NASCAR All-Star won't compete at North Wilkesboro Speedway

There are three ways to qualify for this year's NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway: win a Cup Series championship, win a previous All-Star Race, or win a Cup Series race in 2023 or 2024.

Drivers who qualify either via winning a Cup Series championship or by winning a previous All-Star Race (or both) must still compete full-time in order to qualify for this year's 200-lap race around the four-turn, 0.625-mile (1.006-kilometer) North Wilkesboro, North Carolina oval without participating in the preceding 100-lap Open.

However, race winners from 2023 or 2024 do not have to compete full-time in the series. So Kevin Harvick, who is a former series champion and All-Star Race winner, is not eligible since he no longer competes full-time and has not won a race since 2022, while A.J. Allmendinger is indeed set to compete this weekend.

Despite the fact that Allmendinger is no longer a full-time Cup Series driver, not a former series champion, and not a former All-Star Race winner, he is locked into the All-Star Race since he won last year's October race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

But one eligible NASCAR All-Star is not slated to compete this weekend.

Shane van Gisbergen gained All-Star Race eligibility by winning the inaugural Cup Series race on the Chicago Street Course last July, and he did so in his Cup Series debut, becoming the first driver to win his first race in six decades.

Van Gisbergen won that race with Trackhouse Racing Team as a part of their PROJECT91 initiative, and he remains contracted to the Justin Marks and Pitbull-owned team, even as a full-time Xfinity Series driver for Kaulig Racing.

However, neither Trackhouse Racing Team nor Kaulig Racing are fielding an entry for him this weekend, meaning that he will not compete in the All-Star Race, even though he technically already qualified.

Kaulig Racing, whose No. 16 Chevrolet is locked in for Allmendinger, also field the No. 31 Chevrolet for full-time driver Daniel Hemric, who must lock in either via the All-Star Open or the NASCAR Fan Vote.

Matt Kaulig's team have fielded the non-charter No. 13 Chevrolet on select occasions in the past, most recently in March at Circuit of the Americas, but have opted not to do so for van Gisbergen this weekend.

Trackhouse Racing Team have yet to field the No. 91 Chevrolet this season, and they have also opted not to do so for van Gisbergen this weekend. Their No. 1 Chevrolet for Ross Chastain and No. 99 Chevrolet for Daniel Suarez are both locked into the main event.

The All-Star Open is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from North Wilkesboro Speedway beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, May 19. The All-Star Race itself is set to be shown live on the same network beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET later that evening. If you have not yet had a chance to start a free trial of FuboTV, do so today and don't miss any of the action!