Jason Minto/Associated Press
The NASCAR All-Star Open is the final mode of qualification into the NASCAR All-Star Race.
The Open takes place on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway as a prelude to the All-Star event.
Four drivers from the Open field will land in the All-Star Race through two different qualification methods.
The three stage winners from the competition itself will move on to the All-Star Race. A fan vote determine the final entrant into the All-Star field.
The Open field is made up of drivers that did not win a race over the last year and have not been champions of the NASCAR Cup Series or the All-Star Race.
Tyler Reddick is the only driver that won a stage of the Open last season who is back to qualify out of the last-chance qualifier again.
Reddick and his Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon should be viewed as the favorites to advance out of the Open because they have two of the strongest cars in the field.
NASCAR All-Star Open Info
Date: Sunday, May 22
Start Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and Fox Sports app
Entry List
Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Corey LaJoie
Garrett Smithley
Chris Buescher
Harrison Burton
Justin Haley
Todd Gilliland
Cole Custer
Ty Dillon
Erik Jones
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Cody Ware
Landon Cassill
B.J. McLeod
Daniel Suarez
Preview
The NASCAR All-Star Open essentially has three different sprint races to earn qualification into the All-Star Race, which takes place later on Sunday night at Texas Motor Speedway.
The first two stages will last 20 laps. The final stage is just 10 laps. The winners of the three stages move into the All-Star Race.
Winning the fan vote is the only other way a driver can get into the All-Star Race if he does not win an Open stage.
Tyler Reddick was one of three stage winners during last year’s Open. That is the only history we can really use to predict Saturday’s results. The All-Star Race is in its second year at Texas.
Ross Chastain and Aric Almirola, who are both in the All-Star field, won the other two stages of the Open last May.
The racing throughout the Open will be tight since one mistake can drop a driver away from the leading pack and ruin his Saturday night.
Getting to the front is imperative for the Open drivers since Texas has been a tough track to consistently pass at.
The starting order for the Open will be determined by single-car, one-lap qualifying prior to the race. The top finishers in qualifying should be viewed as the favorites to advance.
Reddick and Austin Dillon are two of the most notable names in the Open field. Both drivers have won Cup Series races in the past and they should be very competitive at the front of the group.
The Richard Childress Racing teammates have the most NASCAR Cup Series points of any Open participants.
Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez are the only other Open competitors in the top 20 of the Cup Series points standings. Jones and Suarez are expected to be competitive for qualification spots as well.
There is always the potential for a surprise to occur, especially with the stages being so short, but we are more than likely going to see at least two of Dillon, Reddick, Jones and Suarez advance to the All-Star Race.
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