five times per day! Voting ends Sunday, May 20.
• Smith will carry the No. 71 primary sponsor, Focused Health, for at least 62.5 miles this Sunday at North Wilkesboro. The blue and orange paint scheme represents a health insurance agency that assists consumers and employers in navigating the myriad of health insurance options in the government programs space.
• Focused Health is a National Health Insurance agency founded by industry veterans with over 60 years combined industry experience. Primarily focused on the government programs space, Focused Health partners with payors and employers to deliver health insurance solutions for individuals and families. For more information visit AtFocusedHealth.com.

Zane Smith Quotes
What do you think about being able to run any tire at North Wilkesboro this weekend and how that combination might work, plus having to race your way in?
“I think it’s awesome! I mean obviously the elephant in the room is that the short tracks have been a struggle and I think anything is great to try to learn and make it better and I think this is the perfect opportunity to do that. There has been some conversation with the softer tire being made from the rain tire rubber and I’ve heard how much faster it is and obviously, the fall off. What we want is tire fall off. So, I’m excited to see how that is but just having options is going to be great. It’s going to be an exciting weekend!”

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No.77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Carson Hocevar will make his NCS debut at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the No. 77 Gainbridge Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Open. Hocevar has yet to win a race on NASCAR’s senior circuit and will have to either race his way into Sunday night’s 200-lap feature by either finishing first or second in the All-Star Open or by winning the All-Star fan vote.
• Hocevar started 21st and finished 26th in last Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
• In his lone NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at North Wilkesboro, Hocevar started second, led 16 laps, and finished fourth in last May’s Tyson 250.
• Gainbridge Insurance Agency, LLC (“Gainbridge”), a Group 1001 company, is an insurtech which strives to offer products that are simple, intuitive, and backed by smart technology with no complexity or hidden fees. Gainbridge empowers consumers to take control of their financial future with solutions that are accessible to everyone no matter their budget or financial knowledge. Gainbridge’s digital-first distribution model underpins its mission to reach all communities, including those that have been historically underserved by the national financial system.
• Hocevar’s All-Star Race scheme will feature the NASCAR Day Giveathon Logo as well as the names of the 350 charities that will benefit from participating in the NASCAR Day Giveathon.
• The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender is currently 25th in the division’s championship points. Over the course of the season’s first 13 races, Hocevar has notched one top-10 and three top-15 finishes.
• Hocevar will serve as a driver during Sunday morning’s All-Star Weekend Hot Laps program. All proceeds help Speedway Children’s Charities provide support for critical programs for children facing medical challenges, educational hurdles, and critical needs.
• Race fans can join Hocevar for a 15-minute Trackside Live Q&A with Kenny Wallace and John Roberts at the Fan Zone stage in the speedway’s midway, Sunday at 12:15 p.m.
• Fans can also meet Hocevar at the NASCAR Classics merchandise trailer for an autograph on Sunday at 12:45 p.m.
• Following his visit to the NASCAR Classics merchandise trailer, Hocevar will stop at the Chevrolet activation for a Q&A at 1:30 p.m.
• Crew Chief Luke Lambert is no rookie to the All-Star races, calling Jeff Burton’s third-place finish in the 2013 Sprint Showdown as well as Noah Gragson’s All-Star berth in 2023.

Carson Hocevar Quotes
What do you think the keys are this weekend with all the different tire options and the unknowns with the repave?
“Qualifying is the biggest thing, being able to be out front early will be huge. Everybody is going to get super close once everyone figures it out, so its’ just the guys who unload really good, really early, will have the edge.”
Would it mean more if you raced your way in this weekend or won the Fan Vote?
“Probably more so to race my way in but if you get in with the fan vote, it shows you still did a lot, and I would be extremely proud of that. I look at this weekend as more of a practice. We still want to work on our race package and we’re still building and still learning. We’re still pretty new, especially me, in that shop. If we get in, I am almost looking at it like a free race to learn and grow which would be huge for everyone involved.”

