Josh Berry Wins Open, Gibbs Advances From Second; Gragson Wins Fan Vote

Prior to the Lap 40 competition caution in Sunday's NASCAR All-Star Open, it looked like Ty Gibbs would be cruising to victory in the race, as he had a 3-second lead on Josh Berry. However, during the competition caution, Josh Berry and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports pit crew got the job done against the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew and took the lead off of pit road.

When the race restarted, a once boring domination-filled effort for Gibbs, turned into a wild and open free-for-all, and by the end of it all Gibbs had drawn the ire of Michael McDowell.

With 44 laps left in the 100-lap All-Star Open Race, Gibbs made contact with Michael McDowell and Justin Haley in a three-wide battle, which sent Haley and McDowell crashing.

Here is a video of the incident between McDowell, Haley, and Gibbs:

Prior to the Lap 40 competition caution in Sunday's NASCAR All-Star Open, it looked like Ty Gibbs would be cruising to victory in the race, as he had a 3-second lead on Josh Berry. However, during the competition caution, Josh Berry and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports pit crew got the job done against the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew and took the lead off of pit road.

When the race restarted, a once boring domination-filled effort for Gibbs, turned into a wild and open free-for-all, and by the end of it all Gibbs had drawn the ire of Michael McDowell.

With 44 laps left in the 100-lap All-Star Open Race, Gibbs made contact with Michael McDowell and Justin Haley in a three-wide battle, which sent Haley and McDowell crashing.

Here is a video of the incident between McDowell, Haley, and Gibbs:

Needless to say, McDowell didn't take kindly to that.

McDowell spent the remaining balance of the race making Gibbs' life a living hell on the race track.

As Josh Berry crossed the finish line to take the win in the Open, Gibbs was just fortunate to come home in second, as McDowell had twice taken swipes at Gibbs on the track, and caused Gibbs to lose any hope of winning. The retaliation from McDowell actually put Aric Almirola in a position to potentially steal the runner-up spot and All-Star Main Event transfer position away.

But ultimately, Gibbs held on. After the race, McDowell explained that while he didn't appreciate the move by Gibbs that he has nothing against Gibbs, personally. He reacted the way he would have reacted no matter who was on the sending end of that same move.

"I've said this before, it doesn't matter if you're the 48, the 10, the 41, I don't care. If you run me over, I'm not going to wave you by the next time I see you. It's just not going to happen," McDowell stated. "I don't hold anything against him, who he is, his character, and all of that. He's a good kid, he's aggressive, and he goes for it. He just overstepped it. I've done it 100 times."

For the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, it's the second time they've earned their way into the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race. The team's primary driver Alex Bowman was eligible for the race, but an injury in a sprint car crash at 34 Raceway on April 25th kept him from being able to run this weekend.

As a result, Josh Berry was given the nod to run the race, but due to Berry not having the necessary criteria to advance to the All-Star Race, he had to race his way in from the Open.

While Berry and Gibbs earned their way in based on their 1st and 2nd place finishes on the track, Noah Gragson, who won the Fan Vote, will also join the NASCAR All-Star Race field.

Gragson, like Gibbs, made an error in the All-Star Open.

On Lap 50 of the Open, Gragson collided with the inside wall on the frontstretch. The contact with the wall shot Gragson's car across the track, which caused him to collect Todd Gilliland, Chandler Smith, and Ryan Newman.

Here is a video of that incident:

Needless to say, McDowell didn't take kindly to that.

McDowell spent the remaining balance of the race making Gibbs' life a living hell on the race track.

As Josh Berry crossed the finish line to take the win in the Open, Gibbs was just fortunate to come home in second, as McDowell had twice taken swipes at Gibbs on the track, and caused Gibbs to lose any hope of winning. The retaliation from McDowell actually put Aric Almirola in a position to potentially steal the runner-up spot and All-Star Main Event transfer position away.

But ultimately, Gibbs held on. After the race, McDowell explained that while he didn't appreciate the move by Gibbs that he has nothing against Gibbs, personally. He reacted the way he would have reacted no matter who was on the sending end of that same move.

"I've said this before, it doesn't matter if you're the 48, the 10, the 41, I don't care. If you run me over, I'm not going to wave you by the next time I see you. It's just not going to happen," McDowell stated. "I don't hold anything against him, who he is, his character, and all of that. He's a good kid, he's aggressive, and he goes for it. He just overstepped it. I've done it 100 times."

For the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, it's the second time they've earned their way into the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race. The team's primary driver Alex Bowman was eligible for the race, but an injury in a sprint car crash at 34 Raceway on April 25th kept him from being able to run this weekend.

As a result, Josh Berry was given the nod to run the race, but due to Berry not having the necessary criteria to advance to the All-Star Race, he had to race his way in from the Open.

While Berry and Gibbs earned their way in based on their 1st and 2nd place finishes on the track, Noah Gragson, who won the Fan Vote, will also join the NASCAR All-Star Race field.

Gragson, like Gibbs, made an error in the All-Star Open.

On Lap 50 of the Open, Gragson collided with the inside wall on the frontstretch. The contact with the wall shot Gragson's car across the track, which caused him to collect Todd Gilliland, Chandler Smith, and Ryan Newman.

Here is a video of that incident:

NASCAR All-Star Open Race Results

Photo Credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America

NASCAR All-Star Open Race Results

Photo Credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America