How a “gimmick” caution helped Christopher Bell win NASCAR All-Star Race

After Joey Logano led all but one lap to win the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race, it surprised nobody that NASCAR would experiment with different ideas to spice up the product for 2025. The new changes seemed to work as designed, albeit resulting in a very unhappy Logano.

The defending Cup Series champion was strong throughout Sunday’s feature event, and looked destined to score his second straight a victory as the race entered its final 50 laps.

However, his lead was erased on Lap 217 when North Wilkesboro Speedway owner Marcus Smith activated the “Promoter’s Caution”. A new quirk for 2025, it allowed the track operator to order a yellow flag at any time before Lap 220 assuming a genuine caution did not occur after the 200-lap mark. A caution had flown 18 laps prior for Brad Keselowski’s crashing into the wall in Turn 3, but did not negate the Promoter’s Caution since it was before Lap 200.

Two-time Daytona 500 winner and current FOX NASCAR analyst Michael Waltrip was called to wave the flag for the Promoter’s Caution, only to accidentally drop it on the track.

When the race resumed with 28 laps to go, Logano found himself having to fend off Christopher Bell for the lead. Bell was on newer tyres after pitting during the Promoter’s Caution while Logano stayed out, leaving the latter at a disadvantage. To make matters worse, Logano had a slow restart and felt it took him “six, seven laps to get my car up and rolling again.”

With ten laps remaining, Bell made his move to pass Logano for first. Despite leading 139 of 250 laps, Logano had to settle for runner-up.

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“I’m pissed off right now. Dang it, we had the fastest car,” a frustrated Logano said. “I’m trying to choose my words correctly on the caution situation. I got bit by it, so I am the one frustrated obviously.

“I’m all about no gimmicks with the caution. I am all about that. Me and Marcus Smith aren’t seeing eye to eye right now. I’ve got to have a word with him.”

Although the Promoter’s Caution certainly benefitted him, Bell admitted he did not expect it to come.

“I was just focused on trying to close the gap on Joey on the long run,” he started. “It was so equal. The track was so nice that you could run different lines, you could run the top, you could run the bottom and have pace at either lane.

“I wasn’t worried about the yellow flag at all. I was trying to size him up for the long run and try and pass him in the closing laps, and then whenever the yellow came out, you just never know how it’s going to play out.

“I very easily could have lost the race. Joey did lose the race. It could have gone to any of us in the top five or six. I’m thankful that it went the way it did, obviously, and Adam (Stevens, crew chief) made a great call to pit and put me on offence and it allowed me to be the aggressor.”

The victory was Bell’s first at the All-Star Race.

Chevrolet wins Manufacturer Showdown

Bell’s win also marked the first in the All-Star Race for Toyota since Kyle Busch in 2017 and the third overall, with Denny Hamlin notching the first in 2015. Although Bell beat Logano and his Ford, Chevrolet walked away with some bragging rights thanks to the army of Camaros behind the top two.

The Manufacturer Showdown was a new feature for the 2025 ASR, intended to add stakes involving the three marques. Five cars from each OEM were selected to represent them in the Showdown, and the lowest combined total of their finishes determined the winner.

While Bell won the race, his Toyota colleagues were scattered throughout the finishing order which tanked their result. Tyler Reddick finished seventh followed by Chase Briscoe in ninth and Hamlin in 12th, while John Hunter Nemechek—who qualified by finishing second in the All-Star Open—was a distant 19th. This resulted in a combined finish of 48.

The Fords suffered greatly. Logano’s second was rapidly dragged down as the next highest Mustang was Chris Buescher in tenth. Ryan Blaney and Josh Berry were 16th and 17th, while Keselowski did not finish due to his crash and was classified 22nd. Consequently, they recorded a paltry combined score of 67.

All five Chevrolet drivers in the Showdown scored top tens. Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, and William Byron ran third through sixth while Kyle Busch was eighth, totalling up for 26.

Of course, the Manufacturer Showdown does not count as a 24th All-Star Race victory for Chevrolet. The Bowtie leads all manufacturers in ASR wins ahead of Ford’s 14 and Toyota’s three. Dodge (two) and Pontiac (one) have also won.

NASCAR 2025 All-Star Race – Results

Heat 1

Heat 2

All-Star Open