{"id":51931,"date":"2025-05-18T22:46:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T03:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=51931"},"modified":"2025-05-20T06:35:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T11:35:53","slug":"christopher-bell-outduels-joey-logano-for-first-career-nascar-all-star-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/18\/christopher-bell-outduels-joey-logano-for-first-career-nascar-all-star-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Christopher Bell outduels Joey Logano for first career NASCAR All-Star win"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Mobil 1 Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. \u2014 Fireworks lit up the sky, and smoke billowed from the tires of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as Christopher Bell celebrated his first victory in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.<\/p>\n

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Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Mobil 1 Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

On Sunday night, Bell climbed from his car to a standing ovation. Scratch that\u2014virtually everyone in the packed grandstands already had been standing for the final 28 lap green-flag run, as Bell battled Joey Logano side-by-side and finally cleared last year\u2019s winner for the lead on Lap 241 of 250.<\/p>\n

At that point, Bell had better right-side tires than Logano, who had stayed out under the promoter\u2019s caution signaled by unofficial flagman Michael Waltrip on Lap 215.<\/p>\n

Bell pitted for two tires under the yellow, restarted sixth on Lap 223 behind five cars that stayed out and quickly advanced to second with a pass of Ross Chastain on Lap 227.<\/p>\n

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Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Mobil 1 Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

From that point, it was game-on for Bell, who pursued Logano relentlessly. On Lap 241, Bell pulled even with Logano, drifted out toward the wall, taking Logano with him and completed the decisive pass. His winning margin was 0.744 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cNorth Wilkesboro, how about that one?\u201d Bell shouted after climbing from his car with the smoke still lingering from his celebratory burnout. \u201cThat right there is absolutely incredible. North Wilkesboro, best short track on the schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

The victory was the first for a Toyota driver since JGR\u2019s Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in 2017.<\/p>\n

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Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Mobil 1 Toyota, poses with the one million dollar check in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Logano, who led 199 of 200 laps in last year\u2019s All-Star Race victory at the historic 0.625-mile short track, led a race-high 139 laps on Sunday to 28 for Bell. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford held a comfortable lead when the yellow flag for the promoter\u2019s caution\u2014a new wrinkle introduced by Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith\u2014slowed the action, forced a pit stop choice and bunched the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m pissed off right now,\u201d Logano said. \u201cJust dang it, we had the fastest car. The Shell-Pennzoil Mustang was so fast. You get to\u2026 I’m trying to choose my words correctly on the caution situation. Obviously, I got bit by it, so I am the one frustrated, obviously\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m all about no gimmicks with the caution. I am all about that. I’m a little\u2026 me and Marcus Smith aren’t seeing eye to eye right now, OK? I’ve got to have a word with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The caution and the tire disadvantage ultimately prevented Logano from winning his second straight All-Star Race and third overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought maybe we could hold him off, but the 20 had a good enough restart, cleared too many of them too fast,\u201d Logano said. \u201cI couldn’t get away in time. It took me six, seven laps to get my car up and rolling again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did all I could do to hold him off, and he got under me and released the brake and gave me no option. Kind of just ran me up into the wall, and if I could’ve got to him, he was going around after a move like that. I just couldn’t get back to him. Just too much to try to make up with the tire deficit.<\/p>\n

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Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Solomon Plumbing Ford, Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Mobil 1 Toyota, and Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cJust frustrated after you lead so many laps and the car is so fast and you don’t win, it hurts quite a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

It hurt even more because first prize money for the exhibition race is $1 million, and second place pays a small fraction of that amount. Bell was happy to line his pockets with the lion\u2019s share of the purse.<\/p>\n

It was the quality of the competition, however, that excited Bell the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, that was an amazing race,\u201d he said. \u201cThere were so many guys up there racing for the lead. We saw two-wide, three-wide for the lead. It\u2019s just a pleasure to race here, and especially whenever you get to drive this Mobil 1 Toyota Camry.<\/p>\n

