Who is eligible for the NASCAR All-Star Race? All you need to know

NASCAR moves to North Carolina for the NASCAR All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on 18th May. The NASCAR All-Star race is held annually as a non-championship event where drivers who've won a points event in either the previous year or the current one, drivers who've won a NASCAR All-Star Race and compete full-time, and drivers who've won a NASCAR Cup Series championship and compete full-time are invited to participate and compete.

23 drivers will compete in the NASCAR All-Star race over the weekend, out of which 20 are automatic qualifiers, and two top finishers qualify through the NASCAR All-Star open event. The event involves two 75-lap heats to decide the field and then a hundred lap event. The 23rd and last driver of the race qualifies through the All-Star Fan Vote winner, awarded to the driver with the highest votes who did not already race their way into the event.

NASCAR All-Star Race 2024 - Source: Imagn

The race is a 200-lap event where the winning driver gets a prize of $1 million. This prize money has been the same since 2003. The first All-Star race happened in 1985 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, won by NASCAR Hall of Famer, Junior Johnson. The race has been hosted at the North Wilkesboro Speedway for the last three years. The previous two races were won by Kyle Larson in 2023 and Joey Logano in 2024 respectively. Larson has the most All-Star race wins among active drivers and is one win away from tying Jimmie Johnson for most All-Star wins among all-time drivers.

The NASCAR All-Star Race 2025: Full qualifying order

The 20 drivers locked into the All-Star Race are set to qualify in reverse order of the point standings, similar to the All-Star open. Each driver has to make a three-lap qualifying effort, with a mandatory four-tire pit stop on the second lap.

Here is the Qualifying list of drivers for the main event, the All-Star race

Harrison Burton	Brad Keselowski	Daniel Suarez	Justin Allgaier
Denny Hamlin	Austin Dillon	Kyle Busch	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Josh Berry	Austin Cindric	Joey Logano	Chase Briscoe
Tyler Reddick	William Byron	Alex Bowman	Ross Chastain
Chris Buescher	Ryan Blaney	Christopher Bell	Chase Elliott

Kyle Larson won't be qualifying for the race as he is preoccupied at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Indy 500 practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday. He will start the All-Star race from the rear of the grid on Sunday. Justin Allgaier is set to qualify for him in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car instead. Larson has committed to missing the Firestone Fast Six at Indy if he advances that far, to ensure that he is present at the All-Star race.

The top two finishers of the All-Star Open and the driver who gets the most votes in the Fan Vote are set to join this list of drivers for the main race on Sunday, making the total driver count 23 for the main event.