For the first time in NASCAR All-Star history, the race was held at Bristol Motor Speedway Wednesday night. The race was originally scheduled to take place on May 16th at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but due to the pandemic, the race was postponed.
A different format for this race included three pre-qualifying stages, with the winner of each stage moving on to the evening race along with the fan-favorite driver. Corey LaJoie had to start in the rear of the field for inspection failure in the first stage. For the first pre-qualifier stage, there was a cone-like marking painted on the racetrack that indicated the ‘choose rule’ format. This meant that when the drivers came to that point on the racetrack, they had to pick which lane they wanted either the inside or outside regardless of what position they were in. If they didn’t pick a lane, driving over the marking, they would have to go to the tail end of the field. A pair of Fords started on the front row as Michael McDowell was the pole sitter alongside Aric Almirola.
The first 🎟 to the #AllStarRace is up for grabs in Stage 1 of the All-Star Open! We're GREEN on FS1! pic.twitter.com/ZIO6o71fZZ — NASCAR Alerts (@NASCAR_Alerts) July 15, 2020
In the first stage, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell made contact on the second lap, which caused Reddick to fall to the 17th position. On lap 11, Aric Almirola got the lead from Michael McDowell. McDowell would lose the second position to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. On lap 18, while battling for position, Michael McDowell tapped the back of Bubba Wallace, spinning him out and Wallace hit the outside wall off of turn three to bring out the first caution.
A big crash involving @BubbaWallace and @Mc_Driver! Our first caution of the night is out in the All-Star Open at @BMSupdates. pic.twitter.com/W8OoykuuFs — NASCAR Alerts (@NASCAR_Alerts) July 15, 2020
Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., William Byron, Clint Bowyer, Joey Gase, Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, and Daniel Suarez stayed out while others pitted. Almirola led the field back to green on lap 30 with six laps to go. During the green flag run, Almirola would win stage one and advance to the main event. Caution came out for the remaining drivers as they prepared for stage two.
STAGE WINNER: @Aric_Almirola wins the opening stage of the All-Star Open! He transfers to tonight's #AllStarRace by virtue of this stage victory. pic.twitter.com/0eTZz8xu16 — NASCAR Alerts (@NASCAR_Alerts) July 15, 2020
Under the caution, Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, and others pitted while others stayed out, including William Byron. Byron led the field back to green on lap 37 to start stage two. A lap into stage two, Ryan Preece got loose and tagged John Hunter Nemechek to bring out the caution.
Not one car spinning, but two! @JHNemechek | @RyanPreece_ pic.twitter.com/M7DaLgLv6z — NASCAR Alerts (@NASCAR_Alerts) July 15, 2020
Under the caution, Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece, and John Hunter Nemechek pitted. Byron led the field back to green on lap 43. Tyler Reddick got into the wall from the eighth position, but the race stayed green. Matt DiBenedetto was able to get by Christopher Bell for the second position. William Byron would win stage two and advance to the main event.
STAGE WINNER: @WilliamByron pulls away and takes the second stage of the All-Star Open! The No. 24 transfers to tonight's #AllStarRace! (📺: FS1) pic.twitter.com/EtWncRsh0r — NASCAR Alerts (@NASCAR_Alerts) July 15, 2020
For the third and final stage, there would be only 15 laps as Matt DiBenedetto led the field to the green flag. Austin Dillon got loose trying to get the lead from DiBenedetto, which cost him the second spot to Clint Bowyer. DiBenedetto and Bowyer were able to pull away from the field as DiBenedetto won the final pre-qualifier stage and advanced. Clint Bowyer also advanced by winning the fan vote.
STAGE WINNER: @mattdracing wins the final stage of the All-Star Open! The No. 21 transfers to the #AllStarRace! pic.twitter.com/NA9Cf6q2Yn — NASCAR Alerts (@NASCAR_Alerts) July 16, 2020
In the main event, Martin Truex Jr. was originally the pole-sitter with Alex Bowman in second. However, Truex Jr. had to start in the rear of the field for failing inspection and Ryan Blaney would lead the field to the green flag.
