Ryan Blaney (12) and Kyle Busch (18) race during the elimination bracket qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch would edge out Blaney to take the pole for the event. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Kyle Busch beat Ryan Blaney in a new “drag race” style competition for the pole position in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway.
For their work, Busch and Blaney will start from the front row of Sunday’s $1 million-to-win non-points paying event.
A traditional qualifying session decided which eight drivers advanced to the final round and then the cars were paired in an elimination bracket format. Each “race” included a four-tire pit stop and then a sprint off pit road for a single lap at speed – the idea to showcase the pit crews as well as the drivers.
Busch defeated defending All-Star winner Kyle Larson in his semi-final and Blaney beat William Byron – who posted the fastest qualifying time – in his semifinal to decide the final meeting.
“Any time you’re able to showcase the pit crew’s ability and their athleticism in this competition and qualifying format, I enjoy that,” said Busch.
“I think my most favorite part of the year is coming to the All-Star race, whether it’s been Charlotte and coming down pit road and sliding into the box. Having those guys go over the wall certainly means a lot, especially the No. 18 bunch I’ve had a lot of success with over the years.
“We’ve always been a threat to be reckoned with when it comes to getting on the pole for the All-Star race.”
It marks Busch’s fourth pole position in a NASCAR All-Star race. He won the race in 2017, and boasts with four NASCAR Cup Series wins – plus 10 Xfinity Series race wins and four Camping World Truck Series wins – at the Texas 1.5-mile track.
Defending race winner Larson stalled in his semi-final duel against Busch – essentially guaranteeing Busch’s advance to the final round. Larson managed a smile and shook his head acknowledging his mistake in qualifying.
“I feel good (about my chances in the race), I felt like my car was decent, there was room to improve it, but I feel we’re in the ballpark to compete for the win,” Larson said. “Gotta do a better job executing than I did just then (All-Star qualifying) and hopefully we’ll have a good shot.
“I just stalled it,” he said of the miscue, adding. “I didn’t want to spin my tires too bad and obviously got a little too greedy and just stalled it. Embarrassing.
“It’s embarrassing, I’m the only guy that stalled so pretty embarrassing.”
The race format has a new variation for 2022 – a four-stage race with lengths of 25-laps for Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3, followed by a 50-lap Stage 4 finale to decide who gets the $1 million.
The Stage 1 winner will start first in the Stage 4 final run. The winner of Stage 2 will start second and the winner of Stage 3 will roll off third in the final stage. The best car in a newly-styled “pit stop competition” – held during the stage break between Stage 2 and Stage 3 – will start fourth in the final run to the big check.
Also new this year, if a caution does not “naturally” occur between laps 15-25 of the final stage then NASCAR will call an “All-Star competition caution” during that time.
Twenty drivers have already earned a position in the All-Star Race, including Kyle Busch, Blaney, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Kevin Harvick, defending winner Larson, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, A.J. Allmendinger, Martin Truex, Jr., Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell, Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman.
Reddick Will Lead The Field To Start The NASCAR All-Star Open
Tyler Reddick won the pole position for Sunday’s All-Star Open race – completing a big day at Texas Motor Speedway that started with a victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
The Richard Childress Racing driver outran Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez by a mere .012-second to set the front row. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Erik Jones and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five in qualifying among the 16-car field.
The race is set for 5:30 p.m. ET with the winner of each stage – 20-laps, 20-laps and 10-laps – advancing to the All-Star Race along with the winner of the fan vote, which will be announced following the Open race.
NASCAR Cup Series
Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, TX
NASCAR All-Star Race – May 21, 2022
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crunchy Cookie Toyota 28.554 189.115
2. 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Wrangler Ford 28.565 189.043
3. 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 28.528 189.288
4. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 28.632 188.600
5. 45 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Toyota 28.620 188.679
6. 1 Ross Chastain Worldwide Express Chevrolet 28.723 188.003
7. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 28.744 187.865
8. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield #BuschBacon Ford 28.767 187.715
9. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 28.777 187.650
10. 16 A.J. Allmendinger(i) Andy’s Frozen Custard Chevrolet 28.807 187.454
11. 14 Chase Briscoe Magical Vacation Planner Ford 28.822 187.357
12. 2 Austin Cindric # Keystone Light Ford 28.830 187.305
13. 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 28.831 187.298
14. 20 Christopher Bell DeWalt Toyota 28.834 187.279
15. 4 Kevin Harvick #BuschBacon Ford 28.864 187.084
16. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 28.891 186.909
17. 23 Bubba Wallace Dr. Pepper Dark Berry Toyota 28.904 186.825
18. 6 Brad Keselowski Kohler Generators Ford 28.908 186.800
19. 34 Michael McDowell WISE-EV Ford 28.935 186.625
20. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 29.011 186.136
NASCAR Cup Series
Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, TX
NASCAR All-Star Open – May 21, 2022
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 8 Tyler Reddick Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet 28.880 186.981
2. 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 28.892 186.903
3. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/Viva Towels Chevrolet 28.956 186.490
4. 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 28.982 186.323
5. 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 29.003 186.188
6. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 29.028 186.027
7. 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road 29.110 185.503
8. 7 Corey LaJoie Built.com Chevrolet 29.195 184.963
9. 21 Harrison Burton # Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford 29.224 184.780
10. 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 29.226 184.767
11. 77 Landon Cassill(i) Shelton Energy Solutions Chevrolet 29.287 184.382
12. 42 Ty Dillon Ferris Chevrolet 29.396 183.698
13. 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT Ford 29.506 183.014
14. 38 Todd Gilliland # First Phase Credit Card Ford 29.749 181.519
15. 15 Garrett Smithley Trophy Tractor Ford 29.895 180.632
16. 78 B.J. McLeod Pala Casino Ford 29.927 180.439
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