MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 13, 2024) – Spire Motorsports and Gainbridge® will partner with the WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee and feature the “Indy25” logo in recognition of AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025 taking place in Indianapolis on Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet ZL1 for this weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race festivities at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Fever, will be the site of the 21st edition of the WNBA All-Star Game, as well as the WNBA STARRY 3-Point Contest and WNBA Skills Challenge July 18-19.
“Carson (Hocevar) driving a WNBA All-Star paint scheme is an opportunity to cross promote two properties in our sponsorship portfolio,” said Mike Nichols, Chief of Sponsorship Strategy and Activation at Gainbridge®. “The scheme highlights our commitment to investing in women’s sports and we look forward to welcoming the best of the WNBA to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in two months.”
Much like the love of basketball displayed by Hoosiers of all ages, North Carolinians are often recognized as motorsports devotees. After its founding in 1948 in Daytona Beach, Fla., NASCAR’s popularity quickly spread as the sport ventured to tracks throughout the southeast.
North Wilkesboro Speedway was built by Enoch Staley in 1946 as a dirt oval for whiskey runners to showcase their skill behind the wheel and their abilities to build cars to outrun revenuers. It became a mainstay on the circuit hosting 93 Cup Series races beginning with the 1949 season.
The last points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race to be contested at the venerable Wilkes County oval took place in September 1996 when Jeff Gordon beat Dale Earnhardt by 1.73 seconds before a 25-year hiatus.
While Indianapolis will host the WNBA All-Star game for the first time, North Wilkesboro Speedway is the current site of NASCAR’s All-Star weekend after the division made its lauded return to the .625-mile track in 2023.
Similar to the WNBA All-Star Game, the NASCAR All-Star Race has taken place at several venues since the first event was held in Charlotte on May 25, 1985. Atlanta hosted the 1986 race before activities returned to Charlotte for a 33-year run.
In 2020, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway hosted the events marking the first time the race wasn’t held at a 1.5-mile oval. The race returned to a different intermediate track, Texas Motor Speedway, for a two-year stretch, before moving to its current home.
Hocevar’s first NASCAR experience with All-Star activities came just one season ago. The eventual Cup Series Rookie of the Year started and finished 10th in the 100-lap All-Star Open qualifying race, the precursor to the All-Star Race, but came up short in his bid to battle his way into the fabled event.
Following the 2024 All-Star contest, Hocevar closed out the season with a total of one top-five and six top-10 finishes, including a third-place result, last August, at Watkins Glen International. The Portage, Mich., native has collected one top five and two top 10s through the first 12 races of 2025 and earned his first career Cup Series pole award at Texas Motor Speedway May 3.
“It’s really cool to showcase the WNBA All-Star Game on our car for the NASCAR All-Star Weekend,” said Hocevar. “I had the chance to visit Gainbridge Fieldhouse in January and it’s definitely worthy of hosting the game. The Indiana Fever have a really dedicated fanbase and Indianapolis is such a big market for basketball.
“We see it when we visit Indianapolis every year – the community is so welcoming, and they’re very proud of their sports teams. Gainbridge® has been a great partner for Spire Motorsports and done a lot to promote and expand women’s sports, so it’s exciting to see that support open new doors for those teams and athletes.”
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Spire Motorsports and Gainbridge® to highlight AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025 during NASCAR’s All-Star Race,” said WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee Founding Chair and Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines. “We hope to connect with new audiences and fans while continuing to build excitement for the much-anticipated WNBA All-Star weekend at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis this summer.”
Hocevar will once again compete in the 100-lap All-Star Open hoping to be one of two drivers to race their way in. One driver will also advance through the NASCAR All Star Fan Vote, totaling three Open drivers who will transfer to the 250-lap feature.
Qualifying for both the NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race will take place Friday, May 16, when drivers from both races will take to the track for three timed laps with a mandatory four-tire pit stop.
The total time will set both the field for the All-Star Open and the starting grid for Saturday’s 60-lap heat races that will determine the starting lineup for the All-Star Race.
Live coverage of NASCAR’s annual All-Star Race will be televised live on FS1 Sunday, May 18, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Both the NASCAR All-Star Open and the NASCAR All-Star Race will broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Heat races will be televised live on FS2 Saturday, May 17 beginning at 5 p.m. EDT.