Kyle Busch leads every lap in NASCAR All-Star race 1st stage

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Kyle Busch led all 25 laps after starting from the pole for the NASCAR All-Star race to take the first stage Sunday night at Texas. The opening segment was caution-free, and put Busch in good position to stay at the front of the field for the start of the fourth and final segment of the race — a 50-lap run to the $1 million prize.

Kyle Busch leads every lap in NASCAR All-Star race 1st stage

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Kyle Busch led all 25 laps after starting from the pole for the NASCAR All-Star race to take the first stage Sunday night at Texas.

The opening segment was caution-free, and put Busch in good position to stay at the front of the field for the start of the fourth and final segment of the race — a 50-lap run to the $1 million prize. Busch was the 2017 All-Star winner.

“Clean air is king,” he said.

Ryan Blaney was second in the first stage, like he had started the race. Kyle Larson, who won his last two All-Star starts, was third.

The All-Star race followed a concert by country music superstar Blake Shelton in the infield after the 16-car open race to help complete the field for the main event.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Texas native James Buescher and Daniel Suarez drove their way into the All-Star race earlier Sunday in an open qualifying. Erik Jones, in the No. 43 car for Petty GMS Motorsports, got the final spot in the 24-car field on a fan vote.

Stenhouse and Buescher won the first two 20-lap stages in the qualifying race earlier Sunday. Suarez finished in front during the final 10-lap shootout, the third time the Mexican driver has raced into the All-Star field.

Saurez finished 13th in the first stage, with Buescher, Stenhouse and Jones in the last three spots.

Along with the concert by Shelton, the prerace activities included appearances by several athletes from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Hall of Fame receiver Drew Pearson who played for the Dallas Cowboys, three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr, and former Dallas Stars goaltender Marty Turco.

Shelton participated in the introduction of the drivers, who entered the stage through oversized saloon doors on a huge facade, and then gave the command for drivers to start their engines.

At the start of the All-Star open race Sunday, Stenhouse was pushed to front row after pole winner Tyler Reddick had to go to the back of the 16-car field because of unapproved changes since qualifying Saturday. Reddick was up to fifth by the end of the first stage, but wrecked out in the final segment when he got loose and went into the wall.

Texas is the fourth track to host the annual exhibition, but only the second where the All-Star race has been multiple times. The inaugural All-Star race was held in Charlotte in 1985, with Atlanta hosting in 1985 before 33 in a row in Charlotte. The race moved to Bristol in 2020 when North Carolina wouldn’t allow spectators due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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