Ahead of the 2025 All-Star weekend, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott is one driver who supports NASCAR deciding how to approach the future of the event after this year’s running is done.
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The #9 Chevrolet driver spoke about how he sees the future of the non-points-paying race, originally designed to give fans and drivers a weekend of no-holds-barred racing between the drivers, with the motivating factor being the chance to win $1 million.
However, recently, there have been talks about moving the All-Star Race to a different venue than North Wilkesboro Speedway, a track that has not particularly suited the Next Gen package in terms of the quality of racing the field is able to provide to the fans.
Despite the ever-evolving nuance of the sport, Elliott seemed to be happy with where the weekend is today in terms of venue and the format. “The event was originally designed for, the bold print was the million-dollar thing, right? That’s what I remember about it when it first came along. It was like the craziest thing ever at the time,” he said in a pre-qualifying interview.
“The event was made to be a fun environment for the drivers and to get the crew members involved. I think they’ve kept that over the years. I still think it has that same vibe to it. Long story short, it’s above me,” rounded out the Dawsonville, Georgia native, keeping his mind off what he cannot control and letting NASCAR decide how to evolve the concept, if need be.
Unlike Elliott, Brad Keselowski wants NASCAR to switch things up
RFK Racing team owner and driver of the #6 Ford, Keselowski, on the other hand, was of a completely different opinion from that of Chase Elliott’s. The veteran driver opined on how the governing body needs to oversee the format of the race, as well as the venue going forward.
“I personally would like to see the All-Star Race either return to Charlotte or go to Nashville Fairgrounds or something to that effect and see this (North Wilkesboro) become a regular season race,” elaborated the 41-year-old during an interview.
It remains to be seen if NASCAR decides to give North Wilkesboro a permanent spot on the regular season schedule. While the historic nature of the facility does warrant a permanent stop for the venue, drivers having issues overtaking each other might open a bigger can of worms for the governing body, more than it already is open if changes were to be made.
