The season’s exhibition showcase — the All-Star Race — took place on Sunday. While it offered no championship points, it opened the door for drivers to walk away with $1 million from the event purse. Eventually, Christopher Bell, the winner of the race, took that prize money home.
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It marked the third consecutive year NASCAR hosted the race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Before that, the event was held at Texas and Bristol across three years. Traditionally, from 1987 to 2019, Charlotte Motor Speedway served as its home.
What stood out this year is the reduction in prize money, even with a $7 million television deal. According to Bob Pockrass, the winning team of the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race earned $2,421,400, while teams in the NASCAR Cup Open split a purse of $581,100. The NASCAR Truck Series winners took home $782,900.
In comparison, last year’s payouts were higher. The 2024 NASCAR Cup All-Star winner pocketed $3,784,525, the NASCAR Cup Open paid out $678,700, and the NASCAR Truck Series race awarded $730,651.
Purses for North Wilkesboro including all payouts, all positions and any charter obligation payouts for Cup:
Cup All-Star: $2,421,400
Cup Open: $581,100
Truck: $782,900
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 14, 2025
Although the race carried no points, the Wilkes County Tourism Development Authority projected a crowd of 80,000 to 90,000 to attend across the four-day All-Star weekend.
The confirmed lineup featured Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Josh Berry, Joey Logano, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman, Harrison Burton, and Daniel Suarez.
Reigning All-Star Race winner and NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano failed to defend his crown, while Kyle Larson, fresh off a dominating Kansas win and already a three-time All-Star winner in the last six seasons, could not capitalise on the heavy fan support he received.
Since 2020, victory in the All-Star Race has alternated between Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske drivers, with no other team breaking through to claim the $1 million prize. However, with Bell’s win, Joe Gibbs Racing broke a monopoly of sorts this year.
