All Star Open decides final All Star Race starting positions

NASCAR: Goodyear 400 — Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Ty Gibbs led every lap of the All Star Open.
Bubba Wallace finished second.
Noah Gragson has a very robust fanbase.

As a result, these were the three drivers that advance from the All Star Open and will tag the rear of the field at the start of NASCAR’s 40th All Star Race on Sunday and the second ever at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina.

Gibbs finished second in the All Star Open last year and was one spot better on the new pavement to advance to his second consecutive appearance in the annual non-points exhibition.

“Yeah, we were pretty good,” Gibbs said. “I feel like we were pretty solid, so it’s good to make it and good to see Bubba make it, too. Hopefully we can go in and win it. I think Waltrip did it once. Be cool to go win a million bucks, go buy some Sprint Cars or something.”

Gibbs finished ninth last year after starting from the rear, so how does he feel about his chances this year, now that teams have the wrinkle of an option tire.

“Yeah, I think we’re solid enough and good enough to go do that,” Gibbs said. “I feel like we learned a lot with that we’re going to do. Thank you to Monster Energy and Mitch Covington, everybody at Interstate Batteries, Norm. I’ve got some good friends here, and let’s go win this thing.”

Wallace feels like his No. 23 team needs some work in advance of the 200-lap main event.

“We’re just lacking a little bit,” Wallace said. “Definitely different feel than what we had in practice. Got a little bit of time to make minimal changes to make it better, but all in all, we’re in the show. Appreciate (Alex Bowman) and (Josh Berry) running clean there. That was fun. That was short track stuff right there.

“We were able to squeeze away there and hang on to second. But that’s the most stressful spot to be in. You never want to look up in the mirror, and you know how good Josh is on short tracks, so it’s like, hey, I kind of did some short track stuff, too, so I think I’ve got a little bit figured out, but we were able hang on and have a good day so far.”

With that said, Wallace is the defending second place finisher, so it’s not asking too much for him to contend for the win.

“We came from the back last year, so let’s do it again,” he said.

Gragson is grateful for his fan base sending him to the All Star Race for the second year in a row but this time not in a car that suffered crash damage.

“Two years in a row, and that speaks volumes for the great support we have out there,” Gragson said. “They fuel us and we all feel their support each week. We’re going to have some fun and enjoy the moment. Very grateful.”

Josh Berry, who won The Open last year, was the first driver out now driving the Stewart Haas Racing No. 4. He got jammed up a little bit on the restart behind Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace.

“Yeah, I mean, we got going and they just ran side by side and you know the expression, its like shit or get off the pot,” he said.

All told, given the challenges of this season, Berry was still satisfied finishing third.

“Honestly, once our car found that higher groove in 1 and 2, and it would have been a hard pass because Bubba can slide in and take our air but I’m proud of our team. To be in this position after where we were in practice, it speaks to their work ethic and I’m proud to have made those gains with them this weekend.”