Strategy Call for Optional Soft Tire Compound Does Not Benefit HighPoint.com Driver
Details:
Date: May 19, 2024
Event: NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race (non-points events)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway (.625-mile oval)
NASCAR All-Star Open: 100 laps, with a competition break at or around lap 50
- Race Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
- Second Place: Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
- Fan Vote Winner: Noah Gragson of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Note: The All-Star Open was the undercard event to the NASCAR All-Star Race, where non-qualified drivers attempted to race their way into the All-Star Race by winning the Open, finishing second in the Open, or by winning the fan vote.
NASCAR All-Star Race: 200 laps, with competition breaks at or around lap 100 and lap 150
- Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
- Note: The NASCAR All-Star Race was comprised of drivers who won a points-paying race in 2023 or 2024, fulltime drivers who have previously won the All-Star Race, fulltime drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series championship, and drivers who advanced from the All-Star Open.
Overview:
Chase Briscoe started the All-Star Open from the third grid position in his No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse, running the mandatory standard Goodyear tire compound at the outset of the race. He dropped a position each in the first two laps, then held onto fifth place for the remainder of the initial 50-lap run to the mandatory four-tire pit stop, where he donned the softer option tire. The HighPoint.com driver restarted fourth on lap 58 and had dropped back to fifth by the time the caution flag flew again on lap 60. He restarted fifth when the race went back to green on lap 65 and dropped a pair of positions fighting a tight handling condition on the way to the checkered flag.
Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse:
“We just didn’t really have the short-run speed. It seemed like once we got single-filed out, it was hard unless you were really, really good to go forward. On the normal tire, we were really, really loose at the start, and on the soft tire we were really, really tight. I felt like if the race was 100-lap runs, we would’ve been alright. We were pretty good on the long runs, we just didn’t quite have it on the short runs. We’ve just got to do a better job. Especially this weekend, it’s just a little tough having different tires, but I need to do a better job just understanding from practice kind of what I need for the short run versus the long run. Hated it for all of us. We’ve been having really, really good speed here lately, so I hope this wasn’t a momentum killer. But overall, I’m thankful for HighPoint. I wish we could’ve gotten them a little better chance in the All-Star Race, but we’ll just go to the Coke 600 next week and see what we can do.”
Notes:
- Briscoe was vying for his third All-Star Race appearance. He finished fourth in the 2021 All-Star Open during his NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year season. He qualified for the 2022 and 2023 All-Star Races by virtue of his first career Cup Series victory in March 2022 at Phoenix Raceway. He finished 18th in the 2022 All-Star Race and fourth last year.
- Joey Logano won the All-Star Race by .636 of a second over runner-up Denny Hamlin.
- This was Ford’s 14th win in the All-Star Race.
- The All-Star Race featured two lead changes among two different drivers. Twenty drivers comprised the field.
Next Up:
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to points-paying racing on Sunday, May 26 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The longest race on the series’ schedule gets underway at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
