NASCAR All-Star requirements cause significant confusion

The fact that Kevin Harvick is not eligible to compete in this year's NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, even as a former Cup Series champion and All-Star Race winner, has raised some confusion among fans.

Harvick is set to stand in for Kyle Larson behind the wheel of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet while Larson is at Indianapolis Motor Speedway practicing and qualifying for the Indy 500.

But Harvick can do no more than practice and qualify the No. 5 Chevrolet for the All-Star Race; he cannot compete in the heat races at the four-turn, 0.625-mile (1.006-kilometer) North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, nor can he compete in the 200-lap main event.

The reason why Harvick is not eligible to compete in this year's All-Star Race, despite being a former series champion and a former All-Star Race winner, is the fact that he did not win a race last year.

Drivers who are former series champions, former All-Star Race winners, or both must still compete full-time in the Cup Series in order to be eligible for this year's All-Star Race. Harvick no longer competes full-time after retiring at the end of the 2023 season.

He now serves as a driver analyst in the NASCAR on Fox broadcast booth alongside lead announcer Mike Joy and fellow driver analyst Clint Bowyer.

So then how is A.J. Allmendinger eligible?

Allmendinger, like Harvick, no longer competes full-time in the Cup Series. He now competes full-time for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series. Yet he is eligible to compete in the All-Star Race and is set to do so behind the wheel of the No. 16 Chevrolet for Matt Kaulig's team.

The reason why Allmendinger is eligible and Harvick is not is because Allmendinger won a race last year, doing so in October at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Harvick hasn't won a race since August 2022.

Unlike former series champions and former All-Star Race winners, drivers who won a race last year do not need to still compete full-time to be eligible to compete in this year's All-Star Race.

Shane van Gisbergen, who also competes full-time for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series, is also eligible to compete in this year's All-Star Race after winning the inaugural Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course last year, but he will not do so, as neither Kaulig Racing nor Trackhouse Racing Team plan to field a car for him.

The All-Star Open is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 from North Wilkesboro Speedway beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, May 19. The All-Star Race is set to follow at 8:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action as the stars of the sport battle for $1 million!