Who qualifies for the NASCAR All-Star Race? Exploring the qualification process for the drivers and more

NASCAR returns to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway for the much-awaited 2023 All-Star Race scheduled this Sunday (May 21). The 0.625-mile oval will host a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time since 1996.

Returning to the old-school track, the All-Star Race has much simpler rules this year compared to its previous iterations. This year's format includes a qualifying session on Friday followed by the Heat races on Saturday. The weekend concludes with The All-Star Open followed by the All-Star race on Sunday.

The All-Star field consists of race winners from 2022 and 2023, past winners of the All-Star Race, and past Cup Series champions. The top two finishers from the Open race and the fan-vote winner also qualify for the final race. This grid will fight for the win, to take home $1 million.

Here is the list of the 22 drivers who have already secured a spot in the All-Star race:

• Christopher Bell
• Ryan Blaney
• Alex Bowman
• Chase Briscoe
• Chris Buescher
• Kyle Busch
• William Byron
• Ross Chastain
• Austin Cindric
• Austin Dillon
• Chase Elliott
• Denny Hamlin
• Kevin Harvick
• Erik Jones
• Brad Keselowski
• Kyle Larson
• Joey Logano
• Tyler Reddick
• Daniel Suárez
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Martin Truex Jr.
• Bubba Wallace

The weekend for the 22 drivers begins on Friday with the “Pit Crew Challenge”. The qualifying session determines the grid for the Heat races on Saturday based on the four-tire pit stop time of each team. The 22 drivers are split into two groups of 11 drivers for the Heat Races.

The results of the All-Star Heat Races will determine the starting lineup for the All-Star Race. Heat Race 1 results set the inside row, while Heat Race 2 sets the outside row.

The drivers who didn't qualify for the main race will participate in Friday's 'Pit Crew Challenge'. The result of this session will set the starting lineup for the Open Race. The top two finishers from the Open race and the fan vote winner advance into the All-Star Race.

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NASCAR All-Star Weekend schedule

The much-anticipated return of the North Wilkesboro Speedway to NASCAR's schedule will materialize this weekend, with the on-track action beginning on Friday.

The festivities on the historic oval have already begun with the Super Late Model races on Tuesday and Wednesday. The historic oval in North Carolina will reverberate back to life as NASCAR's next-gen cars hit the track.

Here is the schedule for the weekend:

Friday, May 19, 2023

3:05 pm ET: Truck Series practice

4 pm ET: Cup Series practice

5:45 pm ET: Qualifying (All-Star Pit-Crew Challenge)

Saturday, May 20, 2023

10:30 pm ET: Truck Series qualifying

1:30 pm ET: Tyson 250

7:35 pm ET: All-Star Race Heat No. 1

8:15 pm ET: All-Star Race Heat No. 2

Sunday, May 21, 2023

5:30 pm ET: All-Star Open (100 laps)

8 pm ET: All-Star Race (200 laps)

Catch the action live on FS1 and MRN, as NASCAR's new-generation drivers take on the old-school track.