NASCAR Cup Series: 2019 All-Star Open, All-Star Race details revealed

The details for the 2019 Monster Energy Open and Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway have been revealed.

The details for this year’s Monster Energy Open and Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race during NASCAR Cup Series All-Star weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway have been revealed.

The Open is scheduled to take place at 6:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 18, and it is set to be a 50-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Charlotte Motor Speedway oval in Concord, North Carolina. It is set to feature the drivers who have not already qualified for the All-Star Race.

A total of 15 drivers have already qualified for the All-Star Race as a result of the fact that they have either won at least one race in the 2018 and/or 2019 Cup Series seasons, won at least one past All-Star Race or won at least one Cup Series championship. Several of these 15 drivers have checked off more than one of these three boxes.

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The Open is set to feature three stages. The first two stages are set to last for 20 laps each while the final stage is set to last for 10 laps. When a driver wins a stage, he will advance to the All-Star Race and be done competing in the Open. As a result, three drivers will advance to the All-Star Race by virtue of their performances in the Open.

In addition to the 15 drivers who have already qualified for the All-Star Race and the three winners of the three stages in the Open, one more driver will qualify for the All-Star Race based on the NASCAR Fan Vote, which is now open.

Additionally, three more drivers could qualify for the All-Star Race between now and the Open by winning one or more of the remaining three Cup Series races on the schedule before then.

The All-Star Race itself is set to be an 85-lap race that features four stages, including a 30-lap stage one, a 20-lap stage two, a 20-lap stage three and a 15-lap final stage. Last year, the final stage was only a 10-lap stage.

However, NASCAR overtime rules will apply to the endings of all four stages, so the race could end up lasting for longer than 85 laps. Additionally, in the final stage, only green flag laps will count toward the completion of the 15-lap stage total.

The driver who ends up winning the race will receive $1 million. Six different drivers have won it in the last six seasons, with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick winning it last year for the second time in his career. Of these six drivers, five are set to compete in it this year.

In addition, NASCAR is set to experiment with the future in regard to the technical specifications for this race. There are two new technical elements that the cars in this race are set to feature, and these two technical elements may be incorporated into the Generation-7 stock car that is set to debut in the 2021 season.

First, a single-piece carbon fiber splitter/pan is set to be added to the cars with the intent of creating dramatic improvements in ride-height sensitivity and a more stable aero platform. Additionally, it is intended to create more consistent performances by the cars while in traffic.

Here is what John Probst, the senior vice president of racing innovation, had to say about the matter, according to NASCAR.

"“We’re looking forward to bringing two major elements that we’re looking at and evaluating for our Gen-7 car. This will be a good chance for us to see this in real race conditions…Nowadays we have a flat splitter that has the teams chasing control of their ride heights a lot, which gets pretty expensive. It also makes the sweet spot, if you will, for the setup narrow. It’ll be very visible to the folks watching at home on TV or in the stands. The whole idea behind that is actually just trying to open up the window for a good setup for our teams.”"

Secondly, cars will be required to be configured with a radiator exit duct through the hood. The intent of this change is to separate aerodynamic performance and engine temperatures to create a more level playing field among competitors.

Here is what Steve O’Donnell, the NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, had to say about the matter, according to NASCAR.

"“Throughout its history, the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race has provided a platform to try new and innovative ideas, some of which we have incorporated on a full-time basis. Last year’s All-Star rules package resulted in one of the most exciting All-Star races in history. With a similar package and added elements that we could see in the next generation race car, we expect another must-watch event.”"

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Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 6:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 18 for the live broadcast of the Monster Energy Open from Charlotte Motor Speedway, and be sure to stay tuned in to Fox Sports 1 for the live broadcast of the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race from the track later than night at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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