Race Information
- Track: North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, N.C.
- Race Name: NASCAR All-Star Race & Open
- Broadcast: Sunday, May 21st on FS1 8:00pm ET (TV), MRN (Radio) Sirius XM NASCAR Ch. 90
- Team Entrants:
No. 42 | Noah Gragson & Luke Lambert – Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet Camaro Zl1
No. 43 | Erik Jones & Dave Elenz – STP Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
2023 NCS Season Stats
- Starts: 13, Best start: 10th; Best finish: 12th (Atlanta); Laps led: 2; Current points position: 32nd
About Sunseeker Resorts: Opening in 2023, Florida’s newest luxury resort located in Charlotte Harbor is the first resort property of Sunseeker Resorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company. Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor occupies over 22 waterfront acres with 785 guest rooms, including 189 Signature Sunsuites™. Set upon the Peace River and Florida Gulf Coast, this premier resort offers 20 original food and beverage concepts; including seven stand-alone restaurants, eleven bars and lounges, two poolside offerings and a 25,000-square-foot multi-dining experience. Additional hotel amenities include a waterfront promenade, two unique rooftop and waterfront pool experiences, 60,000-square-feet of combined convention space, full-service spa and salon, a 7,100-square-foot state-of-the-art fitness center with four group exercise studios with specialty instructor lead classes, three retail and market shops, and an 18-hole championship level golf club exclusive to hotel guests only. The resort is conveniently located within a short drive of Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Sarasota, St. Petersburg-Clearwater, and Tampa airports. For more information, visit www.sunseekerresorts.com. Follow on Instagram: @sunseekerresorts and like us on Facebook: @sunseekerresorts.
Vote for Noah Campaign: Noah Gragson takes the relationship with his fans very seriously. The two-time NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver (Truck Series, 2018 and Xfinity Series, 2022) winner went to great lengths this year to help drive votes for the NASCAR All-Star Race in North Wilkesboro. Earlier this month he visited the Wilkes County town and track, delivering Black Rifle Coffee to firefighters and even checked out the iconic Liberty Theatre sampling the famous popcorn. Fans have until 12pm ET on Saturday, May 20 to cast their vote. Click here for the campaign video and to vote for Noah.
New to Noah: Gragson was not born yet when the last NASCAR Cup Series event took place at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1996. This is also his first attempt of the NASCAR All-Star Open race as a rookie in the Cup Series.
Better Late Model Than Never: Gragson will compete in the ASA Stars National Tour Super Late Model ECMD 150 at North Wilkesboro as a warmup leading into All-Star weekend. He is racing a “Noah For Mayor” paint scheme featuring the QR code where fans can vote Gragson into the All-Star race main event.
Seven-Time is also Four-Time: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB co-owner Jimmie Johnson has the most NASCAR All-Star wins among active drivers with four wins in the exhibition event, all of which occurred when the race took place at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Johnson won the million-dollar event in 2003, 2006, 2012 and 2013.
Meet the Mayor: Gragson will sign autographs for fans from 2:30- 3:00pm on Sunday, May 21 at the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB trackside merchandise rig at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Quoting Noah Gragson: “I’ve been looking forward to the All-Star race weekend. The “Vote for Noah” fan vote campaign has been pretty fun and the fans have really gotten into it. We’ve been handing out buttons and posting flyers everywhere. I hope to win the Open race and not need the vote, but either way, I want the No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet in the main event. It’s going to be a wild race at a historic track where we can highlight our pit crews and team, have some fun and go for it all. I hope the fans have a blast. It’s going to be a special weekend and I am really just happy to have the opportunity to be a part of it.”
Erik Jones, No. 43 STP Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
NASCAR All-Star Race Stats
- NASCAR All-Star Open Starts: 4; Best finish: 2nd (2018) Top-5s: 2, Top-10s:2
- NASCAR All-Star Starts 2: Best finish 11th (2020)
2023 NCS Season Stats
- Starts: 13; Best start: 8th; Best finish: 6th; Top 10s: 2, Laps led: 17, Current points position: 25th
About STP: For over 60 years, and for more miles than anyone can count, STP® has been one of the most trusted names in automotive care. Car enthusiasts, “Do-it-Yourselfers” and professional racers rely on STP® oil additives, fuel additives and brake and power steering fluids to keep their vehicles running better, for longer. STP® is headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. and is part of Energizer Holdings, Inc. Visit www.STP.com for more information.
