The Cup Series teams take on North Wilkesboro Speedway on Friday while officially kicking off All-Star Race weekend.
The Cup Series teams will take part in practice and qualifying at the historic short track. The CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car division teams will also be in action as they complete a 100-lap race. This weekend marks a first for the zMAX CARS Tour as FS1 broadcasts the event.
Unlike a standard race weekend, the schedule will not solely feature practice and qualifying. Instead, the Cup Series teams will split into groups based on whether they have already qualified for the All-Star Race. They will then take part in practice and the Pit Crew Challenge, which serves as the qualifying session.
This season marks the third consecutive time the pit crews will compete in the Pit Crew Challenge at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing has won the first two challenges with the same crew: front tire changer Blake Houston, tire carrier Jacob Holmes, jackman Derrell Edwards, and fueler Peyton Moore.
This group scored the win for Ty Gibbs in 2023 as NASCAR brought back the Pit Crew Challenge. They then moved to Christopher Bell's car in 2024 and successfully defended their win. Now, they will try to score their third consecutive win on Friday evening.
North Wilkesboro Speedway forecast and Friday schedule
Friday forecast: The forecast calls for cloudy skies throughout the day with a chance of a stray thunderstorm. A high of 77 degrees and a 14% chance of rain at the start of the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car race.
Friday, May 16, schedule (Eastern Time)
- 10:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. -- Cup Series garage hours
- 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. -- Truck Series garage hours
- 7 p.m. -- CARS Tour garage hours
- 4 - 4:25 p.m. -- Cup Series Pit Road Qualifying Entry/Exit Practice (Open cars. FS2, Radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 4:30 - 4:55 p.m. -- Cup Series Pit Road Qualifying Entry/Exit Practice (All-Star cars. FS2, Radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 5:05 - 5:50 p.m. -- Cup Series practice (FS2, Radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 6:10 - 6:50 -- Cup Series Open qualifying/Pit Crew Challenge (FS1, Radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 7:05 - 8 p.m. -- Cup Series All-Star qualifying/Pit Crew Challenge (FS1, Radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 8:15 p.m. -- CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car race (100 laps. FS1)