NASCAR has announced changes for the upcoming All-Star Race weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
According to a press release, the Heat races on Saturday, May 17, will now be longer than in years past. NASCAR has extended these races from 60 laps to 75 laps. Additionally, each Heat race will now feature a caution at or around Lap 30.
Photo credit: NASCAR
All laps will count during these Heat races. If needed, they will feature overtime. However, each race will only have one attempt at overtime.
The Heat races are part of the packed race weekend at the historic North Carolina short track. These two events on May 17 will feature the drivers already locked into Sunday's All-Star Race.
Heat Race 1 will set the inside row for the All-Star Race. Heat Race 2 will set the outside row. The final three spots in the main event on Sunday, May 18, will go to the top two finishers in the All-Star Open and the winner of the fan vote.
The current drivers with secure spots in the exhibition race are: William Byron, Daniel Suárez, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Josh Berry, and Kyle Busch.
The extension of the Heat Races is only the latest change to the All-Star weekend for 2025. NASCAR also previously announced a Manufacturer Showdown, which awards bragging rights to the OEM with the lowest combined finishing total among eligible drivers.
Another big change for this season is the introduction of the Promoter's Caution. Speedway Motorsports and CEO Marcus Smith will have the opportunity to throw a random caution between Lap 100 and Lap 220. This will bunch the field back up and set up a late restart.
The teams and drivers do not know when this promoter's caution will take place. They will just have to plan for every potential scenario when creating their tire strategy.