STP – The “OG”: STP, which stands for Science, Technology and Performance, is a brand of oil additives, fuel additives and brake and power steering fluids, and was one of the original sponsors in the sport of NASCAR. The pioneer brand entered NASCAR in 1972 by sponsoring the world-famous Richard Petty team. Petty’s dominance on the track dubbed him “The King” during his era as he holds more records than any driver, including 200 career wins, more than 1,185 starts, and 27 victories in one season with a streak of ten in a row. STP sponsored Petty from 1972 until 1992 when he retired. The agreement between Petty and STP marked the first national-level sponsorship deal in NASCAR.
Four Score and Over Thirty Years Ago: Team ambassador Petty logged an impressive 66 starts at North Wilkesboro Speedway, collecting 15 wins, 33 top-five and 42 top-10 finishes. Of those 15 victories, eight came while Petty carried the famed STP colors on his racecar. His final win at North Wilkesboro came in the 1981 Northwestern Bank 400 making him the winningest driver in NASCAR Cup Series history at the legendary .625-mile Wilkes County oval. The victory was his 194th overall, and 107th short-track victory.
All Hail: Richard Petty will be honored with the most famous words in racing as he will serve as the grand marshal for the NASCAR All-Star Hauler Parade in Wilkes County, N.C., on Thursday, May 17 at 6pm ET. He will also serve as co-grand marshal with fellow NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Darrell Waltrip to kick off the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday.
2022 Fan Vote Winner: Last season, Jones was the recipient of the All-Star Race “Fan Vote” for the event which took place at Texas Motor Speedway. He started the race 24th and finished 20th after a late race crash took him out of contention.
The history of “Day-Glo Red”: Former STP CEO Andy Granatelli always painted his own race cars a unique Day-Glo Red color, and when Richard Petty signed with the sponsor in 1972, Granatelli insisted on using the color for the No. 43. Petty pushed back, insisting on the traditional Petty Blue painted car entry. After several days of serious debate, the two racing giants finally reached a compromise to combine the two colors, and rest is history.
May is Melanoma Awareness Month: The month of May is Melanoma and Skin Care awareness – a cause very dear to the Jones family, as early cancer detection and care is one of the three pillars of the Erik Jones Foundation (EJF). Cancer detection and care have been a priority for Jones since his father, Dave, succumbed to the disease in 2016. Last October, Jones and his family attended the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) Gala in New York City, where Jones accepted the 2022 Courage Award on behalf of his late father. For more information visit: www.erikjonesracing.com/foundation/ .
Keeping up with ‘That Jones Boy’: Jones will sign autographs for fans at the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB trackside merchandise rig for 100 fans on Sunday, May 21 at 1pm ET. Wrist bands will be distributed on a first-come first-served basis on Saturday, May 20 starting at 8am and Sunday, May 21 starting at 11am. (Must have a wrist band for an autograph.)
Quoting Erik Jones: “It’s always exciting to get the chance to participate in an All-Star race and to get to do it at a historic track like North Wilkesboro is even more special. I took some advice from ‘The King’ as he said the track is so worn out it, tire fall off will be high. That kind of track really suits my driving style. With the iconic STP paint scheme on the No. 43 Chevrolet it will be like going back in time at North Wilkesboro. We hope to put on a good show for the fans of the No. 43. Richard (Petty) told me with this ‘Day Glo Red’ I can’t hide from him – and with no points and a million bucks on the line, it’s going to be an aggressive race. It would be historic to put this car in victory lane again so we are going to do everything we can to make that happen.”
ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (NCS) Jimmie Johnson. The club competes full-time in the NCS fielding the Nos. 42 and 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for drivers Noah Gragson and Erik Jones, respectively, along with the No. 84 part-time entry for Johnson in 2023. Richard Petty “The King” serves as team ambassador.
In 2021, Gallagher acquired Richard Petty Motorsports and renamed the team to Petty GMS. With the addition of Johnson to the ownership structure in 2023, the organization rebranded to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (LEGACY M.C.). With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level.
Based in Statesville, N.C., LEGACY M.C. operates alongside GMS Racing (GMS), which currently fields three full-time entries in the NASCAR Truck Series. Since the formation of GMS in 2012, Gallagher and Mike Beam, team president, have shared incredible success. GMS Racing captured the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championships and the 2019 and 2020 ARCA East championships, accumulating over 65 wins across six national racing circuits.
To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and at www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.
