- Drivers debate on the All-Star race at Dover Motor Speedway.
- Briscoe and Hamlin admitted that they didn’t feel like it was an All-Star race.
- Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski also indirectly question NASCAR’s decision.
Last year, Cup Series drivers reacted with satisfaction when NASCAR brought a full-points race back to North Wilkesboro, yet the same group, and in some cases even more of them, responded with hesitation, concern, and a clear lack of enthusiasm when the sanctioning body placed the 2026 All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway, shifting it away from the historic short track at North Wilkesboro.
Several drivers, including Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, had already voiced concerns on the matter. Now, even after the race, driver feedback suggests that the All-Star Race at Dover did not have the feel of an All-Star format.
The length of the Dover All-Star race made a big difference
Last year, when NASCAR first scheduled the All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway, Hamlin publicly questioned the decision in advance. Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, he said the concrete “Monster Mile” needs 30 to 40 laps before the surface is ready to carry competitive passing. In his view, that aspect made the track a poor fit for the short-segment structure traditionally used for the All-Star format.
At the same time, seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson also criticized the move away from North Wilkesboro. He described Dover’s high-banked endurance layout as a “beast” and said “they’ve hurt people there,” warning that forcing high-pressure format changes onto such a demanding track would raise safety concerns and increase crash risk.
Now, after the event, those concerns have carried over into post-race reactions. The race itself featured multiple multi-car incidents and a total distance of 350 laps, and driver sentiment following the checkered flag continued to circle back to the same issue that the experiment did not land as intended.
The length of the race was partly determined by NASCAR and SMI, who chose not to reduce laps at a venue that hosts a full-points race each year. To build an open race structure, the first half of the event ran a full field with an inversion and eliminations built into the format. And that resulted in Cup drivers feeling less of an All-Star race and more like a full-length race.
“Felt like a Coke 600”
Chase Briscoe said, “Maybe it was because it was during the day. All weekend, it didn’t feel like an All-Star Race. It felt like a normal points race. We had practice, which was cool. I’ve never driven out of the garage in my career, so that was unique, being able to practice that way again. That definitely didn’t feel like an All-Star Race just because it was new. It definitely didn’t feel like one for whatever reason. Now, the reward for winning definitely feels like an All-Star Race, but the race itself, it was so long.”
“All-Star Races typically are like the shortest race of the year. I felt like it was a Coke 600 or something, or the Southern 500. It took forever. Like, you’ll have that feeling next weekend or the next, that come lap 100 or 200, man, we’re only a quarter of the way or halfway into the race. We got past both 75-lap runs, and it was like ‘man, we have another 200 laps?’ It was just a long race,” he continued.
Hamlin also echoed the same line of thinking, questioning at one point whether the real race began at Lap 1 or only once the final segment arrived at Lap 150.
Hamlin said he still believed the racing at Dover had competitive value because the inversions created multiple passing opportunities.
He said, “You had the extra horsepower, too. So you’re going in the corner at a slower rate of speed, so the tires are the one that has to make up the difference for grip you have lost. Then you’re applying more power. When you put the throttle down, it makes the car further out of control.”
Hamlin also added, “First thing is let’s give Dover their points race back and then let’s figure out where we’re going to go, and then figure out the format. Let’s start there.”
Even while acknowledging the on-track product, Hamlin made clear that Dover is not a long-term home for the All-Star Race.
More drivers speak out
The event included a 90-minute practice session, one of the longest for a non-points event, along with a format that did not include a traditional All-Star Open, and qualifying that used a three-lap run combined with a pit stop and pit-road penalties.
That’s why, after the practice, Chase Elliott said, “It feels like a normal weekend. I would say it feels the least like an All-Star weekend than it ever has in my career. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m not used to having an All-Star Race here (at Dover).” Elliott’s race day also included involvement in both nine-car incidents, which would have definitely added to his frustration.
Before the race even began, Brad Keselowski also questioned the decision to place the All-Star Race at Dover. He said,
“Dover is one of those tracks that when you strap in … you know you gotta go hard on that very first lap. You gotta get in the car, and you gotta commit to a long-ass (day) at a track that’s fairly unforgiving, really fast, and it’s a big challenge. It’s one of the most mentally challenging things that you have to do as a race-car driver. I respect that so much about this track. I actually enjoy it. It feels a little masochistic to enjoy that.”
‘Lacking in All-Star vibes’
Bubba Wallace also shared the view that the Dover event did not resemble an All-Star week in structure or feel. He said, “It just doesn’t feel like All-Star weekend. It just feels like another race weekend. I’m having to tell myself this weekend doesn’t really matter, so go out there and try different things. It’s just ‘blah,’ and I hate that. I hate that for our sport. I hate that for the fans. We need to have some fun interactions and All-Star type vibes, and we don’t get that here, unfortunately.”
With multiple drivers pointing in the same direction, the conversation around the All-Star venue circles back to whether Dover should remain part of the All-Star experiment or whether NASCAR needs to rethink the location once again.
