Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell win All-Star race heats at North Wilkesboro
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NORTH WILKSBORO, N.C.—Brad Keselowski checked the second box on Saturday.
Having won the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race, Keselowski backed up his victory in Friday’s time trials with a win in Saturday’s first All-Star heat race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Already guaranteed the top starting spot, Keselowski will lead the field to green in Sunday’s $1-million-to-win exhibition event (8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Christopher Bell, second in Friday’s qualifying, secured the other front-row starting position with a decisive victory in the second heat.
Though the box score shows Keselowski leading 74 of 75 laps in the first heat, his victory wasn’t easy.
During the competition caution at Lap 31, Keselowski stayed on the track on old tires, as did Tyler Reddick Austin Dillon and Josh Berry. William Byron, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman pitted for new tires at the break.
Over the final 38 laps, both Byron and Chastain took turns challenging for the lead, but Keselowski stubbornly held his position in the superior top lane and held off his challengers.
“That’s what this is supposed to be,” Keselowski said. “It’s supposed to be a fun race, and I think I ran beside the 45 (Reddick), the 1 (Chastain), the 24 (Byron) for at least a dozen or maybe two dozen laps. It was a good battle.
“I’m glad that we came out on top, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be, right?”
On Lap 54, Chastain nosed ahead to lead the lap as he and Keselowski raced side by side, but Chastain’s advantage was short-lived.
After finishing second in a 10-lap drag race against Byron, Chastain will start third in the All-Star Race, as the finishing order for the heat set the inside row grid positions for the main event.
In the second heat, which established the starting order for the outside row on Sunday, Bell led every green-flag lap. He surrendered the top spot only during a two-tire stop under the competition caution called on Lap 31, when Chase Briscoe stayed on the track and led six laps under yellow.
Unlike Keselowski in the first heat, Bell didn’t face any meaningful challenges for the lead. He finished 2.085 seconds ahead of runner-up Joey Logano, the winner of last year’s All-Star Race.
“It was really refreshing to be able to get out there and just cruise those first 30 laps,” Bell said. “I didn’t know how it was going to work out with Joey having four tires right behind me, but this thing (the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) was on rails.
“I’m really happy and excited about the opportunity tomorrow.”
Logano will start fourth on Sunday night, with third-place finisher Chase Elliott behind him on the outside row, fourth-place finisher Kyle Busch on the outside of the fourth row, and so forth.
Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton and Denny Hamlin finished fifth through 10th in the first heat. Hamlin fought severe handling issues with a car that had difficulty turning through the corners.
In the first heat, Byron finished third, followed by Blaney, Bowman, Berry, Reddick, Dillon and Stenhouse. Justin Allgaier, who practiced and qualified Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet on Friday, did not compete in the heat.
After qualifying 21st fastest in Saturday’s time trials for the May 25 Indianapolis 500, Larson will race his car at North Wilkesboro on Sunday.
Larson and the 19 drivers who competed in the heats on Saturday already are locked into the All-Staar Race. Two more drivers will be added to the rear of the field from the All-Star Open, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
An additional driver will be selected through the All-Star Fan Vote, which Noah Gragson has won for the last two years.
Race 1 Results for the NASCAR All-Star Race - Sunday, May 18, 2025
North Wilkesboro Speedway - North Wilkesboro, NC - 0.625 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 75 Laps - 46.875 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 5/17/2025 @ 06:17 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Playoff Status Tms Laps Pts Stage 2 Pos
1 1 6 Brad Keselowski Solomon Plumbing Ford 75 0 Running 2 74
2 9 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Fan Vote Chevrolet 75 0 Running 1 1
3 3 24 William Byron Valvoline Chevrolet 75 0 Running
4 10 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Wrangler Ford 75 0 Running
5 2 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 75 0 Running
6 7 21 Josh Berry DEX Imaging Ford 75 0 Running
7 5 45 Tyler Reddick SiriusXM Toyota 75 0 Running
8 4 3 Austin Dillon Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet 75 0 Running
9 6 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SUNNYD Chevrolet 75 0 Running
10 8 5 Justin Allgaier HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 0 0
Fastest Lap Bonus: #45, lap 15 / 18.714
Race Comments: Brad Keselowski was won Heat 1 for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro.
Failed to Qualify: None.
Time of Race: Average Speed: Margin of Victory:
Caution Flags: 1 for 6 laps; Laps: 32-37 (All-Star Caution [None]).
2 among 2 drivers; B. Keselowski 1-53; R. Chastain 54; B. Keselowski 55-75. Lead Changes:
0 MPH 0 Seconds
Stage 2 Top 10:
Stage 1 Top 10:
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Race 2 Results for the NASCAR All-Star Race - Sunday, May 18, 2025
North Wilkesboro Speedway - North Wilkesboro, NC - 0.625 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 75 Laps - 46.875 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 5/17/2025 @ 06:50 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Playoff Status Tms Laps Pts Stage 2 Pos
1 1 20 Christopher Bell Mobil 1 Toyota 75 0 Running 2 69
2 3 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 75 0 Running
3 5 9 Chase Elliott Amazon Prime Video Chevrolet 75 0 Running
4 6 8 Kyle Busch SENIX Chevrolet 75 0 Running
5 8 17 Chris Buescher Kroger/Tylenol Ford 75 0 Running
6 10 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 75 0 Running
7 2 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 75 0 Running 1 6
8 9 2 Austin Cindric Freightliner Ford 75 0 Running
9 7 51 Harrison Burton Morton Buildings Ford 75 0 Running
10 4 11 Denny Hamlin Progressive Toyota 75 0 Running
Fastest Lap Bonus: #20, lap 50 / 18.539
Race Comments: Christopher Bell was won Heat 2 for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro.
Failed to Qualify: None.
Time of Race: 0 Hrs, 30 Mins, 23 Secs. Average Speed: Margin of Victory:
Caution Flags: 2 for 12 laps; Laps: 32-39 (All-Star Caution [None]); 43-46 (#19, 99 Incident Frontstretch [None]).
2 among 2 drivers; C. Bell 1-33; C. Briscoe 34-39; C. Bell 40-75.
Lead Changes: 92.567 MPH 2.085 Seconds
Stage 2 Top 10:
Stage 1 Top 10:
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