Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | All-Star
06/09/2021

Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | All-Star

NASCAR hosts its annual All-Star event this weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, as the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway hosts it for the first time in history. Jack Roush has four All-Star wins all-time, with Ryan Newman locked into Sunday night’s field, and Chris Buescher set to try and race his way in to the main event.

NASCAR All-Star Open

Sunday, June 13 | 6 p.m. ET

FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

  • Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang

 

NASCAR All-Star Race

Sunday, June 13 | 8 p.m. ET

FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90

  • Ryan Newman, No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang

 

Sonoma Recap, All-Star Preview

  • Buescher had an up and down day at Sonoma last weekend, ultimately finishing 16th in a race that went into NASCAR Overtime.
  • Newman was on the wrong end of a last-lap scuffle, putting him 33rd at the checkered flag.
  • Fastenal returns to Buescher’s machine for the All-Star Open Sunday evening as he tries to race his way in to the All-Star Race.
  • Newman will make his 20th start in the star-studded event, and will have Wyndham Rewards riding on board.

Another Historic, New-Look All-Star Race on Deck

  • After holding the NASCAR All-Star Race in Charlotte for many years prior to 2020, the annual invitational event moves to its third track in as many seasons with the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway set to host the 2021 event.
  • Outside of the 1986 event in Atlanta, the race had been held in Charlotte every season. Due to implications from COVID-19 a season ago, NASCAR officials moved the event from Charlotte to Bristol. And this season it moves again, this time to TMS.
  • Also new to this season’s version of the ASR is a six-round, 100-lap bout that will see the winner collect $1 million, and an additional $100,000 will be presented to the fastest pit crew in a mandatory pit stop near the end of the race.
  • Newman will make his 20th start in the All-Star Race come Sunday, an event he won back in 2002. He has two additional top fives in the ASR, including second in 2004 and fifth in 2006. He most recently finished 19th in last season’s non-points race at Bristol.
  • Buescher will compete in the NASCAR Open qualifying race and attempt to race his way into the All-Star field. He’s competed in one ASR all-time in 2017 and finished 17th. His best finish in The Open otherwise is fourth, which came last season at Bristol. The Open will be run in three segments – 20 laps, 20 laps and a 10-lap shootout – with segment winners and the overall winner advancing into the main event. Fan balloting will determine the final driver in the field who is otherwise ineligible.
  • For the All-Star Race itself, the format and procedures are below:
    • Round 1: 15 laps. After this round, the field will be inverted starting anywhere from the eighth through 12th positions, to be selected by a random draw.
    • Round 2: 15 laps, with entire field inverted after this segment.
    • Round 3: 15 laps, again the field will be inverted starting anywhere from the eighth through 12th positions, to be selected by a random draw after this round.
    • Round 4: 15 laps.
    • Round 5: 30 laps. The lineup for this round will be determined by cumulative finish from the first four rounds, with the best cumulative finisher starting from the pole. All cars must enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop during this round. The crew with the fastest stop will pocket $100,000.
    • Round 6: 10 laps. Cars will line up according to their finishing position from the previous round for the final segment.

All-Star Victories

Roush Fenway has earned four victories in NASCAR’s All-Star Main Event with drivers Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Martin, who is a two-time All-Star race winner, first went to Victory Lane in 1998 for Roush Fenway before taking the checkered flag again in 2005. Kenseth earned the victory in the 2004 running of the event and Edwards visited the winner’s circle in 2011.

Racing in to the Show

Overall Roush Fenway has four victories in The Open – the preliminary qualifying races prior to the main event – two by Greg Biffle and one each by Jeff Burton and Trevor Bayne. Burton earned the win in the 2003 running of the Open after starting 18th. Biffle won his qualifying race in 2015 to earn a spot in the event, and the following year he and teammate Trevor Bayne swept the qualifying races to put their name in the hat for a shot at the $1 million payout.

Starting Lineup Set for Sunday
Based off a random draw, Buescher will roll second in Sunday’s All-Star Open. Newman will fire off 14th in the main event after a random draw for that lineup.

Roush Fenway All-Star Wins

1998                       Martin

2004                       Kenseth

2005                       Martin

2011                       Edwards