NASCAR viewer’s guide: All-Star Race at Texas

By Zach SturnioloMay 18, 2022, 7:00 AM EDT

The 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race is set to hit Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.

The 1.5-mile quad-oval plays host to the exhibition event for the second season in a row, falling between the 13th and 14th points races on the Cup Series schedule.

Twenty drivers are locked into Sunday’s big show (8 p.m. ET, FS1), while four others will advance from the All-Star Open (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1).

The Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series also hit the track for their points events before the Cup stars fight for a $1 million prize.

Get set for the full All-Star weekend here:

The format

The full format for this year’s All-Star Race was unveiled in late April. Take a look at how the four-stage race will be broken down:

Stage 1 (25 laps): Stage 1 winner will start on the pole in the final stage as long as he finishes 15^th or better in Stages 2 and 3.
Stage 2 (25 laps): Stage 2 winner starts second in final stage as long as he finishes 15^th or better in Stage 3.
Special Stage Break (Pit Stop Competition): Each team must pit and perform a four-tire stop. The team with the shortest time on pit road (pit in/pit out) wins the pit crew award and the driver will start fourth in the final stage as long as he finishes 15^th or better in Stage 3.
Stage 3 (25 laps): Stage 3 winner starts third in final stage.
Stage 4 (50 laps): Stage 1 winner starts first, Stage 2 winner second, Stage 3 winner third and pit stop competition winner starts fourth. If a “natural” caution occurs between laps 15-25 of the final stage, standard race procedures will be in effect. If no “natural” caution occurs during that time, NASCAR will call an “All-Star” competition caution. Winner of Stage 4 earns $1 million.

Preceding the All-Star Race will be the Open, in which the 16 drivers not yet entered in the main event will compete in three stages of 20-20-10 laps. The three stage winners will advance to the All-Star Race in addition to the fan vote winner.

Setting the grid

Qualifying for both the Open and the All-Star Race will take place Saturday evening.

The 16 drivers competing in the Open will go out for single-car, single-lap qualifying to set the lineup for their 50-lap race.

The All-Star Race competitors will then qualify in two rounds. The first round will feature typical single-car qualifying in reverse order of the owners points standings. The fastest eight drivers will then advance to the second round, utilizing a three-round, head-to-head elimination bracket.

Here’s the format for round two:

Elimination bracket will feature two cars staged in adjacent pit stalls near the end of pit road.
At the sound of an alert, each pit crew will perform a four-tire stop and, at the drop of the jack, drivers will exit their pit stalls (with no speed limit) onto the track.
First car back to the start/finish line advances to the next round.
Final pairing competes for the pole.

All eyes on the stars

Kyle Larson is the man to watch Sunday night at Texas Motor Speedway.

The defending Cup champion is also the defending All-Star Race winner and has won each of his last two All-Star starts, missing the 2020 event due to his 32-race suspension. No driver has won in three consecutive All-Star appearances. Larson could become the first on Sunday and won the track’s playoff race in October.

The last two seasons’ All-Star Races have also produced that year’s eventual champion. Chase Elliott went to Victory Lane in 2020 at Bristol Motor Speedway before claiming his first Cup title in November. Hendrick Motorsports is also chasing its third straight win in the event, a feat no other team has accomplished.

Entry lists

Sixteen drivers will fight in the Open for the four remaining spots in the All-Star Race. Among them are Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon and Erik Jones.

NASCAR Cup Series — All-Star Open Entry List

Twenty drivers are already qualified for Sunday’s All-Star Race. The drivers eligible are winners from the 2021 and 2022 seasons as well as full-time former All-Star winners and Cup champions.

Four multi-car teams have every driver entered in the 2022 All-Star Race: Hendrick (four), Joe Gibbs Racing (four), Team Penske (three) and 23XI Racing (two). Making the All-Star Race for the first time based on a points win are Daytona 500 champion Austin Cindric, Phoenix winner Chase Briscoe, COTA winner Ross Chastain (made last year’s All-Star Race after winning a stage in the Open) and last fall’s Talladega winner Bubba Wallace.

Kevin Harvick will make his 22nd consecutive All-Star start, while Kurt Busch makes his 21st. Mark Martin holds the record with 24 straight appearances.

AJ Allmendinger will drive the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. He’s locked in thanks to his win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last summer.

NASCAR Cup Series — All-Star Race Entry List

In the Xfinity Series, 39 cars will compete for 38 spots, meaning one car will fail to qualify for Saturday’s race.

