What Are the Biggest Changes in NASCAR's All-Star Race Format for 2025?

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

NASCAR officially revealed the format of the upcoming NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. According to 1996 NASCAR All-Star Race winner Michael Waltrip, who spoke to the media in a Zoom call on Wednesday morning, the biggest change is the addition of 50 laps to bring the Main Event race to a grand total of 250 laps.

"I think the most interesting part of the whole story today, for me, is the 50 extra laps," Waltrip said. "The manufacturer showdown is fun, you know, that's just another element we can follow and watch. You ultimately just want to win the All-Star Race. That's what everybody shows up to do."

In addition to the 50 laps that were added to the All-Star Race for the 2025 edition of the event, there will be an optional "Promoter's Caution" which can be utilized anytime before Lap 220, unless a natural caution comes out after Lap 200.

While the "Promoter's Caution" will add a new wrinkle to things for sure. Waltrip is curious how tire wear will play into the strategy calls if the "Promoter's Caution" is called late in the race.

"I just think the strategy is going to be wildly different because of the tire fall-off, like I said, because the pavement has a year of age on it. And how you play your cards around the Promoter's Caution."

After tires showed virtually no wear in last year's All-Star Race, the first NASCAR Cup Series event on the freshly repaved North Wilkesboro Speedway track surface, Waltrip feels we'll see a different story this time around.

"Last year they came with the Option Tire, and it just, the pavement was new, and there just wasn't the fall-off that they were hoping for," Waltrip said. "And they're bringing back a tire that is similar to the Option Tire this year. So, maybe even a little softer now that the track got some wear on it, who knows? I think there's some really fun elements that are going to make that weekend really fun, and special at North Wilkesboro."

As far as the "Promoter's Caution" Waltrip says while this is the first time it's been officially added to a race format in the NASCAR Cup Series' history, that the fun flag isn't something new in the world of NASCAR.

"Ever since I was a kid, when they say promoter, I always thought of Humpy Wheeler, and all of the craziness he would come up with at Charlotte Motor Speedway. And there's always been such an item that is the Promoter's Caution, we know that," Waltrip explained. "I think NASCAR has said to the teams, 'We're going to do this, and now you know.' Whereas the teams would think sometimes, 'what was that caution for?'"

Another new feature added to the 2025 All-Star Race format is an in-race NASCAR Manufacturer Showdown.

According to NASCAR, Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota will be equally represented, regardless of how many of each nameplate makes it into the All-Star Race Main Event. The total cars that the least represented manufacturer has in the field of the All-Star Race Main Event, will be the same amount of cars in the Showdown for the other manufacturers.

The collective manufacturer teams will be scored against each other, and not by their overall All-Star finish. The lowest combined total of finishing positions will be the winning manufacturer. In the event of a tie, the single best overall finishing position will determine the winner of the Manufacturer Showdown.

So, which cars will make the cut for the showdown for each manufacturer? That will be determined based on highest qualifying order.

The remainder of the qualifying process, heat races, and pit crew challenge remain virtually unchanged from last season's All-Star Race.