NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Joey Logano led all but one lap at North Wilkesboro Speedway to win the NASCAR All-Star Race rout for the second time in his career.
Logano started on the pole and rarely left the top spot. Denny Hamlin came within a second of Logano at the end but couldn't reach Logano at the end to make a meaningful fight.
"It's been a while since we won a race," Logano said after the win. "I wish this one counted for points but a million bucks works as well."
Kyle Busch spun out Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on the second lap of the race, ending Stenhouse's day. Stenhouse retaliated by parking his car in Busch's pit stall. After the race, Stenhouse confronted Busch and threw a punch at him. The two drivers were quickly pulled apart from each other as crew members got engaged in a fracas.
"We never had any issues and then I wrecked him one time at Daytona and he's bad-mouthed me ever since then," Stenhouse said. "I'm not sure why he was so mad that I shoved it three wide. He kept saying I wrecked him. I know he's frustrated cause he doesn't run as well as he used to."
Busch did not talk with the media after the incident.
The early caution split strategy between the soft tire and the prime tire. Logano and a few others stayed out and did not see much fall off on the soft tire as was anticipated.
Logano's first challenge for the lead came after the midway stage break. Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin bumped and banged Logano and each other to try and take the lead to no avail.
Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five. Larson qualified fifth for the Indianapolis 500 just hours before the race and took a helicopter to reach North Wilkesboro.
NASCAR All-Star Race Open
Ty Gibbs led every lap of the NASCAR All-Star Race Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway to advance to the main event for the second time in his two-year career.
Bubba Wallace advanced by finishing second in a much more contested battle between him, Josh Berry, and Justin Haley. Noah Gragson won the fan vote to fill out the 20-car field for the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Gibbs started on the pole and never looked back. Alex Bowman challenged for the top spot early on but later faded back and finished sixth.
"I think what we saw in the Open was that we have enough to get to the front," Gibbs said after the win. "We've got some good friends here, too. Let's go win this thing."
The first caution flag flew at lap 50 for a mandatory four-tire pit stop that split strategy as teams were given two different tire options during this weekend's races.
The only other caution period happened when Austin Cindric was spun into the wall after contact with Noah Gragson. Carson Hocevar squeezed Gragson into Cindric, causing the wreck.
Gragson won the fan vote for the second year in a row.
"The fans are so badass," Gragson said. "It's a privilege to be voted in and to race the All-Star Race again. We're going to continue to work on our car and try to get it dialed in.
North Wilkesboro Racing hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race for the second year in a row after being mostly dormant for 27 years.
The start of the All-Star Race was delayed around 15 minutes to allow Kyle Larson to arrive in time from Indianapolis 500 qualifying. Larson is set to be the fourth driver to run "The Double" on May 26 when he races in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Indy 500.