NASCAR is going back to its roots.
For the 2023 All-Star Race, the Cup Series will head to historic North Wilkesboro Speedway for an exhibition race.
NASCAR hasn’t raced at North Wilkesboro since 1996. The North Carolina short track closed in the fall of that year, but it has been revitalized with funding assistance from the state government and a push from NASCAR leadership.
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Here’s everything you need to know for the highly-anticipated event:
When is the NASCAR All-Star Race?
The 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race is set for Sunday, May 21, at 8 p.m. ET.
Before the race, there will be various other events to set the starting order and determine the full field of drivers.
Practice and Pit Crew Challenge qualifying will be on Friday, followed by the All-Star Heat Races on Saturday and the All-Star Open on Sunday before the main event.
What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?
Friday, May 19 (FS1 and streaming)
- Practice: 4 p.m. ET, FS1, FoxSports.com
- Pit Crew Challenge Qualifying: 5:45 p.m. ET, FS1, FoxSports.com
Saturday, May 20 (FS1 and streaming)
- All-Star Heat Race 1: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, FoxSports.com
- All-Star Heat Race 2: 8:15 p.m. ET, FS1, FoxSports.com
Sunday, May 21 (FS1 and streaming)
- All-Star Open: 5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, FoxSports.com
- All-Star Race: 8 p.m. ET, FS1, FoxSports.com
What is the format for the NASCAR All-Star Open vs. Race?
Not every driver is qualified for the All-Star Race, but everyone has the chance to race their way in through the All-Star Open.
The All-Star Race field will include the following drivers:
- 2022 and 2023 NASCAR Cup Series race winners (19)
- Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez
- Past All-Star Race winners (1)
- Ryan Blaney
- Past NASCAR Cup Series champions (1)
- Brad Keselowski
If a driver doesn’t fit into any of those three categories, they will race in the All-Star Open qualifying race. That field consists of 16 drivers, including big names like Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, Noah Gragson and A.J. Allmendinger.
The All-Star Open will be 100 laps, with the top two finishers transferring into the main event. A third driver will advance courtesy of a fan vote, bringing the total field to 24 drivers.
What is the NASCAR All-Star Pit Crew Challenge?
Instead of using hot lap speeds for qualifying, the Pit Crew Challenge will set the starting order for the heat races.
The Pit Crew Challenge is exactly what it sounds like – each team will be put to the test on pit road, rather than on the track. Each car’s qualifying time will be based on a four-tire pit stop.
The 21 drivers already locked into the All-Star field will be split into two groups for the 60-lap heat races on Saturday. So, the team with the fastest stop will start first in Heat 1, the team with the second-fastest stop will start first in Heat 2, and so on.
The heat races will set the starting order for Sunday’s race. Heat 1 will establish the odd numbered starting spots, while Heat 2 will set the even-numbered spots.
How do I vote for the NASCAR All-Star Fan Vote?
The 24th and final spot in the All-Star Race will be awarded to the winner of the fan vote. Voting has been live online since last month and will close on Sunday, May 21, at 9 a.m. ET.
If the winner of the fan vote qualifies for the All-Star Race by finishing top-two in the Open, NASCAR will go to the driver who was second in the vote.
As of May 5 (the midway point of the voting period), the top-10 vote-getters, in alphabetical order, were AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Harrison Burton, Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, BJ McLeod, Ryan Preece and Chandler Smith.
You can vote for your favorite driver online right here.
NASCAR All-Star betting odds
Consdering that NASCAR hasn’t raced at North Wilkesboro in 27 years, it’s hard to bet on who will run well in these races.
Several drivers have experience at the track this week, though, after competing in late model series races. Elliott, Byron, Chastain, Suarez, Briscoe, Harvick, Keselowski and Gragson were among the drivers to run those races on Wednesday night.
You can bet on who will win both the All-Star Open and All-Star Race through our betting partner, PointsBet.
Here are some of the favorites to win the All-Star Open:
- Josh Berry, +375
- Ty Gibbs, +420
- Ryan Preece, +460
- Aric Almirola, +480
- AJ Allmendinger, +1000
- Michael McDowell, +1500
Here are some of the favorites to win the All-Star Race:
- Kyle Larson, +600
- Kevin Harvick, +700
- Joey Logano, +750
- Christopher Bell, +850
- William Byron, +900
- Martin Truex Jr., +1000
- Ross Chastain, +1000
- Denny Hamlin, +1100
- Kyle Busch, +1200
- Chase Elliott, +1300
- Ryan Blaney, +1600
- Brad Keselowski, +2200
- Bubba Wallace, +2200
Editor's note: All odds are provided by our partner, PointsBet. PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.