The fate of the NASCAR All-Star Race largely rests on the whims of Marcus Smith, who is giving few hints about how he’ll deploy a new “Promoter’s Caution.”
It’s the latest goofy gimmick in an event defined by annual format changes designed to goose the competition in the name of fender-banging fireworks. At a randomly selected point Sunday night during the first 220 of 250 laps at North Carolina’s North Wilkesboro Speedway, a yellow flag will fly and possibly wipe out a big lead while bunching the field for a race-altering restart.
The decision on when to throw the yellow rests solely with Smith, the president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, which owns the 0.625-mile track.
“I’ll have a very special mystery guest with a little All-Star Race history of his own to help me out when it’s time to drop the yellow,” Smith said. “Hopefully, we’ll create a little chaos for the teams and some fun for the fans at the same time.”
It’s an attempt to restore some luster to the NASCAR All-Star Race, which has lost touch with its no-holds-barred origins. The past two events at North Wilkesboro produced runaway victories for Kyle Larson and Joey Logano, who led 199 of 200 laps in 2024.