Latest news with #Keselowski
NBC Sports
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
What to watch for in NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Brad Keselowski seeks the perfect weekend. Kyle Larson looks to go from the back to the front. And 21 other drivers also will be vying for $1 million in tonight's NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Green flag for the All-Star Open is set for 5:38 p.m. ET. The winner, runner-up and fan vote winner from that race will advance to the All-Star Race. Green flag for the All-Star Race is set for 8:14 p.m. ET. Here is what to watch for in tonight's race: Promoter's Caution The wrinkle in this year's race is an promoter's caution that can be used before Lap 220 of the 250-lap race. If the promoter's caution has not yet been used and a natural caution occurs after Lap 200, the promoter's caution will no longer be in play. Dustin Long, Teams already know there will be a competition caution around Lap 100. How the promoter's caution is used by Marcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports, could make a big impact on the race as Christopher Bell explains: 'It will probably be in the play and then it will be decision time of what you think your best opportunity to win the race is. A lot of times that call depends on what other guys do as well. If you stay out and you have five or six guys stay out with you, then it's the winning call to stay out. 'But just like the second heat race (Saturday), if you stay out and nobody stays out with you, it was a losing call.' Can a team's season turnaround tonight? Brad Keselowski starts on the pole for tonight's race and a victory — while it wouldn't count toward playoff eligibility — would be significant for his team. Keselowski has never won this race — he's finished second three times, which is tied for the most in the event without winning it. This season has been dreadful. Keselowski has finished 26th or worse in nine of the first 12 points races. 'I think the team is a pretty resilient group,' Keselowski said after winning the pole. 'I don't care who you are as a team, we all need some positive reinforcement and encouragement.' He also won his heat race Saturday. A victory tonight would complete a perfect weekend for the RFK Racing team. Keep an eye on the back of the field Kyle Larson will start last on the 23-car field because he had Justin Allgaier qualify his car while Larson was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Larson's team elected not to compete in Saturday's heat race since it wouldn't matter where the car finished because the car would in the rear for the All-Star Race due to the driver change. Larson will be one to watch. 'I felt like long-run pace, we were really good,' Allgaier, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, told NBC Sports. 'When I look at lap 30 or 40 (on a run), our pace was right where we needed it to be.' Larson had to start at the rear of the field in last year's race because he also was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Larson went on to finish fourth in last year's All-Star Race. Larson has three All-Star wins, one short of the record held by Jimmie Johnson.
NBC Sports
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski score All-Star heat race wins at North Wilkesboro
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell each scored dominating wins in Saturday's heat races at North Wilkesboro Speedway and will start on the front row for Sunday night's All-Star Race. The heat races set the lineup for Sunday's exhibition race. Keselowski was already assured the No. 1 starting spot by posting the fastest time in qualifying Friday. Keselowski led 74 of 75 laps to win his heat race. Ross Chastain finished second, William Byron was third, Ryan Blaney finished fourth and Alex Bowman placed fifth. MORE: Heat 1 results MORE: Heat 2 results Keselowski was the only car in the top five of the nine-car race that ran the same set of tires for the entire distance. 'Those guys that put tires on, they were really hard to hold off,' Keselowski said. 