NASCAR Ford Teams Have Eventful All-Star Race 2023: Video

May 22, 2023 5:29 pm

The NASCAR Ford teams couldn’t hold a candle to the No. 5 NASCAR Chevy Camaro of Kyle Larson during the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro on May 21^st, 2023, but even so, The Blue Oval had a night of ups-and-downs at the resurrected speedway.

North Wilkesboro has been bereft of Cup Series activity since 1996, but was recently catapulted back onto the schedule after massive rebuilding efforts to bring the track back to its former glory. It certainly provided the perfect battleground for the Cup Series’ annual non-point paying All-Star race.

But first, let’s revisit the Open, which is another exhibition race that allows non-qualifying drivers to advance to the invitation-only All-Star race. On Lap 50 of the short race, the No. 34 NASCAR Ford Mustang of Michael McDowell got into a spat with the No. 54 Toyota TRD Camry of Ty Gibbs, sending the former spinning. On Lap 78, McDowell and the No. 34 Mustang got revenge, squeezing the No. 54 of Gibbs into the outside wall. This move allowed Josh Berry in the No. 48 Camaro to pass Gibbs’ No. 54 for the lead and win the Open.

McDowell was understandably frustrated with Gibbs, a rookie.

“It’s short-track racing to try to get into the All-Star Race, so somebody’s going to leave with hurt feelings – I guess it’s me,” McDowell said. “I got a great restart there, kind of worked the outside, got a couple of guys and was able to get down, and Ty just plowed into me, just knocked me into the 31 [Justin Haley] and spun us both out… All that stuff comes around, man. You can get away with it a few times, but it comes around. I don’t have the budget for the fine. Otherwise, I would not be standing here. I’d be standing down there (confronting Gibbs on pit road).”

As for the All-Star race, The Blue Oval was a non-factor, leading no laps while Larson’s No. 5 Chevy commanded the field. Chase Briscoe was the best-finishing NASCAR Ford team, posting a fourth-place result in the No. 14 Mustang. Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang quietly finished sixth, while Joey Logano put the No. 22 Mustang in 10^th at the line.

NASCAR Cup Series Race Results, All-Star At North Wilkesboro, May 21, 2022
Finish	Start	Car Number	Driver	Team	Laps Run	Laps Led	Car
1	16	5	Kyle Larson	HendrickCars.com Chevrolet	200	145	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
2	10	23	Bubba Wallace	Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota	200	0	Toyota TRD Camry
3	20	45	Tyler Reddick	The Beast Unleashed Toyota	200	0	Toyota TRD Camry
4	5	14	Chase Briscoe	HighPoint.com Ford	200	0	Ford Mustang
5	13	9	Chase Elliott	NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet	200	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
6	11	12	Ryan Blaney	Menards/Wrangler Ford	200	0	Ford Mustang
7	1	99	Daniel Suarez	Trackhouse Motorplex Chevrolet	200	55	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
8	21	43	Erik Jones	STP Chevrolet	200	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
9	23	54	Ty Gibbs #	Monster Energy Toyota	200	0	Toyota TRD Camry
10	3	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	200	0	Ford Mustang
11	18	1	Ross Chastain	Worldwide Express Chevrolet	200	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
12	7	20	Christopher Bell	Interstate Batteries Toyota	200	0	Toyota TRD Camry
13	9	11	Denny Hamlin	Yahoo! Toyota	199	0	Toyota TRD Camry
14	12	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Bass Pro Shops Toyota	199	0	Toyota TRD Camry
15	22	48	Josh Berry(i)	Ally Chevrolet	199	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
16	2	17	Chris Buescher	Fastenal Ford	199	0	Ford Mustang
17	4	3	Austin Dillon	BREZTRI Chevrolet	199	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
18	15	29	Kevin Harvick	Busch Light Ford	198	0	Ford Mustang
19	8	6	Brad Keselowski	Nexlizet Ford	198	0	Ford Mustang
20	6	24	William Byron	Liberty University Chevrolet	198	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
21	17	2	Austin Cindric	Keystone Light Ford	198	0	Ford Mustang
22	14	8	Kyle Busch	Thorntons Chevrolet	198	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
23	24	42	Noah Gragson #	Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet	197	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
24	19	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Kroger/Coca-Cola Chevrolet	196	0	Chevrolet Camaro ZL1