From the Top of the Box

Ryan Sparks – Crew Chief, No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Ryan Sparks serves in a dual role as both Spire Motorsports competition director and crew chief for driver Corey LaJoie and the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro in the NCS.
• Sparks, a Winston-Salem, N.C., native, has been paired with LaJoie since 2020.
• Combined, Sparks and LaJoie have earned four top-five and seven top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place finish in the 2024 Daytona 500.

Stephen Doran – Crew Chief, No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Stephen Doran begins his first full season as a Cup Series crew chief leading Zane Smith and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team during the 2024 season.
• In 2006, Doran got his start in NASCAR at Petty Enterprises.
• Prior to his arrival at Spire Motorsports, Doran worked at Stewart-Haas Racing as an engineer, most recently on the No. 4 car driven by Kevin Harvick.

Luke Lambert – Crew Chief, No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Luke Lambert is the crew chief for Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 team with 2024 NCS Rookie of the Year candidate Carson Hocevar
• The 2005 North Carolina State graduate has led the competition efforts for some of the sport’s most notable names including Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler and Chris Buescher.
• In 2014, Lambert led Newman to a berth in the Championship 4, and ultimately a runner-up finish in the NCS championship point standings.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports is a NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race team co-owned by long-time NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. In 2024, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series with drivers Corey LaJoie, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively. The team will also field the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. An all-star driver lineup will rotate throughout the 2024 season in the No. 7 Chevy. Rajah Caruth will drive the No. 71 entry and Chase Purdy rounds out the team’s fleet of Chevrolets in the No. 77.

Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on April 12, 2024, when Kyle Busch took the took the checkered flag in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Race Details

North Wilkesboro Speedway
NASCAR All-Star Race
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Sunday, May 19 at 8:00PM EDT
FOX | PRN | SiriusXM
Team Notes

• Kaulig Racing has competed in one NASCAR All-Star Race in 2022, following AJ Allmendinger’s win at the 2021 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.
• While Allmendinger is locked into the main event, Daniel Hemric will attempt to race his way in during the All-Star Open.

AJ ALLMENDINGER

“Really special to be able to go to North Wilkesboro and be locked in the All-Star Race after our victory last year. I don’t know what to expect with the new repave; it was really slick last year in the Cup car, but that will be completely different. More than anything, to be a part of the All-Star Race knowing that we earned it by winning last year means so much to me. Points obviously don’t matter, just a night to go out there and give ourselves a chance to win the race and a million dollars.” – AJ Allmendinger on North Wilkesboro Speedway  

No. 16 LeafFilter / Campers Inn RV Camaro ZL1

• AJ Allmendinger qualified for the NASCAR All-Star race after winning the 2023 Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte ROVAL.
• Allmendinger has made six starts in the NASCAR All-Star events; this will be his second with Kaulig Racing.
• Allmendinger finished seventh in the 2022 All-Star race in Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Camaro ZL1.

DANIEL HEMRIC

“Friday going into practice will be the first time I’ve even seen the track at North Wilkesboro. I’m definitely looking forward to having a chance at racing our way into the main event. Competing in the All-Star race is a huge honor, and I am grateful for the opportunity.” – Daniel Hemric on North Wilkesboro Speedway  

No. 31 Poppy Bank Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric will make his second appearance in the NASCAR All-Star Open; his first was in 2019.

 
About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

North Wilkesboro (All-Star Race) Event Info:
Date: Sunday, May 19
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: North Wilkesboro, N.C.
Format: Heat Races (Two) Saturday; All-Star Race: 200 Laps Sunday
TV: FS1
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Weekend Schedule:
Friday: 4:35 p.m. ET, Practice (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 6:20 p.m. ET, Qualifying – Pit Crew Challenge (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 5:20 p.m. ET, Heat Races Begin (FS2, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 8 p.m. ET, Race (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

• The annual All-Star Race returns to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway for just the second time, as last season NWB hosted NASCAR for the first time since 1996.
• The pit crew challenge again returns to the format this season, set for Friday night which will determine the starting lineups for Saturday night’s heat races.
• Each heat race Saturday spans 60 laps, with the results of Heat Race 1 setting the All-Star Race inside row, and the results of Heat Race 2 setting the All-Star Race outside row.

