Which drivers are locked into the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race? Here are the 16 drivers who are guaranteed to be in Saturday at Charlotte.
Which drivers are definitely in the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race? There are 16 Cup Series drivers who’ve earned their All-Star status for Saturday’s showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway by meeting at least one of the league’s three criteria.
A driver can be locked into the All-Star Race if they have accomplished any one of the following: winning a race in the current NASCAR season, winning a race in the previous NASCAR season, winning a previous NASCAR All-Star Race or winning a previous Cup Series championship.
That’s generated quite a murderers’ row for this weekend, including seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who will be looking to win his record fifth All-Star Race on Saturday. He’ll be joined by two of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne, while Team Penske has both of their cars in the field, including defending All-Star Race winner Joey Logano.
Current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson and runner-up Martin Truex Jr. are also locked into the field by virtue of their race victories this season.
Everyone not on this list will be driving for one of the remaining spots on Saturday in the Monster Energy Open, which directly precedes the All-Star Race at 6 p.m. ET.
Here’s the complete list of drivers guaranteed spots in the NASCAR All-Star Race:
PAST ALL-STAR RACE WINNERS (3):
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Kasey Kahne
- Jamie McMurray
2017 RACE WINNERS (8):
- Kurt Busch
- Jimmie Johnson
- Brad Keselowski
- Kyle Larson
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Newman
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Martin Truex Jr.
2016 RACE WINNERS (5):
- Chris Buescher
- Kyle Busch
- Denny Hamlin
- Kevin Harvick
- Matt Kenseth
Next: Understanding the NASCAR All-Star Race format
You can keep up with all of the drivers in Saturday’s All-Star Race by following along with the NASCAR category at FanSided here.