Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell win NASCAR All-Star heats

After Brad Keselowski earned pole position in qualifying on Friday, the rest of the grid was determined by a pair of heat races on Saturday. To put it simply, Heat #1 results decide the inside row for the All-Star Race while Heat #2 results decide the outside row with ten drivers in each heat.

On Sunday, the 18 drivers who are not yet locked into the All-Star Race will take part in their own race with the top-two finishers from the ‘Open’ advancing into the main event. Now for a breakdown of Saturday’s heat races:

Heat #1

Brad Keselowski, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

It’s been a difficult and at times nightmarish season for Keselowski, but the weekend at North Wilkesboro has offered him some relief. He held off all challengers to win the first heat race of the night, even though a couple of drivers got very close in trying to snatch the top spot away.

When the planned competition caution flew in the middle of the race, Keselowski stayed out while Ross Chastain and several others pitted, taking on a set of fresh sticker tires. Those drivers quickly charged through the field with Chastain drawing even with Keselowski in a fierce battle for the race lead. However, the tires ultimately overheated while running the bottom and he was left defending the runner-up spot for the remainder of the race.

He battled back-and-forth with William Byron and Ryan Blaney as the three drivers fought over the spot that would determine who starts third in the All-Star Race on Sunday. Chastain held on over Byron by just a nose while Blaney finished fourth and Alex Bowman fifth.

Josh Berry was sixth, Tyler Reddick seventh, Austin Dillon eighth, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ninth. Kyle Larson’s car did not take part in the heat race since its driver was busy qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 today. So, Larson will come from the last row of the grid on Sunday, which he also did one year ago.

“It doesn’t hurt,” said Keselowski after the win. “It’s been a good two days for everyone on this #6 crew … It’s good to be starting up front with this Ford Mustang. To be running fast, this is fun.”

Speaking about the tire difference, Keselowski added: “Those guys who put tires on were really hard to hold off. I had the preferred groove and just tried to use it to my advantage. We’ll see if that’s the case tomorrow.

Heat #2

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

Christopher Bell was in control of the second heat race from start-to-finish and no one was able to mount a real challenge against him. During the competition caution, nearly the entire field pitted for fresh rubber with most taking four, but Bell took two right-sides instead and narrowly avoided his tire changer on the way out.

Chase Briscoe was the lone driver who rolled the dice and chose to stay out. He inherited the race lead, but it did not last long as he quickly faded through the field. However, he could not get out of the way quick enough, spinning after contact from Daniel Suarez and hitting the door of Denny Hamlin.

This was the only incident of the entire night as Bell set sail for the remainder of the race, taking the win over Joey Logano and Chase Elliott. Kyle Busch and Chris Buescher filled out the rest of the top five while the remainder of the top ten was as follows: Suarez, Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, Hamlin.

“Maybe the Mobil 1 Camry is a million-dollar Camry,” smiled Bell after the win, guaranteeing him the outside of the front row. “It’s feeling really good. I knew yesterday in practice that if they could get some rear grip in it, I felt like I had a lot of car potential. The guys did an amazing job on just making the car better overnight and it was really refreshing to get out there and just cruise those first 30 laps. Then, I didn’t know how it was going to work with having Joey [Logano] right behind me, but this thing was on rails. I’m really happy and excited about the opportunity tomorrow.”

All-Star Race lineup