Carson Hocevar and John Hunter Nemechek finished first and second in Sunday’s (May 18) All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway and transferred to the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Hocevar took the lead on lap 55 after Shane van Gisbergen took four tires under caution and fell back. With four fresh tires on his Toyota, Nemechek passed Bubba Wallace and held off the pack to advance.
Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, Michael McDowell, Zane Smith, AJ Allmendinger, Wallace, Cole Custer and Riley Herbst rounded out the top 10.
Meanwhile, Noah Gragson won the All-Star fan vote for the third year in a row, which will transfer Gragson into the All-Star Race.
“Super big for this group,” Hocevar told FOX Sports. “It’s great to win, especially being challenged by tires there, I had my hands full. I’ve seen others win from the Open. Maybe we can take advantage of having a notebook.”
Nemechek was the second transfer.
“Hats off to this No. 42 team,” Nemechek told Fox Sports. “I knew we couldn’t win from where were at. We knew we needed two (tires) to win.”
All-Star Open Results at North Wilkesboro
The All-Star Race will go green shortly after 8 p.m. ET, with coverage on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.