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A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThese boys (the No. 20 crew) have done such a good job on this thing. I told them going into it, this was the best car we\u2019ve had in a long time. Joey was fast. He gave us a lot of competition, and the 12 (Ryan Blaney) was really good there and the 9 (Chase Elliott). They had competitive cars. The strategy\u2014we knew it would be all over the place and it fell our way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell acknowledged that the urgency of passing Logano in the closing run forced him to push the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a great job of trying to keep me behind him, and I knew that once I got that run off Turn 4, it was like alright, I\u2019m going to have to be a little more aggressive and kind of leaned on him and got him out of position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew once I got the lead, I had the tire advantage so I should be able to cruise, and it worked out that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the same tire strategy as Logano, Chastain held third at the finish, followed by Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman, Elliott and William Byron. Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.<\/p>\n

Kyle Larson, fresh from Saturday\u2019s 21st-place qualifying effort for the Indianapolis 500, turned his first laps in the No. 5 Chevrolet on Sunday night. After a two-tire stop on Lap 178, he was running third when he slapped the wall on Lap 214 and finished 21st, three laps down.<\/p>\n

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Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Gainbridge\/WNBA All Star ’25 Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemechek transfer from All-Star Open<\/b><\/p>\n

Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports and John Hunter Nemechek of LEGACY Motor Club transferred into the main event as the top two finishers in the All-Star Open.<\/p>\n

Hocevar took over the lead when pole winner Shane van Gisbergen opted for four tires under the All-Star Caution at Lap 51. Van Gisbergen had led every lap from the start of the race, but five drivers, including Hocevar, opted for two tires during the stop and beat the New Zealander out of the pits.<\/p>\n

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John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the #42 Family Dollar Toyota, takes second place in the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open to qualify for the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

When Riley Herbst spun in Turn 3 on Lap 78 to cause the second and final caution, Hocevar stayed out on old tires and pulled away after a Lap 84 restart, beating Nemechek to the finish line by 0.697 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s great to win, especially being challenged by tires there,\u201d Hocevar said. \u201cI had my hands full. We definitely have to go to work here on our race car, because I didn’t really like it, but it’s a good sign that we didn’t like it and we were still pretty quick there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nemechek, on the other hand, opted for two tires under the yellow and charged from eighth on the restart to second, clearing the Toyota of Bubba Wallace on Lap 90 to claim the second transfer spot.<\/p>\n

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Grand Marshals, Michael Waltrip waves the yellow promoters caution flag during the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe have a shot to go win a million dollars,\u201d Nemechek said. \u201cHats off to this 42 team. We unloaded and had pretty good two- or three-lap speed, but really no long run pace, so proud of them for the effort that they put in yesterday, and what they were able to find.<\/p>\n

\u201cPitting on that last deal\u2014I knew I couldn\u2019t win from where I was at. We came and got two (tires), and that helped us out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hocevar and Nemechek, both main event rookies, earned the 21st and 22nd starting positions, respectively. The final position in the All-Star Race went to Noah Gragson of Front Row Motorsports, who won the All-Star Fan Vote for the third straight year.<\/p>\n

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A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18, 2025 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hocevar finished 11th in the All-Star Race. Gragson was 13th and Nemechek 19th.<\/p>\n

Ryan Preece was running second in a strong No. 60 Ford, but he was penalized for running over the V-shaped \u201cchoose\u201d symbol on the track a lap before the final restart. Sent to the rear of the field, he had no chance to recover.<\/p>\n

Preece said he couldn\u2019t see the orange symbol painted on the track, which had been dulled by rubber laid down in a wild NASCAR Whelan Modified Tour race that preceded the Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t even see it right now,\u201d Preece said. \u201cA rule is a rule. I understand that, but at the end of the day, I made the mistake. I\u2019m just frustrated with the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

The symbol was repainted before the All-Star main event.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

NASCAR All-Star Race-winning team – Crew Chief Adam Stevens, Owner Joe Gibbs, Driver Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) –<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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NASCAR Cup Series Race – NASCAR All-Star Race<\/b><\/p>\n

North Wilkesboro Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, May 18, 2025<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (2)  Christopher Bell (T), Toyota, 250.<\/p>\n