Tyler Reddick is back in the No. 48 Chevrolet for Big Machine Racing. Jeffery Earnhardt slides back to the No. 26 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing, his fourth start of the year for that program. Driving the Nos. 44 and 45 Chevrolets for Alpha Prime Racing will be Ryan Ellis and Stefan Parsons, respectively.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Entry List — Texas Motor Speedway

The Truck Series entry list features 39 trucks competing for 36 spots, meaning three will fail to qualify.

Ross Chastain returns to the No. 41 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet. Ryan Preece will drive the No. 17 Ford for David Gilliland Racing. Garrett Smithley will pilot the No. 20 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Entry List — Texas Motor Speedway

This weekend’s schedule and forecast

(All times Eastern)

Friday, May 20

Forecast: Windy with PM thunderstorms, potentially severe, high near 95 degrees, winds south at 20-30 mph, 50% chance of rain

4 – 4:30 p.m. — Truck practice (FS1)
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. — Truck qualifying (single vehicle, one lap, FS1)
6 – 6:30 p.m — Xfinity practice (FS1)
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. — Xfinity qualifying (single vehicle, one lap, FS1)
8:30 p.m. — Truck race (147 laps/220.5 miles; FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Saturday, May 21

Forecast: Partly cloudy, chance of stray thunderstorm, high of 84 degrees, winds south to north at 15-25 mph, 23% chance of rain

1:30 p.m. — Xfinity race (167 laps/250.5 miles, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
7 – 7:35 p.m. — Cup practice (two groups — one for Open entries, one for All-Star, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
7:35 – 7:55 p.m. — All-Star Open qualifying (single vehicle, one lap, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
7:55 – 8:25 p.m. — All-Star Race qualifying, first round (single vehicle, one lap, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
8:25 – 9 p.m. — All-Star Race qualifying, second round (pit battle, elimination bracket, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Sunday, May 22

Forecast: Partly cloudy, high 77 degrees, winds northeast at 10-20 mph

5:30 p.m. — All-Star Open (50 laps/75 miles, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
8 p.m. — All-Star Race (125 laps/187.5 miles, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Corey LaJoie learning in his week with Chase Elliott’s team

By Dustin LongJun 4, 2023, 8:00 AM EDT

Spending this week with Hendrick Motorsports has proved eye-opening for Corey LaJoie.

He will pilot Chase Elliott’s No. 9 car today at World Wide Technology Raceway after NASCAR suspended Elliott one race for wrecking Denny Hamlin during last week’s Coca-Cola 600. This gives LaJoie the chance to drive in the best equipment of his career.

MORE: Corey LaJoie not giving up on his dream

MORE: Details for Sunday’s Cup race

Working with Elliott’s team also has given LaJoie an inside look as to what makes Hendrick Motorsports so successful.

“I thought that I knew what we didn’t have at Spire Motorsports, but I had no idea,” said LaJoie, who starts 30th after tagging the wall during his qualifying lap. “There’s tools that those guys have, intellectual properties specific to Hendrick Motorsports, that even some of the other teams don’t have.

“But the biggest thing that I noticed was just the people and the attitude of the pursuit of perfection. All the key partner teams across all the (manufacturers) all have the same data, but (Hendrick Motorsports has) an unbelievable way of delegating, taking, compacting and making it just digestible – whether it’s for a driver, an engineer, a crew chief.

“I think the fact that they have four incredibly strong teams individually raises the tide for those guys because when you’re sitting in the simulator and William Byron ran a 33.20 (seconds for a lap) … if you’re running a 33.35 with the same setup, you know you have a tenth-and-a-half under your butt and you have to go find it. And then when I go run a 33.20, William next time is going to want to run a 33.19.

“There’s always a consistently raised watermark on the driver’s end. There’s always a consistently raised watermark on the crew chiefs in trying to build the best setups, and the engineers trying to find the best strategies.

“The inner-team competition is one of the biggest things, and I think there are several teams that have that … the healthy ones are certainly evident. But it’s just the overall structure. We have a Hawkeye (camera-based inspection stations used by NASCAR at the track) … all the things that do the same stuff that Hendrick Motorsports has, but the depth of people, collective focus of the goal and the mission is noticeable and evident. It’s a different world.”

It would be easy for LaJoie to be overwhelmed in this situation. His career has been marked with underfunded rides and trying to make the most of his equipment. He’s having his best season in Cup this year. LaJoie ranks 19th in points heading into today’s race.

