There was plenty of action for fans to watch during the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race.
The All-Star Open came first. This was a three-stage race that enabled four drivers to advance to the main event. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dominated the first stage of the open and won it to move on. Chris Buescher took the win in stage two to advance. Daniel Suarez won the third stage and earned his spot in the main event. The fourth driver to advance was the winner of the Fan Vote, Erik Jones.
Next it was time for the main event, the All-Star Race. There were twenty drivers that were eligible for the race and the four that earned their way in earlier in the day. These 24 drivers took the green flag with one goal, win the race to claim ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
From the start there would be hard racing. Kyle Busch appeared to be the car to beat as he led the first 47 laps and won stage one of the race. However, in stage two Kyle had a tire go flat. That led to him being involved in a shocking crash with Ross Chastain. The incident would eliminate both cars and Chase Elliott from the race.
There was more hard racing and a few more incidents on the track. Austin Cindric would win stage two of the race. Joey Logano’s pit-crew won the Pit Stop Challenge earning themselves $100,000. Ryan Blaney was the winner in stage three. Those three would earn spots at the front of the field to start the fourth and final stage of the race.
Ryan would go on to be the car to beat in the final stage. He was able to take the lead and race to a somewhat comfortable cushion as the laps were winding down. The race was coming down to the checkered flag when a caution was issued with Ryan Blaney just yards from crossing the finish line. The All-Star Race had a special rule that it must end under a green flag. Ryan had to be told on the radio that race was in fact not aver and he would have to go through another re-start to win.
Ryan had already dropped his window net before he was told that news. Now he had to attempt to get it re-secured in order to race. He was able to get it in place enough to race. He was also able to race to the lead and hold for the green-white-checkered finish to claim the $1,000,000 prize and bragging rights of being a NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race Winner.
Next on the schedule for the drivers is the Memorial Day Weekend tradition in NASCAR. Sunday, May 29th is the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
By: Buck Stevens
