This weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway reads like it's any other race on the schedule, not an All-Star Race, presenting problems that could be fixed with the right planning and investments in NASCAR's all-star event and a lucrative geographical area.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway is set to be 50 laps shorter with different stage lengths this year.
This year's race will be 350 laps with two 75-lap stages and a final 200-lap stage, compared to stages of 120 laps, 130 laps and 150 laps in 2025. The race will also take place in May, instead of July, and with different ways to qualify and race. Drivers will have to make a pit stop during their qualifying run. Then, during the race, the field will be inverted after the second stage with the bottom 10 drivers eliminated.
"Drivers who fail to qualify will also be presented participation metals on the front stretch after the conclusion of stage two," Denny Hamlin said about the format.
In the final stage, a competition caution will fly about 75 laps in.
The rest of the race will have standard overtime rules and a winner at the end of it, keeping that part of the race free from the radical departure the rest of the race is.
Once known as the Autotrader 400, among other names, this year's race will be known as the NASCAR All-Star Race.
Yes. The race described to you is this year's NASCAR All-Star Race.
What happened?
After decades at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the NASCAR All-Star Race, like the championship race, reached a point in 2019 when fans called for it to be moved around. NASCAR used the 2020 pandemic to make good on the promise, moving it to Bristol Motor Speedway for a year, Texas Motor Speedway for two years and then to North Wilkesboro Speedway to spearhead the track's once-unthinkable revival.
Having the race at North Wilkesboro was brilliant. The once-lost prestige of an All-Star Race win came back, with drivers pining for a win at a track in front of fans who were.
It was a once-in-a-generation wave of nostalgia that was too good. NASCAR gave fans and the industry a Cup points race there, leaving a void for the All-Star Race.
With Dover there to fill the void.
What is the point of a NASCAR All-Star Race, or really any All-Star sports event?
Back in the day, when sporting events and highlights of events weren't as accessible, gathering a sport's top stars had an element of excitement to it. Many sports all-star events also cropped up in a different world where there was more maneuverability for stakeholders and fans, where money wasn't as tight, time wasn't as seemingly constrained and contracts were as airtight over concerns about injuries or getting into financial distress over an event that doesn't add anything to a season.
Over time, the sheen of the all-star sports event scene wore out. Yet, up against those headwinds, NASCAR found a way to get the wind at their back with North Wilkesboro.
A track once believed to be extinct suddenly played host to the sport's top stars in a main event race under the lights, preceded by short-track-style heat races with competitors trying to beat the heat of the sun and the pressure to prove themselves worthy.
Now, with 350 laps and everyone on track for the first two stages, it's become a points race without a point.
How do we bring back the star power of the NASCAR (All-Star) Race?
There could already be something in the works.
Ahead of this weekend, talk has swirled about NASCAR moving the Clash back to Daytona International Speedway and making current Clash venue Bowman Gray Stadium the host of the NASCAR All-Star Race.
If true, that has the potential to truly elevate the NASCAR All-Star Race to another level that not even North Wilkesboro could have done.
At a quarter of a mile in length, Bowman Gray Stadium is too small to ever host another NASCAR national series points race but that exclusivity is perfect for an All-Star Race. The track's short length not only means the sport's top stars will have nowhere to hide from each other but drivers trying to get in also won't have anywhere.
As a cherry on top, Bowman Gray has a rich history and is in the heart of NASCAR country. The race would be the ultimate thank you to fans without any of the redundancy a Charlotte All-Star Race carried.
What about Dover?
Once a track with one date in late spring and another date that put them in the first 16 iterations of the Chase, the 2020 pandemic realignment saw them go to one weekend, where they have remained ever since. The track went from the perfect mid-May weekend in 2021 to three years of weather woes with a late-April/early-May weekend and a mid-July 2025 weekend that wasn't much better.
After four years of weather affecting at least one race during the weekend, Dover has the dream date but fans are taking notice of the Cup race's odd format, no bearing on the overall season and no All-Star feel with a midday runtime instead of the nighttime. Ticket sales are reportedly slower with plenty of seats appearing to be open even days before the race.
For a track with a capacity of around 56,000 people, pared down from 140,000 at its peak, that is concerning.
Dover is one of four state capitals without an interstate running through it and a population of just 40,191 people, according to a 2024 estimate. However, it is within a few hours, even by train, from the heart of major metropolitan areas like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and even New York City.
With NASCAR's new emphasis on being in as many places as possible to expand the reach of the sport, you would think there would be a hyper-focus on marketing Dover in a manner akin to street races in San Diego and Chicago or the L.A. Coliseum, but there seemingly hasn't been.
Yet, there is demand for it to host a points race among fans in the region.
If Dover was a points race again, what would it replace?
Last weekend, Watkins Glen announced its May weekend would move back to September. That leaves a clear weekend for Dover to move to as a points race.
The dilemma, then, is which track loses a points race?
Speedway Motorsports owns Dover so it would take a date from one of its tracks.
As the two tracks with arguably the most universal praise in the series, EchoPark Atlanta and Charlotte are going nowhere. Attendance has also vastly improved at both tracks.
Like Atlanta and Charlotte, Las Vegas is a track that suits the NextGen car. Although attendance isn't as stellar as the others, partners like Pennzoil and South Point are deeply invested in the races.
That leaves Bristol. Up until this year, it seemed inevitable that the track was going to lose a date, with lagging attendance for the spring and racing not viewed as favorably with fans. However, changes made for this spring's race showed hope for Bristol -- but the jury is still out.
Regardless, the NASCAR All-Star Race needs a boost to bring back its star power and separate itself from other races. Dover also needs to seize upon its proximity to major metro areas. NASCAR's recent moves show the potential is there, it's just up to the stakeholders to seize upon it.