LaJoie acknowledges the opportunity he has, but he also can’t let it alter his focus.

“It’s been a wild week,” he said. “I can get all sentimental … (about) my dad subbing in for Ricky Craven in 1998 (for Hendrick Motorsports) and all that sort of stuff. But at the end of the day, when I sit in that thing, I don’t know that NAPA is on it, or the No. 9 is on it.

“I’m going to drive it like I have been driving the No. 7 Chevy and putting that thing 19th in points. It’s been a super fun, successful year so far, and we have a lot of work left to do and things to accomplish over there.”

When he returns to his Spire Motorsports ride after today’s race, LaJoie admits this weekend’s experience with Elliott’s team will help him with his own team.

“How I prepare, how I’m going to engage with my team at Spire Motorsports going forward is going to change,” LaJoie said. “I think I’m going to be able to come in there and just apply and share some of the things I’ve learned over the course of the week with (crew chief Ryan) Sparks and the No. 77 team, as well, and I think we’re all going to be stronger for it.”

Dr. Diandra: Is 2023 the season for a Ricky Stenhouse Jr. redemption?

By Diandra Leslie-PeleckyJun 4, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT

Coming into 2022, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had two career Cup Series wins in 364 starts. But both wins — and his career-high 13th-place season finish — happened back in 2017.

Stenhouse was unceremoniously dropped by Roush Fenway Racing in 2020 and landed with JTG Daugherty Racing. He made the news every now and then at a superspeedway but could be counted upon to head up season-ending lists of drivers involved in the most accidents. In the years Stenhouse hasn’t been at the top of the list, he’s been near the top.

DNFs and accidents have plagued Stenhouse throughout his NASCAR career. Jack Roush went so far as to park the Mississippi native in his early days in the Xfinity Series because he tore up so much equipment.

Stenhouse redeemed himself, going on to win two Xfinity championships.

From the way his 2023 season has started, it looks as though Stenhouse might be on a similar mission of redemption this year in the Cup Series.

Finishing races

Stenhouse started the 2023 season in the best possible way – winning the Daytona 500. But drivers from less-funded teams who win early superspeedway races usually settle to the bottom of the rankings by now.

Stenhouse hasn’t. He ranks 13th heading into Sunday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Standings aren’t as good a ruler this year as they usually are because of drivers missing races and teams incurring penalties. But Stenhouse’s statistics back up his ranking.

Stenhouse has finished every race this year on track, as opposed to in the garage or on the hook. Only Ryan Blaney and Corey LaJoie have achieved the same distinction.

In 11 of those 14 races, Stenhouse finished on the lead lap. That’s the same number of lead-lap finishes as William Byron. Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. are tied for most races finished on the lead lap with 13 each.

This time last year, Stenhouse had already racked up seven of the series-leading 18 caution-causing incidents he would be involved in for the season. Runner-up Chase Elliott had 15 incidents.

Going into Gateway this year, Stenhouse has been involved in only two accidents (Talladega and Charlotte) and had a tire go out at Darlington.

Approaching his career best

I compare three years in Stenhouse’s career in the table below: the 2017 season — his best to date — along with last year and the 14 races run so far this year.

Stenhouse’s current average finishing position of 13.5 ties with Christopher Bell for sixth best in the Cup Series. That’s 9.3 positions better than Stenhouse’s 2022 average. He’s even beating his 2017 average by 3.6 positions.

Qualifying results are down a bit from 2017 — but remember that those numbers are from the days when NASCAR allowed multiple practice sessions. Stenhouse is only two positions worse relative to 2017, but 7.6 positions better than last year when it comes to establishing his spot on the starting grid.

Stenhouse’s average running position is comparable to 2017 and 2.8 positions better than 2022. He ranks 20th among full-time Cup Series drivers in average running position. Although it’s an improvement, it’s still more than double William Byron’s series-leading 9.1 average running position this year.

More interesting is the difference between Stenhouse’s average running position his average finishing position. Some drivers run better than they finish. Stenhouse is doing the opposite.

In 2017, Stenhouse finished about 1.4 positions better than he ran. This year, he’s gaining an average of about five positions from where he runs.

One might argue this gain results from the plethora of late-race incidents this year that have removed drivers in the front of the field from contention. But Stenhouse deserves credit for putting himself in a position to benefit from those events.

Stenhouse’s green-flag speed rank is 11th among full-time Cup Series drivers. His 15.3 average, however, is 1.7 positions worse than 10th-place Kyle Busch. Still, it’s impressive that JTG Daugherty is right there in the mix with much better-funded teams. William Byron again has the best average green-flag speed rank at 7.9.