'I had the preferred groove and just tried to use it to my advantage. We'll see if that's the case (Sunday).' Keselowski said the track was racy. 'It's definitely not a single groove racetrack,' he said. 'They were running me real hard. We had good pace and that was a little bit of a dogfight, so I thought it was great racing.' Keselowski has finished second in the All-Star Race three times. That's tied for the most runner-up finishes without winning the event, which pays $1 million to the winner. Dustin Long, Bell led 69 of the 75 laps to win the second heat Saturday. 'I knew (Friday) in practice that if they could get some rear grip in it, I felt like I had a lot of car potential,' Bell said. 'The guys did an amazing job on just making the car better overnight and it was really refreshing to get out there and just cruise those first 30 laps. 'Then, I didn't know how it was going to work with having Joey (Logano) right behind me, but this thing was on rails. I'm really happy and excited about the opportunity (Sunday).' The only laps Bell didn't lead were when Chase Briscoe did not pit with the rest of the field, attempting the same strategy Keselowski used to win the first heat. Briscoe said it was his call to stay out. It didn't work. He didn't get a good restart, got hung three wide and fell back outside the top five in the 10-car race before contact spun him on the frontstretch. Logano finished second, Chase Elliott third, Kyle Busch fourth and Chris Buescher fifth. All-Star Race starting lineup 1. Brad Keselowski 2. Christopher Bell 3. Ross Chastain 4. Joey Logano 5. William Byron 6. Chase Elliott 7. Ryan Blaney 8. Kyle Busch 9. Alex Bowman 10. Chris Buescher 11. Josh Berry 12. Daniel Suarez 13. Tyler Reddick 14. Chase Briscoe 15. Austin Dillon 16. Austin Cindric 17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 18. Harrison Burton 19. Kyle Larson (will move to the rear since Justin Allgaier qualified car) 20. Denny Hamlin 21. Winner of All-Star Open 22. Runner-up of All-Star Open 23. Fan vote winner
NBC Sports
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Brad Keselowski: NASCAR should run a points race at North Wilkesboro, move All-Star Race
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Former Cup champion Brad Keselowski said Friday that North Wilkesboro Speedway should host a points race and that the All-Star Race should return to Charlotte Motor Speedway. Keselowski said such a move could mean the end of the Roval race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 'I'd like to see the All-Star Race most likely return to Charlotte,' he said after winning the pole for Sunday's All-Star Race. 'That's my only personal opinion. Nate Ryan, 'I think the Charlotte racetrack, particularly since it only has one race on the oval, I think that's a miss for our sport. 'It's a great racetrack, puts on some of the best racing. So, it would make sense to me if we were to revert back to that, make this (North Wilkesboro) a (points) race and probably get rid of a race like the Roval or something like that.' Dustin Long, When asked why get rid of the Roval, noting the event has had some memorable moments, Keselowski said: 'Has it? Really? I look at the stands and there's more (fans) that come to the oval race. Better ratings, too. I thought's that what we judge the sport by.' Charlotte Motor Speedway had two points races and the All-Star Race in 32 of 33 years from 1985-2017. The Roval debuted in 2018 to offset shrinking attendance in Charlotte's playoff oval race. The Roval will host a playoff race for an eighth consecutive year. It has been a cutoff race each year. The Roval will end the second round again this year. The All-Star Race left Charlotte after the 2019 season. It was held at Bristol in 2020 and Texas in 2021-22 before moving to North Wilkesboro in 2023, highlighting the track's revival. Kyle Larson won the event on 2023. Joey Logano led all but one of the 200 laps in winning last year's All-Star Race. North Wilkesboro last hosted a Cup points race in 1996.