6 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Partner: NEXLIZET

17 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Fastenal

Keselowski in the All-Star Race
Starts: 15
Wins: —
Top-10s: 9
Poles: —

• Keselowski makes his 16th start in the All-Star Race this weekend. He has three second-place finishes in the exhibition event, first in 2012, then in 2016 and most recently in 2021.
• A season ago he finished fourth in his heat and went on to finish 19th in the All-Star event.
• Overall he has nine top-10s, four inside the top five, in the All-Star event.

Buescher in the All-Star Race
Starts: 3
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —

• Buescher makes his fourth start in the All-Star Race this weekend, and is automatically locked in via his multiple wins in 2023.
• Last season at North Wilkesboro, Buescher won his heat race and went on to finish 16th.

RFK Historically in the All-Star Race
Wins: 4 (Mark Martin, 1998, 2005; Matt Kenseth, 2004; Carl Edwards, 2011)

• All-Star Victories: RFK has earned four victories in NASCAR’s All-Star Main Event with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Martin, who is a two-time All-Star race winner, first went to Victory Lane in 1998 for RFK before taking the checkered flag again in 2005. Kenseth earned the victory in the 2004 running of the event and Edwards visited the winner’s circle in 2011.

RFK Historically at North Wilkesboro
Cup Wins: 2 (Mark Martin, 1990, 1995)

• Tale of the Tape: Back in the early days of racing at North Wilkesboro, Jack Roush entered 30 Cup races at the track with two wins – both from Mark Martin – with 14 overall top-10s as four drivers combined competed in Cup for Roush at the historic track.
• Roush Wins One of the Last: Jack Roush shares a couple of pieces of history at the last time NASCAR competed at North Wilkesboro, as Ted Musgrave put the No. 16 on the pole for the last-ever race there in 1996. A day earlier, Martin won the Truck Series race there.

RFK All-Star Wins

1998 Martin
2004 Kenseth
2005 Martin
2011 Edwards

Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Darlington: Keselowski snapped a 110-race winless streak Sunday at Darlington, winning his first race as co-owner/driver at RFK. Buescher led with less than 10 laps remaining, but was wrecked, which ultimately led to Keselowski re-gaining the lead.

Points Standings (6: 11th, 17: 12th): Keselowski locked himself into the playoffs with the win on Sunday. Buescher sits just one spot back though in 12th.

BuildSubmarines.com to Partner with RFK and Australian Driver at Sonoma to Highlight AUKUS

CONCORD, N.C. (May 14, 2024) – RFK Racing has announced that its #Stage60 program is returning to field a third car at Sonoma Raceway (June 9), driven by Australian Supercars star Cam Waters. During the road course event, BuildSubmarines.com will highlight AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Waters, who made his NASCAR debut earlier this season in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, is universally known as one of the most versatile drivers in the world. He is the only driver to have won both the Australian Formula Ford Championship and the Supercars Development Series, and brings to the United States a lengthy resume with Tickford Racing in Melbourne.

“This opportunity for me is a dream come true, and one that I do not take lightly given the global audience of NASCAR and the Cup Series,” said Waters. “I’ve been fortunate to dip my toes into the NASCAR waters a bit this year and am excited to put my road-racing experience to the test this summer. It takes a village to make something like this come to fruition, so I especially want to thank the team at BuildSubmarines.com and AUKUS for giving me this opportunity to highlight the AUKUS security partnership, and for all the efforts at RFK to pull this off.”

Since his full-time tenure in 2016, Waters has accumulated 11 wins, nearly 50 podium finishes, and 24 career pole positions. The Victoria native currently represents the Ford Performance camp as the driver of the No. 6 Ford Mustang GT for Tickford, and holds the record for the youngest driver to compete in the Bathurst 1000, an event in which he has secured three consecutive podium finishes in.

AUKUS enhances a long-standing alliance and helps fortify the peace and security of the Indo-Pacific region. The AUKUS partners are working together to deliver a sovereign conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability to Australia through a three-nation collaborative process involving training, production and technology integration. The first Australian submarines will be acquired through the sale of United States Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, followed by the construction of a new class of submarines in both the UK and Australia. This initiative not only improves global security, but also creates jobs in all three nations, paving the way for a more secure and prosperous future.

