NASCAR All-Star Race 101 – Format & More

The NASCAR All-Star Race has become one of the sport’s most innovative exhibition events, where formats and technical elements can be tested on a grand scale and this weekend’s spectacular will be no different.

NASCAR and Texas Motor Speedway announced earlier this season the format, technical elements, and pre-race festivities for the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race. The event, which moves to TMS for the first time in its 36-race history, will have a Fort Worth feel as the pre-race festivities will feature an Old Western theme during driver introductions. 

The NASCAR All-Star race format is as follows:

• The race will feature six rounds, totaling 100 laps.
• Starting lineup for Round 1 will be determined via random draw.
• Rounds 1 through 4 will be 15 laps each; Round 5 will be 30 laps; the Final Round will feature a 10-lap shootout. 
• At the beginning of Round 2, the field will be inverted via random draw (minimum of eight/maximum of 12) live on FS1.
• The round 2 random draw will also be seen live by fans attending the race on Big Hoss TV.
• Before the start of Round 3, the entire field will be inverted.
• At the beginning of Round 4, the field will be inverted via random draw (minimum of eight/maximum of 12).
• Starting positions for Round 5 will consist of the cumulative finish from Rounds 1-4. The lowest cumulative finisher starts on the pole, second-lowest starts second, and so forth. All cars must enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop during Round 5.
• The starting positions in the Final Round are set by finishing positions of Round 5.
• Only green flag laps will count in the NASCAR All-Star race.
• The fastest team on pit road during the mandatory pit stop will earn $100,000.
• The race winner will be awarded $1,000,000.  

From a technical side, all elements of the car remain the same except for the tapered spacer which will be 57/64ths. 

NASCAR Open format is as follows:

• The NASCAR Open will run immediately prior to the NASCAR All-Star Race and will include three segments (20 laps / 20 laps / 10 laps).
• The winner of each segment will earn a spot in the All-Star Race as well as the winner of the Fan Vote. Fans may vote for their favorite driver by visitingwww.NASCAR.comfor details.

Who’s already locked into the Main Event – the 2021 NASCAR All-Stars

Heading into this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, 17 different drivers have earned their spot in the NASCAR All-Star Race on June 13 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

To be eligible for the NASCAR All-Star race this season, a driver must have won a Cup points event in either 2020 or 2021; have won a NASCAR All-Star Race and compete full-time; or have won a NASCAR Cup Series championship and compete full-time.

Of the 17 drivers already entered in the NASCAR All-Star race, eight have scored wins in the yearly exhibition event, led by Kevin Harvick with two All-Star victories (2018, 2007). 2020 series champion, Chase Elliott is the most recent NASCAR All-Star race winner, bringing home the victory from Bristol Motor Speedway last season.

In total, 21 drivers will make a start in this season’s NASCAR All-Star race, four additional positions will be added to the NASCAR All-Star Race field following the NASCAR Open – the NASCAR Open Stage 1 Winner, the NASCAR Open Stage 2 Winner, the NASCAR Open Race Winner, and the Fan Vote Winner.

A dive into the NASCAR Open

The NASCAR Open was first introduced into the All-Star format in 1986 at Atlanta Motor Speedway – the first event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Benny Parsons, but it did not grant him entry to the All-Star race; that started the following season.

There have been 38 NASCAR Open events, one per year since 1986; except in 2000, 2001 and 2002 it was held as two events with both winners moving on to the All-Star Race. Starting in 2015, the Open was broken up into segments and then in 2017 it was divided into stages and each winner of the segments, or the stages earned a spot in the All-Star race.

A total of 28 different drivers have won the NASCAR Open from 1986-2020; four are active this weekend and only two are entered in this weekend’s Open – Matt DiBenedetto and Daniel Suarez – the other three former Open winners have already qualified for the All-Star race.

Sterling Marlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series in NASCAR Open wins with four victories (1988, 1989, 1993 and 2004).

Eight of the 28 NASCAR Open winners have multiple wins – Sterling Marlin (four wins), AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Jeremy Mayfield, Martin Truex Jr., Michael Waltrip, Kyle Larson, and Todd Bodine each have two Open victories. And three drivers have won consecutive NASCAR Opens – Sterling Marlin (1988-89), Michael Waltrip (1991-92) and Clint Bowyer (2014-15).

Ryan Newman (2002) and Kyle Larson (2019) are the only two drivers to win the NASCAR Open and the All-Star Race in the same weekend. 

Among the 22 drivers vying for the coveted wins in this weekend’s NASCAR Open to move on to the All-Star race, Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick has the best average finish in points-paying races at Texas Motor Speedway, with a series leading 8.5 in two starts. Right behind him is Richard Petty Motorsport’s Erik Jones with an average finish of 10.3 in points-paying races at Texas.