Consistently strong finishes

It’s not uncommon for a mid-pack driver to win a superspeedway race. But Stenhouse’s Daytona 500 win appears to be something more. The table below summarizes his wins and finishes for the same three years.

The difference between last year and this year is striking.

In 2022, Stenhouse finished in the top 20 in 12 of 36 races. He’s already matched that mark this year. He earns top-20 finishes 85.7% of the time in 2023 compared to 33.3% last year. Top-20 finishes aren’t the same as contending for a championship. But they’re a first step.

Stenhouse finished 2017 with nine top-10 races. With about 60% of the season remaining, he’s already earned five top-10 finishes this year.

What’s changed? The Next Gen car is one factor, but it didn’t make much difference for Stenhouse last year. I would point instead to Stenhouse’s reunion with Mike Kelley as his crew chief.

Kelley co-piloted both of Stenhouse’s Xfinity championships in 2011 and ’12. Although Kelley worked with Stenhouse and previous crew chief Brian Pattie since 2020, this is the first year Kelley is back up on the pit box.

Together, they’re basically halfway to matching Stenhouse’s best year.

And another step closer to redemption.

Portland Xfinity race results, driver points

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 7:53 PM EDT

Cole Custer went from fourth to first on the overtime restart when the top three cars made contact and went on to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Portland International Raceway. Custer is the 10th different winner in 13 races this season.

MORE: Portland Xfinity race results

MORE: Driver points after Portland Xfinity race

JR Motorsports took the next three spots: Justin Allgaier placed second, Sam Mayer was third and Josh Berry was fourth. Austin Hill completed the top five.

John Hunter Nemechek remains the points leader after 13 races. He has a 14-point lead on Hill. Nemechek leads Allgaier by 44 points.

Cole Custer wins Xfinity race at Portland in overtime

By Dustin LongJun 3, 2023, 7:25 PM EDT

Cole Custer held off Justin Allgaier at the finish to win Saturday’s Xfinity Series race in overtime at Portland International Raceway. It is Custer’s first victory of the season.

JR Motorsports placed second, third and fourth with Allgaier, Sam Mayer and Josh Berry. Austin Hill finished fifth.

MORE: Race results, driver points

Custer went from fourth to first on the overtime restart when Parker Kligerman, who restarted third, attempted to pass Allgaier, who was leading. Sheldon Creed was on the outside of Allgaier. All three cars made contact entering Turn 1, allowing Custer to slip by. Creed finished seventh. Kligerman placed 14th.

Custer won the second stage when John Hunter Nemechek made contact with Creed’s car while racing for the lead on the final lap of the stage. The contact spun Creed and Custer inched by Nemechek at the line.

Early in the final stage, Creed gained revenge with contact that spun Nemechek, who went on to finish 10th. A few laps later, Nemechek and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sammy Smith had issues. Smith spun Nemechek. After getting back around, Nemechek quickly caught Smith and turned into Smith’s car, damaging it.

STAGE 1 WINNER: Sheldon Creed

STAGE 2 WINNER: Cole Custer

WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Despite the contact on the overtime restart, runner-up Justin Allgaier managed to score his fourth consecutive top-three finish. … Sam Mayer’s third-place finish is his best on a road course. … Austin Hill’s fifth-place finish gives him four consecutive top-five results.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Daniel Hemric finished 33rd after a fire in his car. … Riley Herbst placed 32nd after an engine issue. After opening the season with six top 10s in a row, Herbst has gone seven races in a row without a top 10.

NEXT: The series competes June 10 at Sonoma Raceway (8 p.m. ET on FS1).

The format

Setting the grid

All eyes on the stars

Entry lists

NASCAR Cup Series — All-Star Open Entry List

NASCAR Cup Series — All-Star Race Entry List

NASCAR Xfinity Series Entry List — Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Entry List — Texas Motor Speedway

This weekend’s schedule and forecast

Friday, May 20

Saturday, May 21

Sunday, May 22

Read more about NASCAR

MORE: Corey LaJoie not giving up on his dream

MORE: Details for Sunday’s Cup race

Read more about NASCAR

Finishing races

Approaching his career best

Consistently strong finishes

Read more about NASCAR

MORE: Portland Xfinity race results

MORE: Driver points after Portland Xfinity race

Read more about NASCAR

MORE: Race results, driver points

Read more about NASCAR