“The AUKUS agreement adds even more stability to the well-paying skilled trades careers available at more than 15,000 companies making up America’s Submarine Industrial Base,” said Kiley Wren, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at BlueForge Alliance, owner of BuildSubmarines.com.

“We’re privileged to team up with RFK Racing through #Stage60 to raise awareness of these opportunities and the remarkable purpose behind them. Having a stand-out Australian driver behind the wheel of the No. 60 ‘Car With a Mission’ in Sonoma further amplifies this cause, and we look forward to seeing Cam Waters do what he does best.”

#Stage60 initially debuted with David Ragan and BuildSubmarines.com at the 2024 Daytona 500, now returning for its second Cup Series event.

“Cam has certainly logged his share of miles the last couple of months flying back and forth from Australia, but he’s done a great job familiarizing himself with NASCAR and working with David Ragan in our simulator,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “It’s always exciting when we can have someone from another part of our global motorsports family compete in a different series and we feel this is a great opportunity for him to showcase his talent. We’re grateful to RFK for initiating this Stage 60 program and we’re looking forward to Sonoma.”

Race weekend from Sonoma kicks off with a full practice session on Friday, June 7 as the 12-turn road course recently underwent a full repave. Qualifying is set for Saturday afternoon, with the 110-lap race slated for Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 37th season in 2024, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion, Brad Keselowski, and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988 and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass three hundred wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Visit rfkracing.com, and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.

Partners with Michael McDowell and No. 34 Team

 MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 14, 2024) – Front Row Motorsports (FRM) and the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, will team up with Michael McDowell for the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

The partnership will showcase Knights branding on McDowell’s No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse as well as Truist and the Charlotte Knights Charities, the philanthropic base of the Knights. As part of the agreement, fans will also get the chance to meet McDowell at Truist Field, May 29 as part of the organization’s NASCAR Night.

“We are very pleased to partner with Front Row Motorsports and have our Charlotte Knights branding on Michael McDowell’s No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at the NASCAR All Star Race in Wilkesboro, NC on Sunday, May 19th at 8:00 p.m.,” stated Dan Rajkowski, Charlotte Knights Chief Operating Officer. “In addition, NASCAR Night is a special night at the ballpark, and we can’t wait to welcome Michael to Truist Field to meet our fans on Wednesday, May 29. This is a great partnership.”

This will be McDowell’s third All-Star Race appearance; he has raced in the 2021 and 2022 versions of the event finishing 12th and 15th, respectively.

“I’m excited to have a local, hometown team, like the Charlotte Knights, on our Ford Mustang Dark Horse for the All-Star Race,” said McDowell. “NASCAR does a great job promoting this event and making it a fan-favorite. To have the chance to race for a million dollars with a winning organization loved by the fans, is awesome.”

The NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway will be on Sunday, May 19th at 8:00 p.m. ET on FS1.

For more information about the team, please visit www.charlotteknights.com.

ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS

Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The team is the 2021 Daytona 500 and 2022 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

ABOUT CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS

The Charlotte Knights are the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and play at Truist Field in Uptown Charlotte, NC. Since opening in 2014, the ballpark has been one of the most visited venues in all of Minor League Baseball. The 2024 season is in full swing and tickets for all Knights games this season are available at www.CharlotteKnights.com, in person at Truist Field Ticket Office or by calling 704-274-8282. Knights Baseball – Experience The View. The Game. The Fun.

Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Advance
No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing

Event Overview

● Event: NASCAR All-Star Race (non-points race)
● Time/Date: 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 19
● Location: North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway
● Layout: .625-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 200 laps/125 miles
● TV/Radio: FS1 / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● Where We Stand: The New Jersey native will take a break from points racing this weekend at North Wilkesboro. He sits second in the driver standings with 456 points, 30 behind leader Kyle Larson. Three of the four Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) entries are currently inside the top-10 in the standings as Denny Hamlin sits third and Ty Gibbs seventh. The series heads back to points-paying races on Memorial Day weekend with the annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

● The NASCAR Cup Series competed last weekend at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for the event known as the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR. But the throwback of all throwbacks comes this weekend at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. The .625-mile oval located in the hills of Wilkes County, North Carolina, had sat dormant for 25 years, save for a one-year respite in 2010 when local investors cleaned it up enough to host a handful of grassroots Late Model racing series. The track closed again in the spring of 2011, reverting back to its Scooby-Doo haunted mansion vibe. Once a staple of the NASCAR Cup Series when Winston cigarettes was its title sponsor, North Wilkesboro was cast aside, despite being a NASCAR original and hosting 93 points-paying Cup Series races since 1949, the last of which came on Sept. 29, 1996, when Jeff Gordon beat Dale Earnhardt by 1.73 seconds to win the Tyson Holly Farms 400. But thanks to an $18 million cash infusion from the state as part of the American Rescue Plan, as well as another seven-figure spend by track operator Speedway Motorsports, North Wilkesboro was revived. It had a soft opening in August 2022 with Modified and Late Model racing before its grand reopening last May with five days of racing, from the CARS Late Model Stock Tour to the NASCAR Truck Series and, finally, the Cup Series via the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race. The track Enoch Staley built in 1946 – first as a five-eighths mile dirt oval where whiskey runners displayed their skill behind the wheel, along with their mechanical acumen for building cars that were faster than those of the revenuers, and two years ahead of NASCAR’s first season and three years before the first Strictly Stock (now Cup Series) race was held – was back, and the resto-mod of racetracks is ready for another chapter of the NASCAR All-Star Race.

● DYK? The frontstretch of North Wilkesboro Speedway runs downhill and the backstretch runs uphill. This forces drivers to change their approach to each corner of the racetrack, as they’re carrying more speed entering turn one than they are going into turn three.

● This year marks the 40th running of the NASCAR All-Star Race. Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted the first All-Star Race and 34 in total. The All-Star Race debuted on May 25, 1985, at Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval and it was won by Darrell Waltrip. Atlanta Motor Speedway hosted the second All-Star Race in 1986 before returning to Charlotte for a 33-race run. The 2020 All-Star Race was held at the .533-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway – the first time the All-Star Race wasn’t held at a 1.5-mile oval. The All-Star Race returned to a 1.5-mile oval in June 2021, when Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth began hosting the event for a two-year stretch. When North Wilkesboro hosted the All-Star Race for the first time last year, it became just the second track other than a 1.5-mile oval to host the specialty event.

● Looking for the First: Truex will make his 13th All-Star Race start at North Wilkesboro on Sunday night and will be looking for his first All-Star Race victory. In 12 All-Star Race starts, which have come at Charlotte, Bristol, Texas, and North Wilkesboro, Truex has a best All-Star Race finish of second back in 2010 at Charlotte, when he raced for Michael Waltrip Racing.

● A touch of the champagne-sipping realm of Formula One comes to the moonshine-imbibing world of North Wilkesboro when drivers competing in both the All-Star Open and the All-Star Race get a choice of tire compounds. In Formula One, teams get an allotment of soft, medium and hard tires from supplier Pirelli that they must use throughout the race weekend. At the All-Star event weekend, tire supplier Goodyear is bringing a “prime” tire, which is a slick racing tire, an “option” tire that is also a slick but with a softer, faster-wearing compound, and a rain tire should weather conditions warrant its use. The lettering on the prime tires will be yellow, the lettering on the option tires will be red, and the lettering on the rain tires will be white. In theory, the prime tire will last longer but provide less grip, therefore compromising speed. The option tire will provide maximum grip at the beginning of a run, allowing drivers to make significantly more speed, but their high-degradation rate means that speed will be short-lived. The rain tire will only be used in wet or damp conditions. Here are some additional details pertaining to tire usage at North Wilkesboro:

●  Teams will be allotted nine sets of tires for the weekend.

​●  Teams will be allotted three sets of prime tires and two sets of option tires for practice, qualifying, the heat races and the All-Star Open.

​●  Teams will have two sets of prime and option tires for the All-Star Race.

​●  All four tires on the car must be the same type at all times.

