North Wilkesboro has been dormant of Cup Series activity since 1996, but was recently catapulted back onto the schedule after massive rebuilding efforts to bring the track back to its former glory. It certainly provided the perfect battleground for the Cup Series’ annual non-point paying All-Star race – a race that saw Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevy Camaro class the field.
Larson, hot off his win during the Truck Series race on Saturday night, picked up right where he left off in the No. 5 Camaro when the green flag dropped. Just 18 laps in, he made the pass for the lead on Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 99 Chevy Camaro, and went on to lead all but 55 laps of the 200-lap race.
“I can’t even tell you what it means,” Larson said. “This is my third All-Star win and my third different track. In a historical place like that, you guys and the crowd made this weekend so awesome. We could feel the atmosphere all weekend.”
He added, “So much fun there. That was an old-school ass whipping, for sure. We had a great car on the long run there and was just thinking for sure there was going to be a caution. I got out to a big lead, and I could see everybody’s cars were driving like crap in front of me, but I cannot thank this 5 team enough.”
Larson explained that he struggled with the handling in the No. 5 NASCAR Chevy throughout practice, but praised his team for nailing it down before the race, allowing him to show what the Camaro could do.
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Camaro, was the next-best Bow Tie team, having finished fifth. Meanwhile, Josh Berry, who is currently subbing for Alex Bowman behind the wheel of the No. 48 Camaro, raced his way into the invitation-only All-Star Race by winning the Open, another exhibition race, and ultimately finished 15th.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 200 | 145 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 10 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota | 200 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 3 | 20 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | The Beast Unleashed Toyota | 200 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 5 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | HighPoint.com Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 13 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 11 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Wrangler Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 7 | 1 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Motorplex Chevrolet | 200 | 55 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 21 | 43 | Erik Jones | STP Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 23 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 200 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 200 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 18 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 7 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 200 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 13 | 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Yahoo! Toyota | 199 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 14 | 12 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 199 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 15 | 22 | 48 | Josh Berry(i) | Ally Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 2 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 199 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 4 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BREZTRI Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 15 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Ford | 198 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 19 | 8 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Nexlizet Ford | 198 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 6 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 17 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Keystone Light Ford | 198 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 14 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Thorntons Chevrolet | 198 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 24 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 19 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Coca-Cola Chevrolet | 196 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comments
Old-school @$$-whoopin
I was thinking the same thing.
Ya forgot to mention that Larson had to go to the back of the as he had a SPEEDING penalty! I watched him pass every car like they were standing still. The set up allowed Larson to use some areas that had cement & got great traction. It was truly amazing what Kyle & his team did. I’m sure NASCAR will be tearing down his car for some kind of infraction!
Thank you Dale Earnhardt jr. for your outstanding effort to get this dhow on the road!
Snoopy
On TV the race looked ‘fast’! Some tracks on TV (Michigan) just look like watching highway traffic even though speeds are much faster. Miss some of the old short track races.
Hmmm anyone else notice Bubba Wallace BOLDLY expressing his middle finger while being interviewed by Jamie Little. Just read that NASCAR isn’t going to penalize Bubba for that gesture. Really wonder if it had been Kyle Larson! Why is NASCAR bending over for BUBBA, perhaps afraid of the BLM crew! Just saying! This is at least round TWO that Bubba has not been issued a penalty for his actions!
Snoopy
Yup! I sure noticed. Confirms what I think about him. A real ____!