TEXAS – NASCAR fans witnessed one of the strangest wins in the All-Star Race Sunday night at Texas Motor Speedway,
Ryan Blaney was in the lead and was on the final lap of the race when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. crashed at the back of the field. Blaney was roughly less than 200 feet from taking the checkered flag when Stenhouse’s incident occurred — but by the time the caution lights went on, it appeared Blaney was already across the finish line.
But because the All-Star Race rules are different than points-paying race rules, the race had to finish under green-flag conditions. If the yellow had come out in a points-paying race on the final lap, Blaney would have automatically won under caution. Not so Sunday. And that’s when the All-Star Race rules almost cost Blaney the $1 million prize.
Thinking the race was over when the caution came out and being so close to the finish line, Blaney automatically assumed that like a points race, the event was over under caution and he was the winner. Blaney pulled down his window net. That was against the rules, But with Blaney in the lead and the race going into overtime, he couldn’t return to pit road to get the net fixed.
After several moments of trying to do it himself still under the caution flag, Blaney finally rigged the net back in place and went on to win the race with a .266 of a second margin over runner-up Denny Hamlin.
The All-Star Race featured four lead changes among four drivers – Blaney, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, and William Byron.
Twenty-four drivers comprised the 38th running of the All-Star Race.
SHR Finish in NASCAR All-Star Race:
● Aric Almirola (Started 8th, Finished 12th / Running, completed 140 of 140 laps)
● Kevin Harvick (Started 15th, Finished 17th / Running, completed 140 of 140 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 11th, Finished 18th / Running, completed 140 of 140 laps)
All-Star Open (50 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/10 laps):
● Race Winner: Daniel Suárez of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)
● Stage 1 Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., of JTG Daugherty Racing (Chevrolet)
● Stage 2 Winner: Chris Buescher of RFK Racing (Ford)
● Fan Vote Winner: Erik Jones of Petty GMS (Chevrolet)
The All-Star Open was the undercard event to the All-Star Race, where non-qualified drivers attempted to race their way into the All-Star Race by winning any one of the race’s three stages or by winning the fan vote.
SHR Finish in All-Star Open:
● Cole Custer (Started 10th, Finished 7th / Running, completed 50 of 50 laps)
SHR Notes:
● Harvick has made an appearance in every single All-Star Race in his 22-year career, the most of any active NASCAR Cup Series driver.
● This was Briscoe’s first All-Star Race.
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to points-paying racing on Sunday, May 29 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race gets underway at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
