Race Weekend Central

Clint Bowyer Wins All Star Pole, Daniel Hemric Tops Open Qualifying

When the green flag waves for the Monster Energy All-Star Race, Clint Bowyer will lead the field to green. Bowyer posted an average speed of 136.371 mph to win the pole award on Friday night (May 17).

Qualifying for the All-Star Race differs from qualifying for points races. Instead of being timed on one lap, the teams are scored for the total time of three laps and a pit stop with no pit road speed limit.

Kyle Busch (136.168 mph) will join Bowyer on the front row, with defending All-Star Race winner Kevin Harvick (136.068 mph) qualified third. Austin Dillon (135.776 mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (134.625 mph) rounded out the top five.

Monster Energy All-Star Race Starting Lineup

Aric Almirola (130.841 mph) slid through the box on his pit stop and had to back up, costing him several seconds. Brad Keselowski (130.583 mph) turned one of the quickest times, but was hit with a five-second penalty for missing a lug nut. Almirola and Keselowski will start 13th and 14th, respectively.

Earlier in the evening, Daniel Hemric topped the charts in single-car qualifying for the Monster Energy Open with a speed of 182.168 mph — nearly a full mph quicker than second place. Michael McDowell (181.226 mph) will join the rookie on the front row for the race.

William Byron (181.093 mph) qualified third, while the Fords of Daniel Suarez (181.044 mph) and Paul Menard (180.662 mph) rounded out the top five.

Monster Energy Open Starting Lineup

The Monster Energy Open will start at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 18, with the All-Star Race following at 8:30 p.m. ET. Both will air on FOX Sports 1.

About the author

Michael Massie is a writer for Frontstretch. Massie, a Richmond, Va. native, has been a NASCAR superfan since childhood, when he frequented races at Richmond International Raceway. Massie is a lover of short track racing and travels around to the ones in his region. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies.

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