Joey Logano Dominates the All-Star, Stenhouse and Kyle Busch Clash

Since its revival in 2023, NASCAR made a return trip to North Wilkesboro for the second year in a row for its annual All-Star Race. It was one driver in particular that took over from the start, similar to last years event. Last year was Kyle Larson, this year it was two-time champion Joey Logano taking home the $1 Million Prize. 

Logano led all but one lap en route to the win in his No. 22 Penske Ford. As he ran the entire race on the optional softer tires on the newly repaved surface, he was able to hold off Denny Hamlin by 0.636 seconds, with Chris Buescher third and Kyle Larson in fourth. 

“A lot of fun when you’ve got a car this fast,” said Logano, who has yet to win this season. “The Shell/Pennzoil Mustang, it’s just so great to get in Victory Lane.

“All of our sponsors and everyone who stuck with us to get a win, it feels nice. It’s been a while. I wish it was for points, but a million bucks is still a lot of money, and I feel great about that.”

While Logano started up front and remained there, Kyle Larson was a major talking point in the race, as he is in the midst of running both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 next Sunday. Larson qualified fifth for the Indy 500, then hopped on a helicopter at 5:44 pm EST and arrived to the track at 7:15 pm. Larson had to start at the rear end of the field after Kevin Harvick practiced and qualified in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. 

At a planned caution on lap 151, Larson pitted for the optional softer tires after running only one green-flag lap on them. He restarted in tenth and then charged through the field which resulted in his third-place result. 

Another major talking point of the race involved a lap two incident between Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Kyle Busch. Stenhouse found an opening and went three-wide for position during the start, which then led to Kyle Busch hitting the outside wall. Then, in an act of retaliation, Busch bumped and turned Stenhouse’s No. 47 car, putting him into the wall and putting an end to his day. Stenhouse was not pleased with Busch, as he parked his car in Busch’s stall. 

At the end of the race, Stenhouse was waiting for Kyle Busch at the No. 8 hauler, which led to a heated discussion and fists being thrown where both crews had to get involved. 

For Logano, preserving his track position proved to be part of the winning factor, as his team elected to stick with the option tires during the halfway break. 

“Well, we did the first 100, so why wouldn’t it last the second 100?” agreed Logano. “That was our thought, so it was definitely an aggressive strategy, but it worked out good.”

Ryan Blaney came home fifth, followed by Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, and Busch. Bubba Wallace finished second to Ty Gibbs in the Open, where both drivers would advance to the All-Star. Noah Gragson of Stewart Haas Racing won the fan vote.

Next up is the longest race on the schedule, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race will be next Sunday at 6 pm EST.