NBC Sports
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
Brad Keselowski claims pole for All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Brad Keselowski, who has suffered through the worst start of a season in his Cup career, won the pole for Sunday night's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Keselowski, who is 33rd in the points, also earned the pole for his heat race Saturday with the qualifying effort. There will be two heat races Saturday. The first heat race features those in the odd-number positions in the qualifying results. The second heat will feature those in the even-numbered positions in the qualifying results. Keselowski will be on the pole for the first heat. Christopher Bell, who qualified second, will be on the pole for the second heat race. The heat races will set the starting lineup for Sunday's All-Star Race other than the pole. Keselowski gets that regardless of how he finishes in his heat race. MORE: All-Star qualifying results Shane van Gisbergen, who is 35th in points, earned the pole for Sunday's Open, the 18-car event for those seeking to advance to the All-Star Race. Both fields were set in a qualifying format that featured three laps and a four-tire pit stop. Quickest elapsed time earned the pole. Keselowski, who has finished 26th or worse in nine of the first 12 points races of the season, said Friday's qualifying effort was significant for his RFK Racing team. 'Thi (success) is tangible, it's visible outside of our team circle,' Keselowski said. 'Those, they build up. They build momentum. They build positivity inside the group that manifests itself in a higher level of teamwork and craftsmanship. 'I think the team is a pretty resilient group. I don't care who you are as a team, we all need some positive reinforcement and encouragement. There was nothing negative about today.' MORE: All-Star Open starting lineup Michael McDowell's pit crew posted the fastest four-tire pit stop during his qualifying effort at 12.587 seconds to win the $100,000 bonus. The pit crew for Daniel Suarez was second at 12.600 seconds. Shane van Gisbergen won the pole for Sunday's All-Star Open. Carson Hocevar qualified second, Noah Gragson third, McDowell fourth and Ryan Preece fifth. The top two finishers in the Open advance to the All-Star Race. A third driver will transfer via the fan vote.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Chris Buescher, RFK Racing react to L1 penalty: 'It's already behind me right now'
NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — One day after NASCAR officials levied an L1-grade penalty against them, RFK Racing's No. 17 team was back to business Friday, the first day of tuning for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The punishment for unapproved reinforcement of its front bumper cover during last weekend's event resulted in a 60-point deduction for driver Chris Buescher and the team in the Cup Series standings, a $75,000 fine and a two-race suspension for crew chief Scott Graves. RFK Racing indicated Friday that Graves would begin serving his suspension this weekend with veteran Doug Randolph filling in, but that its final determination on what happened and whether to appeal was ongoing. Advertisement 'There's been a lot going on,' said Brad Keselowski, in his fourth year as an owner-driver. 'I mean, honestly, I was traveling most of the week with media appearances, sponsor stuff, and I haven't got all of it dialed in yet to fully understand. We have till Monday to do so, and we're going to exhaust that time period and evaluate everything by then.' RELATED: All-Star Weekend schedule | Cup Series standings The penalty knocked Buescher from 14th place in the provisional Cup Series Playoffs standings to a below-the-bubble 24th — 27 points on the minus side. No points will be on the line during this weekend's All-Star exhibition at North Wilkesboro, meaning the team will have to wait until the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25 to attempt to regroup. In the meantime, Buescher has his sights on the task at hand — his fifth All-Star Race appearance. Advertisement 'Yeah, it's already behind me right now,' said Buescher, who notched his career-best All-Star finish in third here last year. 'You know, we're here at the race track, we've been prepping for this race for a really long time already. Nothing's changing on our weekend. For us, we'll deal with that during the work week, but it's race weekend now. So yeah, with the speed we've had this year and what we've been able to do at a lot of different styles of race tracks, it's the same opportunity we felt like we had before Thursday. So yeah, I'm ready to go for this one.' Keselowski, for one, said he had faith in Buescher's ability to bounce back. 'Oh, they've got a lot of great races in front of them, for them,' Keselowski said. 'Chris is a phenomenal road-course racer, a great racer in general, but a lot of potential there.' Buescher has six top-10 finishes through the first 12 races of 2025, including an eighth place at Kansas, where he qualified a season-best second. The Texas native has led just two laps this year, but as Keselowski mentioned, road courses hold a certain level of promise; the most recent of Buescher's six Cup Series victories came in convincing fashion at Watkins Glen last September. Advertisement He's no slouch on short tracks, either, with Bristol and Richmond among the venues where he's been victorious. Adding North Wilkesboro to that list this weekend won't help his points predicament, but the opportunity for some hard-nosed competition and bragging rights is the more pressing goal. 'You've got to rough people up for a million dollars, I guarantee it, and that's the way it should be,' Buescher said. 'It's supposed to be good, hard racing here. We've had some great racing through the years here, well before we came back, and we're trying to be a part of more coming back to this historic raceway here.'
