Peter Casey-Imagn ImagesPeter Casey-Imagn Images
And with that, the starting lineups for NASCAR All Star Race Sunday is set, and all that remains is the race to set the race. Brad Keselowski had already claimed the pole position by virtue of his fastest lap in time trials on Friday but backed it up by winning the first 75 lap heat race on Saturday afternoon. He did so impressive fashion by fending off William Byron and Ross Chastain, who each had fresher tires.
?Those guys were running hard and that?s what they?re supposed to do,? Keselowski said. ?It?s always a battle on these short tracks to have the right balance between driving the car hard enough to stay up front, but not driving it too hard to run the tires off of it and that?s part of the challenge of being a race car driver and I welcome it.? Christopher Bell will join him on the front row for the start of the 250-lap main event by virtue of winning the second heat race. At one point, Chase Briscoe stayed out on older tires but the track position wasn?t enough and Bell drove by anyway. ?So it seems like, if you stay out, you really, really, really need to keep the lead,? Bell said. ?And it seems like we saw the same thing in heat race one, where Brad was able to win the race on the old tires, but Tyler Reddick who had old tires fell way back. ?So yeah, I mean it?s a very, very, tough decision and I?m thankful that I?m not in the crew chief?s box because it?s tough. And whatever you do, your opponents are going to do the opposite.?
The two heat races set the starting lineup for the drivers already in the main event. The first race set the inside row and the second race set the outside row. There are still three more starting spots to be determined however. There is the 100 lap ?All Star Open? for those not already in the show. The top two finishers from that race will advance into the main event. A fan vote winner will get the final starting spot. The main event starts at 8 p.m. on FS1. Also Read:: Brad Keselowski: NASCAR Roval race ?has got to go?Starting lineups
All Star Race
Brad Keselowski
Christopher Bell
Ross Chastain
Joey Logano
William Byron
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Alex Bowman
Chris Buescher
Josh Berry
Daniel Suarez
Tyler Reddick
Chase Briscoe
Austin Dillon
Austin Cindric
Ricky Stenhouse
Harrison Burton
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
All Star Open Winner
All Star Open Runner-Up
Fan Vote Winner
All Star Open
Shane Van Gisbergen
Carson Hocevar
Noah Gragson
Michael McDowell
Ryan Preece
Zane Smith
Justin Haley
John Hunter Nemechek
Ty Gibbs
Ty Dillon
Cole Custer
Erik Jones
Riley Herbst
Bubba Wallace
Cody Ware
AJ Allmendinger
Todd Gilliland
Chad Finchum
Also Read:: Dale Earnhardt Jr says ?the NASCAR I knew doesn?t exist anymore?
