Kevin Harvick wins 2nd Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race: Highlights, results and more

Find out who won the $1 million prize in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race with our live highlights and updates of the action from Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Any all-star event is primarily a showcase for the fans. The changes made for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race were done to assure the best possible chance of accomplishing just that.

Gone were some of the gimmicks of the past, replaced instead by restrictor plates, big spoilers and a splitter from days gone by. The idea was to slow the cars and keep them closer together but still give them the ability to pass for the lead. No one was 100 percent sure if it would work, but the Monster Energy Open, which added three more drivers to the All-Star Race field, suggested that it just might.

With no points on the line, the primary motivation for NASCAR Cup Series drivers was $1 million for finishing first, winner take all. Even for drivers like Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson, in their 18th and 17th All-Star starts, respectively, that’s a pretty decent chunk of change.

The format called for four stages: 30 laps, then 20, 20 and 10 for a total of 80 laps. But in the end, only the person in front on the final lap really mattered.

One driver who probably didn’t mind restrictor plates being added to the All-Star Race mix was Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who took the lead from Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth early on. Alas, behind them, Kurt Busch was getting loose in the middle of a three-wide pack, and he ended up in the outside wall to bring out the first caution of the night.

When the race restarted, a familiar sight emerged: Kevin Harvick leading a race. The action was fierce behind him for second back to about seventh, and among the cars in that group was Open winner AJ Allmendinger. The battle in front of him was for second between Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch, but no one could catch Harvick before the end of Stage 1.

Both Harvick and Allmendinger were the losers during the yellow flag pit stops, with Harvick losing four spots and ‘Dinger dropping back three.

Kyle Busch was the beneficiary, restarting from P1 and looking pretty sturdy in clean air. But along with Harvick, new contenders emerged behind him, including Daniel Suarez, Jimmie Johnson, and, yes, Allmendinger.

Alas, Allmendinger got into the wall and fell a lap down after coming in for new tires. Up front, a duel materialized between Truex and Suarez for second, but Kyle Busch stayed safely ahead of them and took the Stage 2 green and white checkered flag.

Brad Keselowski took only two tires and assumed the lead. Though he was able to stay there for about five laps, Truex, who took four tires, got by him right before Kasey Kahne got into the wall to bring out the caution flag.

Truex stayed in the lead after the restart, this time with Kyle Larson chasing him. With just two laps remaining in Stage 3, Alex Bowman got into the wall, setting up an overtime finish to the stage and an interesting split in the field with several cars staying out and others deciding to pit for tires.

Four-wide racing into Turn 3 at Charlotte isn’t something we usually see, and in the overtime part of Stage 3, we found out why. Stenhouse made contact with Truex, who turned sideways and collected a number of cars, including both Busch brothers, Keselowski and Clint Bowyer.

Suarez and Larson looked like they might fight it out for the stage win this time, but the driver who was reigned for most of 2018 so far had something to say about that. Harvick made his move late and fended off Suarez to earn his second stage win of the night.

Harvick also showed the way at the beginning of the final stage, with Suarez attempting to track him down. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott led the next pack of cars with three laps to go. Would we get to the end without a caution?

We would not. Joey Logano got into the wall, and when rebounding back across the track, he made contact with Larson and sent him on a spin through the grass.

That incident set up an overtime scenario, with Harvick and Suarez battling for the lead. The 4 prevailed, though, and even though Ryan Newman got into the wall, the race stayed green. Harvick continued his dominant 2018 season by claiming the NASCAR All-Star Race checkered flag, 11 years to the day from his only previous win.

2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race results

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Daniel Suarez
3. Joey Logano
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Chase Elliott
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Kyle Larson
8. AJ Allmendinger
9. Kyle Busch
10. Kasey Kahne
11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
12. Austin Dillon
13. Jamie McMurray
14. Matt Kenseth
15. Ryan Blaney
16. Ryan Newman
17. Martin Truex Jr.
18. Kurt Busch
19. Clint Bowyer
20. Brad Keselowski
21. Alex Bowman