3 days agoJoey Logano put on a dominating effort at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday night, leading 199 of the 200 laps in the All-Star race and taking home the $1 million prize. This win is a nice shot in the arm for the No. 22 Penske Racing team, as Logano is currently in the midst of one of the worst seasons in his career. Through the first 13 races of 2024, Logano has an average finish of 18.8 and just one top-five result. His average finish hasn't been that bad since the 2011 season. With that being said, the All-Star race is still an exhibition event, so it didn't lock Logano into the playoffs this year. The dominating win was also overshadowed by the post-race fight between Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Yahoo! Sports
3 days agoDenny Hamlin continues to remain one of the best short-track performers of the season, as he finished second in the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro. This was the best finish of his Cup career at North Wilkesboro. Starting from the 11th position, Hamlin methodically worked through the field, prevailing against others during long green flag runs. Hamlin's pit crew also helped him gain a few positions until he was behind Joey Logano. Despite having a slightly faster car by the end, Hamlin could not pass Logano for the win, losing by 0.636 seconds. Although he was the most expensive driver for DFS this week, Hamlin was worth the high salary as he ended the All-Star race as the second-highest point scorer overall. With the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte being the next race, Hamlin should be one of the top favorites to consider as he won the event in 2022 and has three finishes of seventh or better in the last four Cup events there.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 days agoTeam Penske driver Ryan Blaney ended the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the fifth position after a hard-fought day. Blaney had plenty of work to do during the race as he started from the 17th position. Over the course of the race, through pit strategy, great moves during restarts, and with a car with better speeds than most, Blaney was as high as second place before fading back to fifth. This marks the second time Blaney scored a top-10 finish in the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro and the first time he placed in the Top 5 at the site. DFS players who rostered him were satisfied with Blaney's performance this week as he ended as the third-highest scorer on both DraftKings and FanDuel. As the Cup Series heads to Charlotte, Blaney should be one to watch as the defending winner of the Coca-Cola 600.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 days agoRicky Stenhouse Jr crashed in yesterday's NASCAR All-Star Race after two laps and finished last, triggering a post-race fight with Kyle Busch that overshadowed the entire race. On the opening lap, Stenhouse poked his nose between sixth-row starters, Denny Hamlin and Busch, to make a three-wide pass down the middle, but it forced Busch into the upper groove and he lightly scraped the wall. Busch was none too happy and wrecked Stenhouse in retaliation on the following lap, causing enough damage to take him out of the race. In response, Stenhouse parked in Busch's pit stall before throwing a punch after the race ended. The fight eventually also involved crew members for the No. 8 and No. 47 teams and Stenhouse's father. It is unclear whether Stenhouse will be suspended for the incident. Whatever happens, it is likely the only thing most fans will remember about this race.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 days agoKyle Busch had a mediocre run in last night's NASCAR All-Star Race, starting 14th and finishing 10th, but that's not what people will remember. On lap 1, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. made a three-wide pass on Denny Hamlin and Busch down the middle, forcing Busch into the wall. Rowdy decided to retaliate, sending Stenhouse into the wall on the following lap. Stenhouse confronted Busch after the race and punched him. Although they fought briefly, Busch seemed weirdly nonchalant about it and was down on himself as much as Stenhouse, replying, "I suck just as bad as you". Clearly, Busch is upset about his inability to figure out the Next Gen car, particularly after NASCAR offered fewer practice sessions for the drivers. Busch has a history of being unable to handle his emotions and underachieving as a result, which does not bode well for the rest of the season.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 days agoAfter finishing second in the All-Star Open, Bubba Wallace advanced to the main event of All-Star weekend, where he finished in sixth place. While the 2024 All-Star race will largely be remembered for Joey Logano leading 199 of 200 laps, Wallace's efforts should not be ignored. After starting 19th, the 23XI star finished with a plus-13 in place differential, which earned him 51 DraftKings points and a spot in the winning lineup on the site's featured contest. Interestingly, despite Logano's dominant performance, Wallace was the one the driver that the No. 22 could not get around in Sunday's race. In the closing laps before a mandatory caution on Lap 100, Wallace and Logano battled each other hard as Wallace fought to remain on the lead lap. With Logano unable to put Wallace a lap down, the No. 23 was able to maintain track position, which served him well entering the mandatory caution. Up next for the Cup Series is a trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest race of the year.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Jayski.com
