All-Star weekend to include Friday night CARS Tour race on FS1

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

The May race week at North Wilkesboro Speedway will look a little different, with the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series sharing the Friday of All-Star weekend with potential stars of the future on the track and on television.

The CARS Tour late model stock race, typically scheduled for earlier in the week, will run on Friday night following Cup practice and the pit crew challenge. The Cup lead-in won’t just come at the track but also on television, as the grassroots race will air on FS1 with CARS Tour co-owners Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the booth.

“I’m very proud about how much the series has grown, and this is an incredible opportunity for our drivers and teams to showcase themselves,” Earnhardt Jr. said.

“Kevin and I are going to have a lot of fun calling that race from the booth on Friday.”

In the previous two years at the historic 0.625-mile asphalt oval, the CARS Tour — a series that features both aspiring NASCAR drivers and veteran racers who make careers competing on short tracks — would be on-track Tuesday and Wednesday at North Wilkesboro with an off-day Thursday before the NASCAR weekend.

Now, the schedule has both of the CARS Tour series practicing Thursday with the pro late model race (75 laps) that night. Then, the late model stock race (100 laps) will be Friday night after Cup activity. Both races will air on FloSports, with the late model stock race on both FloSports and FS1.

The truck teams will have their one-day show on Saturday, along with the Cup heat races. The NASCAR modified tour has been added to the Sunday schedule to run during the day prior to the All-Star event on Sunday night.

The All-Star format, which isn’t expected to undergo significant changes, has not been announced.

Anyone who has paid for a five-day ticket for North Wilkesboro or is impacted by the change can email tickets@northwilkesborospeedway.com with questions.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.