In 2004, Nextel, predecessor to Sprint, added a vote of race spectators, internet users and Sprint cellphone users to add one additional driver not in the field, but in the Showdown, and finishing on the lead lap, to the final starting field.

[1] In 2020, the race was moved to Bristol Motor Speedway in July, as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Charlotte from accommodating fans.

[2] The venue changed again in 2021 to Texas Motor Speedway, which replaced its spring date with the All-Star Race.

[4] The twelve race winners from the 1984 season participated in the inaugural running of The Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Without a generic alternative, television and other media were forced to acknowledge Winston as the title sponsor, effectively skirting, and pushing the limits of tobacco advertising regulation.

Like its previous counterpart, green flag pit stops were mandatory, and only winners from the 1985 season were eligible.

Only nine different drivers won a race in 1985, so the highest placed non-winner in final 1985 points, Geoffrey Bodine, was added to the field for an even 10 cars.

A 100-lap (152.2 miles) consolation race for the rest of the drivers, the Atlanta Invitational was held the same day.

The race returned to Charlotte with a new 135-lap (202.5 mile), three-segment format which reflected on NASCAR's short-track roots.

The remaining drivers would participate in a 100-lap, last-chance race, the Winston Open, with the winner advancing to the final starting position.

In 1989, qualifying for the starting lineup for The Winston changed to a three-lap time trial with the fastest lap key and a quick-pit two-tire pit stop.

In 1991, to add to the day of events, the NASCAR Legends Race was held on a quarter-mile oval paved between the Charlotte Motor Speedway Dog-Leg front stretch, or quad-oval, and between the first and second pit row sections.

Elmo Langley won the exhibition event featuring retired NASCAR champions and stars.

Davey Allison and Kyle Petty battled on the last lap, and crashing crossing the finish line.

The 1994 race was the only running won by a tire brand (Hoosier) other than Goodyear, as Geoff Bodine held off Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader.

The 1995 race featured Dale Earnhardt's trend-setting Special paint scheme car.

In 1997, Jeff Gordon won with the "T-Rex" car, nicknamed after its Jurassic Park: The Ride paint scheme.

The second ten-minute break was eliminated and replaced with caution laps, and cars would have the option of pitting for tires and fuel, at the expense of losing track position.

The popularity of the reality show Survivor influenced Winston to make changes to the format in 2002, adding a new elimination format ("Survival of the Fastest"), and the final segment returned to 20 laps to make tire wear an issue.

When Nextel took over title series title sponsorship from RJ Reynolds in 2004, the race name was changed using the previous de facto "All-Star Race" moniker which newer fans had been using since FX began broadcasting ran the event live and as an RJR brand, conflicted with new the sponsorship, officially becoming The Nextel All-Star Challenge.

Three drivers from the Nextel Open event, a 40-lap race with two 20-lap segments, gained entry to the Challenge.

In addition, as part of NASCAR's new television agreements, coverage was moved from FX to Fox sibling network Speed.

After the first segment, a five-lap caution period starts and there is an opportunity for drivers to take an optional pit stop.

Finally, after the third segment, there is a five lap caution period so team can make a required pit stop (for work on their cars or a "stop and go" akin to a speeding penalty on pit row) for all teams which will determine the running order before the Dash for Cash, namely the $1 million (US) grand prize.

For the 25th anniversary of the race, two of the more popular elements of the classic format returned for this special edition.

The popularity of the double-file restarts throughout the race led NASCAR to adopt the rule for the second half of the 2009 season.

Track owner Bruton Smith promised a bonus million dollars if a driver could win all five segments.

Following the end of the second segment, a random draw determined whether nine, ten, or eleven cars would be forced conduct a four-tire pit stop.

With Jeff Gordon, eligible by the November 2015 Martinsville win, retired, the runner-up in the fan vote was chosen to advance.

Like the first two runnings of the NASCAR All-Star Race, only winners of the previous season participated in this event.