3 days agoAfter starting 15th, Chase Elliott finished eighth in Sunday's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Overall, it was an uneventful race for the second-generation Cup driver as Joey Logano dominated the race from start to finish. Despite it being a lackluster day for most drivers, Elliott did manage to score 43.90 points for the 31.58% that rostered him on DraftKings, which was the seventh-highest score of any driver on the slate. While fans of the Hendrick Motorsports star were certainly hoping for a better finish, there should be some comfort in knowing that he did move up seven spots on a track that was very hard to pass on. Nevertheless, with the All-Star race now behind us, the Cup Series will turn its attention to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Jayski.com
3 days agoChristopher Bell battled for the lead for quite a while at North Wilkesboro. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver started third and clashed several times with Denny Hamlin and particularly, Joey Logano. Bell never cleared Logano for the lead and after being forced three-wide several times, the No. 20 car ran into problems. The car kept slowing down. With times in the 19-19.2 second range, Bell lost positions and speed off the corners in bunches. Some of that could be attributed to the run-in with Logano on Lap 115. Some of that was the Toyota fading in speed performance.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 days agoChris Buescher never could get past Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano in the final quarter of the NASCAR All-Star Race. The RFK Racing driver did end up third at North Wilkesboro after starting fifth on Sunday night. It was one of those races that had more action down the standings than up it. Buescher moved up, down, and around. Over the final ten laps, the No. 17 Ford kept losing time to Joey Logano (around 0.1 seconds per lap). Any chance of winning the race or even moving up further was put to rest. On the 0.625-mile track, speed off the turns was not an asset Buescher had to work with in the end.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
4 days agoTyler Reddick will start sixth in Sunday's All-Star Race from North Wilkesboro Speedway. After leading 174 laps last weekend, Reddick looked to be in position to bring home the checkered flag until a late race mistake cost both him and Chris Buescher a shot at victory. Despite
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4 days agoJoey Logano will start on the pole in Sunday's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Logano, a former All-Star Race winner (2016), finds himself in an unusual spot heading into the weekend as he sits 17th in the standings, which places him on the wrong side of the
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4 days agoAfter qualifying for the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Christopher Bell will start third. Bell's pit crew won the pit crew challenge and will also get their first pick of pit stalls for the All-Star race. In last year's All-Star race at North Wilkesboro, Bell placed 12th
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4 days agoDuring qualifying for this week's All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, William Byron gained a starting position of 13th. Byron obtained the deep starting spot after he nabbed a penalty for speeding during the pit crew challenge portion of qualifying. In last year's All-Star race at North Wilkesboro,
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4 days agoDenny Hamlin collected a starting position of 11th after qualifying for the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. This is the lowest starting position at North Wilkesboro of his career so far. In last year's All-Star race at NWB, Hamlin placed 13th after starting ninth, finishing as the first driver one lap down. With 13 races completed so far in the 2024 season, Hamlin has three wins, including two at short tracks, six top-10 finishes, and remains the only driver to have led laps in all Cup events. In practice, Hamlin was one of the fastest and best overall drivers. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota displayed top-5 speeds in almost all categories and ranked first in 25 and 30 consecutive lap averages. With great equipment, top-notch practice speeds, and his overall 2024 performance so far, Hamlin is one of the top favorites to win this year's All-Star race.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
4 days agoHendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson received a starting position of 12th for this week's All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Larson, however, will have to drop to the rear for a driver change as substitute driver Kevin Harvick drove the No. 5 Chevrolet during practice and qualifying. In practice, Harvick was one of the slower drivers as he ranked as high as 14th in 30 consecutive lap averages, showcasing that the No. 5 car was fastest on the longer run. In last year's All-Star race at North Wilkesboro, Larson was the dominant driver leading 145 laps and winning. After 13 races completed in 2024, Larson has two wins, and six top-5 finishes, which is the most of all drivers so far and also includes Bristol, Richmond, and Martinsville. Although Larson will not have any track time with the car until the All-Star race himself and drop to the rear, he is still one to watch at NWB due to his short track success this year and dominant performance at the site last year.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
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