A two-tire pit call by crew chief Adam Stevens was the winning move for Christopher Bell in All-Star Heat Race No. 2 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday.
Bell started on the pole and led the first 30 laps before a scheduled yellow flag shook up strategy. Chase Briscoe stayed out, while Bell took two tires and much of the 10-car field took four tires.
While Briscoe dropped like a rock on the restart, Bell took the lead back and never relinquished it, coasting to a heat race win that puts him on the front row for Sunday's All-Star Race.
He’s closing out the night on a high note. @CBellRacing is the winner of Heat 2! pic.twitter.com/kKQ9KUMU80
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 17, 2025
Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Chris Buescher rounded out the top-five, with Daniel Suarez, Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton and Denny Hamlin completing the top-10.
Briscoe brought out the only caution for cause after spinning shortly after the Lap 40 restart.
Hamlin had the worst night of all drivers, however, as the three-time Daytona 500 champion fell back to 10th before the All-Star caution on Lap 30 and after Briscoe's spin.
Heat 2 set the outside lane of the starting lineup for Sunday's All-Star Race. Bell will start second, with Logano starting fourth, Elliott starting sixth, Busch starting eighth, Buescher starting 10th, Suarez starting 12th, Briscoe starting 14th, Cindric starting 16th, Burton starting 18th and Hamlin starting 20th.
The NASCAR All-Star Race will go green shortly after 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, with coverage on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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