By David Rogers. NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — It was a night of storylines — and were there ever stories to tell at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race.
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The NASCAR, Speedway Motorsports and Wilkes communities — and catching up with Mother (Nature)
Road & Track magazine described the May 18 weather event the day before the All-Star Race as a “massive downpour.” FOX Weather reported that the flooding turned the North Wilkesboro Speedway into a swimming pool for NASCAR crew members. Weather bulletins reported more than four inches of rain fell on North Wilkesboro Speedway in just two hours, causing flash flooding in and around the track as creeks in the area rose to overflowing.
To say that Speedway Motorsports, North Wilkesboro Speedway, and NASCAR did yeoman’s work in collaborating with the Wilkes County community to get things ready for Sunday morning’s delayed Truck Series race as well as the All-Star Open and All-Star Race in the evening would be an understatement.
Scott Cooper, Senior VP and Director of Communications for Speedway Motorsports explained to media representatives on Sunday that NWS had lost 40 percent of its race parking. Wilkes Community College pitched in to provide parking and other community interests like the Wilkes County Boy Scouts contributed buses and other vehicles to use as shuttles to and from the racetrack. For the parking areas next to the Speedway (hilly pastureland), the organizing team got a rock quarry to open in the wee hours of Saturday night and Sunday morning, with delivery of some 900 tons of gravel to spread on parking lot roadways.
Then, of course, there was pumping water out of the infield and off the track.
Driver reactions to the NWS track repaving
Universally, we heard nothing but rave reviews from every driver interviewed, as well as crew chiefs. Several noted that the multiple grooves around the track were exceptional for a repaving on any track. Among others, Joey Logano said that those involved with the repaving had kept some of the track’s personality, such as the flatter corners in Turn 1 and Turn 2 as well as a “bump” on the inside of Turn 1. The most common reaction, “This was fun.”
The Tire ‘Option’
For the All-Star Race, NASCAR and Goodyear collaborated on providing the race teams with three tire options: [1] the “yellow” or Prime tire; [2] the “red” or Option tire; and [3] the “white,” a tire for Wet conditions, if needed.
The softer Option tire was advertised to drivers and media representatives before the race as “providing more grip” facilitating higher speeds, but that it “fell off faster,” meaning that it lost traction much quicker than the Primary tire. The default tire selection was the Prime, ostensibly giving drivers a more durable tire in dry conditions.
Seeing how Joey Logano and others who stuck with the Option tire performed without experiencing much in the way of falloff, by Stage Two just about everyone was running their softer tires.
The Fisticuffs
The softer Option tire actually played a role in the middle of the second lap as Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. stuck his car in the 3-wide middle between Denny Hamlin on the inside and Kyle Busch, Jr. on the outside. Although video replays from Ty Gibbs’ car seemed to indicate that Stenhouse gave Busch plenty of room, the Las Vegas native seemed to think Stenhouse’s move to pass him on the inside ran Busch up into the wall. Less than a lap later, Busch clearly retaliated by bumping Stenhouse’s left rear quarter-panel, ultimately turning him to crash into the outside wall and out of the race.
Before going to the care center for his mandatory, post-crash medical evaluation, Stenhouse parked his car in Busch’s pit box and climbed a ladder to have a few words with the No. 8’s crew chief, Randall Burnett and Richard Childress Racing’s Vice President of Competition, Andy Petree.
After the race, Stenhouse confronted Busch on Pit Row. The two seemed to be exchanging explanations as to what happened, when suddenly Stenhouse took a big swing and appeared to connect before the onlooking pit crews joined the fray, some trying to separate the combatants, others seeming bent on a fight.
Kyle Larson
With a lot of media resources committed to whether or not Kyle Larson would make it to North Wilkesboro for the All-Star Race after qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was helicoptered to the venue from the Wilkesboro airport with roughly 30 minutes to spare. It was enough time for him to even get a TV interview in before the race, up on Victory Lane atop the Media Center.
After setting a rookie record in Indianapolis and qualifying an astonishing fifth fastest time, Larson started at the rear of the All-Star field (@ No. 20) because of a driver change. Kevin Harvick piloted the No. 5 car in qualifying to the No. 12 position.
Larson still has to worry about the Memorial Day Double, driving the Indianapolis 500 early in the day then trying to make it to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 in the early evening. Perhaps the biggest concern is if the Indianapolis race runs long because of weather delays.
The Winner
Oh, yeah, there was a dominating winner in Joey Logano, who along with William Byron and Ty Gibbs participated in a Goodyear and NASCAR administered “tire test” over two days in mid-March. He stated that the three of them tested as many as 60 different compounds over the two days. After the “red” tire was decided on as the Option tire, Logano reportedly ran a significant number of laps, apparently concluding that after a small “fall off” the tire performance seemed to flatten out, providing adequate traction.
Logano hasn’t won a points race so far in the 2024 season, so his winning the All-Star Race was a welcome respite for his winning drought. As he was interviewed in the Media Center after the race, Logano was candid in saying, “One of my first thoughts was that this wasn’t a points race. But then, I have a million reasons to smile!” (referring to the million dollar prize for the race winner)
Media Treat: Hall of Famers’ Interviews
In the mid-afternoon on May 19, before the All-Star Race, NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports brought Hall of Famers Richard Childress and Chad Knaus into the Media Center to field questions about their careers, as well as their perceptions of the “new” North Wilkesboro Speedway venue.
Childress, who started as a driver in 1969 and became a team owner in 1981, installing Dale Earnhardt as the driver of his No. 3 car and a year later hired Ricky Rudd. In answer to a reporter’s question, Childress identified Rudd as having a particular significant impact on his life and career in racing.
Knaus, who rose from rear tire changer to crew chief for Jimmie Johnson’s seven Cup Series championships driving for Hendrick Motorsports, provided observations as to how the crew chief role has changed, especially with technology. In Knaus’ new role with Hendrick as Vice President of Competition, he said as an organization they try to evaluate every individual crew chief’s strengths and weaknesses and surround him with professional with the skillsets that are most needed.
