CONCORD, N.C. – The format for the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway is set.
It is pretty straight forward – the All-Star Race will be 200 laps with a competition break at or around lap 100. All laps (caution and green flag) will count and NASCAR Overtime rules will be in effect. The winner of the event will take home $1,000,000.
The weekend will also include a Pit Crew Challenge that will determine the starting lineups for the All-Star Heat races as well as the All-Star Open. The drivers already locked into the All-Star Race field will be split into two 60-lap heat races to determine the starting lineup for the All-Star Race.
RELATED: North Wilkesboro Speedway to host 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race
To be eligible for the All-Star Race a driver has to meet one of the following four criteria:
1. A points race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series in either 2022 or 2023;
2. A past All-Star Race winner or NASCAR Cup Series champion;
3. A top-two finisher in the All-Star Open;
4. The NASCAR Fan Vote winner
All four full-time Hendrick Motorsports drivers -- Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson -- have qualified for the All-Star Race. With Berry filling in for Bowman, the No. 48 Ally Racing team will be in the All-Star Open and Berry will need to finish in the top-two positions to transfer to the main event.
RELATED: Bowman offers update on recovery
Drivers who are not eligible for the All-Star Race will compete in the All-Star Open, where the top two finishers will advance to the main event. A Fan Vote winner will complete the field.
Find out all about the weekend festivities below with additional details.
Friday, May 19
NASCAR Cup Series practice for both the Open and All-Star entries (4 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio-Channel 90).
Pit Crew Challenge presented by Mechanix Wear (5:45 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio-Channel 90): All pit crews will complete a four-tire pit stop (taking no fuel). The results of the pit stop time only will determine the starting lineups for both the All-Star Heat Races and All-Star Open.
Saturday, May 20
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio-Channel 90): Larson and Byron are set to run for Spire Motorsports and Kyle Busch Motorsports, respectively.
MORE: Larson to run truck event at North Wilkesboro | Byron set for three truck races
All-Star Heat Races (7:20 p.m. ET and approximately 8:15 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio-Channel 90): Two 60-lap heat races will determine the starting lineup for the All-Star Race. The results of the first heat will set the inside row for the All-Star Race, while the results of the second heat will set the outside row for the All-Star Race. Teams will start on sticker tires and have one additional set in the pits. All laps will count.
Sunday, May 21
All-Star Open (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio-Channel 90): 100 laps with a competition break around lap 40. Teams will start on sticker tires and have one additional set in the pits. All laps will count. The top two finishers and the Fan Vote winner transfer to the main event.
All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio-Channel 90): 200 laps with a competition break on or around lap 100. Each team will begin the race on sticker tires and have three additional sets to use. Following the competition break, only one additional set of sticker tires can be used.
"The star of this year’s All-Star Race is the track," NASCAR Hall of Famer, NBC Sports analyst and former Hendrick Motorsports driver (from 2008 to 2017) Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in a release. "The history, the nostalgia, the surface - just being back at North Wilkesboro (Speedway). People have wanted traditional racing back at North Wilkesboro for decades, and that’s what’s most important. That’s what this format delivers. The Pit Crew Challenge puts a lot of pressure on the teams, and with a 100-lap Open and a 200-lap All-Star Race, I’m excited to sit back alongside the fans and watch the racing we’ve all wanted for a long time."
The technical rules for the cars will be the same as other Cup Series short track rules. Hendrick Motorsports has won three of the races to date where that package has been used: Byron at Phoenix Raceway and Larson at Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway.
RELATED: More details on the short-track package
The All-Star Race will mark the first Cup Series action at the .625-mile track since 1996. North Wilkesboro hosted 93 NASCAR Cup Series races from 1949 to 1996 with Hendrick Motorsports' sweep of the final season of points-paying races among its four wins at the facility. Jeff Gordon won the last NASCAR Cup Series race to date there on Sept. 29, 1996. Terry Labonte won the spring races in 1994 and 1996 and Geoff Bodine won the fall race in 1989.
North Wilkesboro will be the fifth venue to host the annual all-star event. Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted the first such event in 1985 before Atlanta Motor Speedway served as the host in 1986. The race moved back to Charlotte from 1987 to 2019. Bristol Motor Speedway served as the host in 2020 and Texas Motor Speedway was the site from 2021 to 2022.
Hendrick Motorsports has won the non-points race 10 times in its history. Jimmie Johnson’s four wins (2003, 2006, 2012 and 2013) are the most in event history. Gordon’s three wins (1995, 1997 and 2001) are tied for the second-most with Dale Earnhardt. Labonte (1999), Elliott (2020) and Larson (2021) each have won one All-Star Race for the team.