NASCAR All-Star Race Will Sport a New Look and Location
NASCAR has held its annual All-Star race for 41 seasons and, for the first time in its history, the All-Star Race will take place on the Monster Mile, Dover Motor Speedway in 2026. Set for Sunday, May 17, the event will have one of its most dramatic backdrops in its 42nd appearance, offering a $1 million prize for the winner.
The Cup Series is making a big splash in the Northeast corridor of the United States by bringing the All-Star Race to Dover, and is changing the format to make this event even more special. This year it will be a three-segment, 350-lap contest with every NASCAR Cup Series driver on the track to begin the event. There will be no All-Star Open, as there has been in the past, thereby creating a high-intensity showcase of NASCAR’s top competitors. The first two segments will reward race winners, past champions and on-track performance, NSCAR said.
As in the past, there will be driver eligibility requirements, a NASCAR All-Star Fan Vote and the Mechanic Were Pit Crew Challenge for series competitors to deal with.
On Saturday, May 16, drivers and their teams will have the pairing of traditional qualifying with pit stops involved. Drivers will take the green flag, run a full lap at speed and, on the second lap proceed to one of two NASCAR-designated pit stalls for a four-tire pit stop without refueling. Once that pit stop is complete, cars will exit pit road and race back to the checkered flag. The qualifying time will be the total elapsed time from green flag to checkered flag, with the fastest team earning pole position for the 350-lap race.
The fastest pit crew – without penalties – during All-Star qualifying is the winner of the Pit Crew Challenge. Timing lines will be established one box behind and one box ahead of the pair of NASCAR-designated pit stop boxes and the result of this Pit Crew Challenge determines the pit selection order for the race itself.
/with a total length 350 laps, NASCAR decoded to place all comers in the first two 75-lap segments; 26 racers will vie for honors and money. This year there’s no All-Star Open this year..Eligible drivers this year include points event winners this season and last, full-time former All-Star race winners, with the balance coming from the two segment races until 25 drivers are accounted for..An All-Star fan vote delivers the final, 26th entrant.
Drivers already locked in the All-Star Race include: William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Shane Van Gisbergen, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch.
The NASCAR All-Star Race will air live on FS1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, with coverage beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 17.