​●  Only the prime tire will be used during qualifying.

​●  Teams will have the option to start on any type of tire for practice, the heat races and the All-Star Open.

​●  All teams will start on the option tire for the All-Star Race.

● Looking for 35: Truex’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon last July was his most recent Cup Series win, the 34th of his career, tying him with 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt Busch for 25th on the all-time Cup Series win list.

● Ahead at this Stage: Truex has accumulated 63 stage wins since the beginning of the stage era in 2017. He is the only driver with 10 or more stage sweeps, with his latest sweep coming at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn last August. Truex scored his second stage win of the season at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway last month, leading the field across the line at the end of Stage 1.

Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE

What do you think about when you head to a place with as much history as North Wilkesboro?

“I remember watching races from there when I was growing up. For me, it’s neat to be racing on that track where so many legends of the sport did. I remember races of the past and how cool the races were there and what it was like to watch. I expect it to be fun. The All-Star Race is something that’s supposed to be fun. It’s something unique and different and I think it will be. I’m looking forward to working on our car in practice and the heat races and hope we can have a strong run there with our Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE.”

The repave and addition of different tires are new wrinkles to the All-Star Race this year. What do you expect from those unknowns this weekend?

“I think they are exactly that, pretty big unknowns. I know Ty (Gibbs) tested there and the lap times were really fast, you throw in the options of tires and it definitely could make it interesting. Obviously when you repave these places, it tends to make them one-groove for a while until the pavement wears out, so we’ll see how the tire selection comes into play and just keep try to learn every lap the entire weekend.”

This year, Toyota had a change in the body with the Camry XSE coming in. How has Toyota adapted so well over the years with big changes?

“We always feel like the guys at Toyota and our race team do a really good job of adjusting when there are big changes. We are always, like, throw some more stuff at us and make some big changes because it always seems to help us. We built a new Camry XSE in the offseason and that’s been great, but we didn’t know how the short-track package would work with that, but it’s been really good. Across the board, our cars have been really consistent with all the tracks and all the different packages. That’s a really good feeling for the rest of the year.”

Did you guys feel like you were starting over a bit with the new Camry, or do you feel like it’s been a tweaking of what you already had during the first two years of the NextGen car?

“It’s definitely been different, but I think it’s been good for us. It’s the third year now in the NextGen car and just working on figuring out what it takes to make that thing work at all these tracks we’ve been to. We have short practice sessions, still, and not a lot of time to try things and test things. It’s been good to be able to go to the track and have something close each and every week. My team has done an awesome job of giving me fast cars and I feel like, if we can just execute some things a bit better here and there, we are going to start putting together some race wins, where we’ve been in a position for already and a couple of caution flags have hampered us a bit from getting that win, like at Richmond and at Kansas, as well. We hope to take on a new challenge with the repave at North Wilkesboro this weekend, it’s going to be fast, and try to get my first All-Star win with our Bass Pro Shops Camry.”

No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Martin Truex Jr.

Hometown: Mayetta, New Jersey

Crew Chief: James Small

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia

Car Chief: Chris Jones

Hometown: Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia

Race Engineer: Jaik Halpainy

Hometown: Blockville, New York

Engineer: Jeff Curtis

Hometown: Fairfax Station, Virginia

Spotter: Drew Herring

Hometown: Benson, North Carolina

Road Crew Members

Underneath Mechanic: Ryan Martin

Hometown: Mechanicsburg, Virgina

Mechanic: Todd Carmichael

Hometown: Redding, California

Interior/Tire Specialist: Tommy DiBlasi

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Engine Tuner: Beau Morton

Hometown: Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Transporter Driver: Kyle Bazzell

Hometown: Fairbury, Illinois

Transporter Driver: Eddie DeGroot

Hometown: Baldwinsville, New York

Over-The-Wall Crew Members

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Jackman: Caleb Dirks

Hometown: Riverside, California

Tire Carrier: CJ Bailey

Hometown: Outer Banks, North Carolina

Front Tire Changer: Lee Cunningham

Hometown: Leaf River, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Mike Louria

Hometown: Gibraltar, Michigan