Four Drivers Earn Spots in All-Star Race Based on All-Star Open Performances

It was an All-Star kind of day for NASCAR on Wednesday night as the annual All-Star Open and All-Star Race took place. In a rare non-points race day where all that was at stake was bragging rights and a cool $1 million, it was a nice opportunity for drivers to get a breather and have some fun before the stretch run to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs get underway in early September.

There were changes in the air from the start of the race. After being held in Charlotte at Charlotte Motor Speedway all but one year since the concept was created in 1985, this year’s event came to you from the World’s Fastest Half Mile of Bristol Motor Speedway. The decision was made to move the race this year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic because the Tennessee government allowed the track to sell some seats. Up to 30,000 seats were available in the 140,000-seat venue and it was estimated that at least 20,000 people were in attendance in the most highly-attended sporting event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The All-Star Open was the first of the two races to take place on the track Wednesday night. In that race, drivers that hadn’t earned a win in the last calendar year could race for a chance to get into the 20-car field for the All-Star race. The race was broken up into three stages, with stages 1 and 2 consisting of 35 laps while stage 3 would cover the final 15 laps. All stages must end under green flags and the caution laps between stages would not factor into the lap count. There were 20 cars in the field for the All-Star Open, with the winners of each of the three stages advancing to the All-Star Race along with the leading vote-getter from fans. In addition, the winner of the first stage wouldn’t compete in the final two stages in order to protect their vehicle for the All-Star race. The winner of the second stage wouldn’t compete in the final stage for the same reason.

As the race unfolded, there wasn’t a ton of movement between vehicles in the race. In the opening stage of the race, Michael McDowell held the lead for the first 10 laps of the race before giving way to Aric Almirola, who took over the lead on lap 11 and held the edge through lap 35 to earn the stage one win and punch his ticket to the All-Star Race. As for McDowell, he was involved in a crash with Bubba Wallace on lap 17 that knocked Wallace out of the race and triggered his temper. After getting out of his car, Wallace left the bumper of his car on the truck that hauls McDowell’s vehicle around. Since he was knocked out of the race and was unable to compete, Wallace was eliminated from competing in the All-Star Race, even if he were to earn the fan vote later in the night.

After the crash, Wallace had this to say when interviewed on FS1. “Just disrespect when you get hooked into the wall. I don’t even need to see a replay. … People say (McDowell’s) one of the nicest guys in the garage. Can’t wait for the God-fearing text he that he’s going to send me about preaching and praising and respect. What a joke he is.”

Stage two was a little more straightforward. Outside of a crash involving John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Preece that led to a five-lap caution between laps 38 and 42, there wasn’t much in the way of ups and downs. William Byron, who was second to Almirola in the first stage, led the entire way and took the second stage en route to qualifying for the All-Star Race. With just 18 cars left in the field for the 15-lap sprint to the finish, it was the 21 car of Matt DiBenedetto that led the whole way to punch his ticket to the main event of the evening. He held off Clint Bowyer to earn the stage win, with Austin Dillon, Chris Bueschler and Ty Dillon rounding out the top five. DiBenedetto earned the win, taking the checkered flag by a margin of .789 seconds.

When it came to the fan balloting, which had closed Tuesday, Bowyer was the top vote-getter among the cars left on the track. That punched his ticket into the 20-car field for the All-Star Race held later Wednesday evening. What happened in that race? We’ll have you covered with all the information about that later today.

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Chris King

Chris King has been immersed in the world of professional and collegiate sports for more than three decades. Whether it's playing pickup games or being involved in organized sports to being a fan, he's checked all the boxes. From the NFL to arena football, the NHL to the KHL, the NBA to the WNBA to college hoops, and even MLB to the KBO. If it's out there, he's covered it and bet on it as well, as Chris has been an expert bettor in his career. Before joining Winners and Whiners back in 2015, his work appeared around the internet and in print. He's written books for Ruckus Books about college basketball, the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, golf, and the World Cup. If you're looking for the inside track on hitting a winner, do yourself a favor and read what Chris has to say.