Justin Allgaier, who competes full-time for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, was called upon by Hendrick Motorsports to replace Kyle Larson behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Friday night as Larson remained at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Fast Friday practice session leading up to Indy 500 qualifying.
With Indy 500 qualifying scheduled to take place from 11:00 a.m. ET to 5:50 p.m. ET today, and the All-Star heat races scheduled to take place at 5:10 p.m. ET, Larson will not compete at North Wilkesboro this evening and will therefore have to start Sunday's All-Star Race in last place.
Allgaier had qualified the No. 5 Chevrolet in eighth place (out of 10 cars) for the first 75-lap heat race around the four-turn, 0.625-mile (1.006-kilometer) North Wilkesboro, North Carolina oval in Friday night's single-car qualifying session.
Kyle Larson ruled out of All-Star heat race
But Allgaier himself is ineligible to move beyond the single-car qualifying session since he is technically not eligible for the All-Star Race without qualifying via the All-Star Open, similar to Kevin Harvick when he came out of retirement to replace Larson last year.
Without locking in via the Open, a driver must have either won a race in 2024 or 2025, be a former Cup Series champion (and still compete full-time), or be a former All-Star Race winner (and still compete full-time) in order to compete in Sunday's main event.
Larson does still plan to compete in the All-Star Race itself, even if it means he has to give up the chance to compete for the Indy 500 pole in Sunday's Firestone Fast Six qualifying session. And that inherently means it is pointless to have the No. 5 Chevrolet run the 100-lap Open at all.
But as stated above, Larson will need to start from the rear of the 23-car field. Larson, who won at the track in 2023, started from last place last year after flying in from Indianapolis after qualifying, and he was able to rally to finish in third place.
Tune in to Fox Sports 2 at 5:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the All-Star heat races from North Wilkesboro Speedway. Tune in to Fox Sports 1 tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the All-Star Open, and stay tuned in for the All-Star Race at 8:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!