                2. (4)  Joey Logano (F), Ford, 250.<\/p>\n

                3. (3)  Ross Chastain (C), Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                4. (9)  Alex Bowman (C), Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                5. (6)  Chase Elliott (C), Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                6. (5)  William Byron (C), Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                7. (13)  Tyler Reddick (T), Toyota, 250.<\/p>\n

                8. (8)  Kyle Busch (C), Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                9. (14)  Chase Briscoe (T), Toyota, 250.<\/p>\n

                10. (10)  Chris Buescher (F), Ford, 250.<\/p>\n

                11. (21)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                12. (20)  Denny Hamlin (T), Toyota, 250.<\/p>\n

                13. (23)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 250.<\/p>\n

                14. (15)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                15. (17)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 250.<\/p>\n

                16. (7)  Ryan Blaney (F), Ford, 250.<\/p>\n

                17. (11)  Josh Berry (F), Ford, 250.<\/p>\n

                18. (16)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 250.<\/p>\n

                19. (22)  John Hunter Nemechek (T), Toyota, 250.<\/p>\n

                20. (18)  Harrison Burton, Ford, 250.<\/p>\n

                21. (19)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 247.<\/p>\n

                22. (1)  Brad Keselowski (F), Ford, Accident, 176.<\/p>\n

                23. (12)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, Accident, 65.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  95.728 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 37 Mins, 56 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .829 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  5 for 32 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  18 among 8 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   B. Keselowski (F) 1-5;J. Logano (F) 6;B. Keselowski (F) 7-63;K. Busch (C) 64-65;W. Byron (C) 66-77;J. Logano (F) 78-102;A. Cindric 103;C. Bell (T) 104-119;J. Logano (F) 120;C. Bell (T) 121;J. Logano (F) 122-177;A. Bowman (C) 178;K. Larson 179-182;J. Logano (F) 183;K. Larson 184;J. Logano (F) 185-228;C. Bell (T) 229;J. Logano (F) 230-240;C. Bell (T) 241-250.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Joey Logano (F) 7 times for 139 laps; Brad Keselowski (F) 2 times for 62 laps; Christopher Bell (T) 4 times for 28 laps; William Byron (C) 1 time for 12 laps; Kyle Larson 2 times for 5 laps; Kyle Busch (C) 1 time for 2 laps; Alex Bowman (C) 1 time for 1 lap; Austin Cindric 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – NASCAR All-Star Open<\/b><\/p>\n

North Wilkesboro Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, May 18, 2025<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (2)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 100.<\/p>\n

                2. (8)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 100.<\/p>\n

                3. (10)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 100.<\/p>\n

                4. (12)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 100.<\/p>\n

                5. (4)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 100.<\/p>\n

                6. (6)  Zane Smith, Ford, 100.<\/p>\n

                7. (16)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 100.<\/p>\n

                8. (14)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 100.<\/p>\n

                9. (11)  Cole Custer, Ford, 100.<\/p>\n

                10. (13)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 100.<\/p>\n

                11. (5)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 100.<\/p>\n

                12. (17)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 100.<\/p>\n

                13. (1)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 100.<\/p>\n

                14. (7)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 100.<\/p>\n

                15. (9)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 100.<\/p>\n

                16. (15)  Cody Ware, Ford, 100.<\/p>\n

                17. (3)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 100.<\/p>\n

                18. (18)  Chad Finchum, Ford, 100.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  98.425 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  0 Hrs, 38 Mins, 6 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .697 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  2 for 12 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  1 among 2 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   S. Van Gisbergen 1-54;C. Hocevar 55-100.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Shane Van Gisbergen 1 time for 54 laps; Carson Hocevar 1 time for 46 laps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. \u2014 Fireworks lit up the sky, and smoke billowed from the tires of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as Christopher Bell celebrated his first victory in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. On Sunday night, Bell climbed from his car to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":51951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[451,16,774],"class_list":["post-51931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-christopher-bell","tag-nascar","tag-north-wilkesboro-speedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2215808233-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-dvB","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51931"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51955,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51931\/revisions\/51955"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}