Alex Bowman jumped to an early lead until the third lap when Ryan Blaney got by him. Five laps later, Bowman would lose the second position to Kevin Harvick. Kurt Busch ran into some trouble and spun at turn one to bring out the caution. Busch did not suffer noticeable damage.
A spin for @KurtBusch! The No. 1 goes around following contact with @keselowski during the opening stage. #AllStarRace pic.twitter.com/MgPaJQpIuc — NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2020
Ryan Blaney would lead the field back to the restart. Three laps into the restart, Matt DiBenedetto got into the left rear quarter panel of William Byron and got loose scrapping the outside wall off of turn three. Ryan Blaney extended his lead on Harvick and would go on to win stage one. Under the caution, the leaders pitted with Harvick winning the race off of pit road, and Blaney coming out third.
STAGE WINNER: @Blaney starts strong at @BMSupdates and wins the opening stage of the #AllStarRace! pic.twitter.com/3YeGRhKsJA — NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2020
Harvick led the back to green on lap 57 to start stage two. During the run, Ryan Newman got loose and spun on the backstretch to bring out the third caution of the night.
A tough break for @RyanJNewman in the #AllStarRace. The No. 6 car goes around early in Stage 2. (📺: FS1) pic.twitter.com/yUBVUGCj1n — NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2020
Harvick would lead the field back to green on lap 62. Harvick’s car was not handling well through turns one and two. This allowed Chase Elliott to get by him on the outside of turn four to take the lead. On lap 67, Denny Hamlin bumped his teammate Kyle Busch out of the way for the eighth position. Elliott increased his lead and would go on to take stage two by 1.54 seconds over Kevin Harvick.
NEW LEADER: @chaseelliott takes over the top spot! Can the @TeamHendrick driver pocket a cool $1,000,000 tonight? pic.twitter.com/EC1B0h3ISa — NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2020
STAGE WINNER: @chaseelliott pulls away from @KevinHarvick to win Stage 2 in the #AllStarRace at @BMSupdates! pic.twitter.com/R2MWKdL26O — NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2020
Under the caution, Ryan Blaney stayed out while the other leaders headed for pit road. Brad Keselowski won the race off of pit road, only taking two tires. The race resumed on lap 91 to start stage three. Six laps into the restart, Denny Hamlin bumped Matt DiBenedetto for the eighth position. Elliott and Blaney were having a battle for the lead that ultimately went to Chase Elliott on lap 110. Elliott was gone by that point and would take stage three by .68 seconds over Ryan Blaney, setting up the fourth stage for the final fifteen laps.
.@Blaney and @chaseelliott are on the front row! Catch the remaining two stages of the #AllStarRace now on FS1 or stream the race at https://t.co/oWWAusOO8X! pic.twitter.com/3iZ0GppGuP — NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2020
STAGE WINNER: @chaseelliott makes it back-to-back stage wins in the #AllStarRace at @BMSupdates. pic.twitter.com/9e0tPkPdv2 — NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2020
The fourth and final stage resumed on lap 126 with Chase Elliott leading the way. Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski made contact as Blaney slowed exiting off of turn two. That allowed Kyle Busch to take the third position and then get by Blaney for the second position. Kyle Busch was chasing down Chase Elliott, going to the high side to try to get some momentum. However, it was not enough as Chase Elliott would go on to win the All-Star race by .41 seconds over Kyle Busch, who finished in second place. This was Chase Elliott’s first All-Star race win in his career.
The 9️⃣ gets it done! Retweet to congratulate @chaseelliott on his first #AllStarRace victory! pic.twitter.com/Z313jiHFJF — NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2020
Rounding out the top ten were Kevin Harvick third, Brad Keselowski fourth, Denny Hamlin fifth, Ryan Blaney sixth, Joey Logano seventh, Alex Bowman eighth, Aric Almirola ninth, and Martin Truex Jr. tenth. The time of the race lasted 44 minutes. There were five lead changes by four drivers and five cautions.
The NASCAR Cup Series will now head to Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 19th, for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at 3 pm on NBCSN.
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