2026 NASCAR All-Star Race
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 2 exhibition races in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
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| Date | May 17, 2026 | ||
| Location | Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware | ||
| Distance | 350 laps, 350 mi (563.27 km) | ||
| Average speed | 127.864 miles per hour (205.777 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 1:49.298 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 103 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden and Mike Bagley | ||
| Turn announcers | Brad Gillie (Backstretch) | ||
The 2026 NASCAR All-Star Race (XLII) was a non-championship NASCAR Cup Series stock car exhibition race held on May 17, 2026, at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Contested over 350 laps, it was the second exhibition race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race. This was the final NASCAR event for Kyle Busch, as he died of severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis four days later on May 21.
Report
[edit]Background
[edit]
Dover Motor Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1 mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats. The track began to host the NASCAR All-Star Race in 2026.
On February 25, 2026, NASCAR and Dover announced the new format for the race, with the full 36-car field being eligible, becoming 350 laps in length, with the field being inverted after stage one, and the shortening of the field from 36 to 26 after stage 2.[6]
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
[edit]
Practice results
[edit]Kyle Larson was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 22.792 seconds and a speed of 157.950 mph (254.196 km/h). A freak accident during the session resulted in the injury of Donovan Williams, a tire carrier for Daniel Suarez, who took the hit for FOX pit reporter Amanda Busick.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.792 | 157.950 |
| 2 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.810 | 157.826 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 22.839 | 157.625 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying (Pit Crew Challenge)
[edit]The 2026 Pit Crew Challenge set the pit selection for the race. Denny Hamlin won the pole for the race. Zane Smith's pit crew won the Pit Crew Challenge.[7]
NASCAR All-Star Race Starting Lineup
[edit]Race
[edit]Segment results
[edit]Segment One Laps: 75
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 3 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 5 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 6 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
| 7 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| Official segment one results | ||||
Segment Two Laps: 75
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 4 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 5 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 6 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota |
| 7 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| Official segment two results | ||||
Final Segment Results
[edit]Laps: 200
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | |
| 2 | 2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | |
| 3 | 7 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 200 | |
| 4 | 11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | |
| 5 | 5 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | |
| 6 | 6 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 200 | |
| 7 | 4 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | |
| 8 | 9 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | |
| 9 | 10 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | |
| 10 | 15 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 200 | |
| 11 | 14 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 200 | |
| 12 | 20 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | |
| 13 | 24 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 200 | |
| 14 | 17 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 199 | |
| 15 | 13 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | |
| 16 | 16 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 198 | |
| 17 | 23 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | |
| 18 | 19 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 197 | |
| 19 | 21 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 197 | |
| 20 | 12 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 196 | |
| 21 | 26 | 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | |
| 22 | 3 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 168 | |
| 23 | 22 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 164 | |
| 24 | 18 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 138 | |
| 25 | 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 137 | |
| 26 | 25 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 134 | |
| Did not make Final Stage | |||||||
| 27 | 23 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | |
| 28 | 25 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 144 | |
| 29 | 21 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 139 | |
| 30 | 4 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 80 | |
| 31 | 36 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 72 | |
| 32 | 31 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | |
| 33 | 32 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 72 | |
| 34 | 20 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2 | |
| 35 | 26 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 1 | |
| 36 | 22 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 1 | |
| Official NASCAR All-Star Race results | |||||||
Media
[edit]Television
[edit]Fox Sports was the television broadcaster of the race in the United States. Lap-by-lap announcer, Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and two-time All-Star race winner Kevin Harvick called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight on-site during the race.
| FS1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Kevin Harvick | Jamie Little Regan Smith | Larry McReynolds |
Radio
[edit]Motor Racing Network (MRN) continued their longstanding relationship with Speedway Motorsports to broadcast the race on radio. The lead announcers for the race's broadcast were Alex Hayden and Todd Gordon. The network also had one announcer stationed in turn 4: Brad Gille. Steve Post and Chris Wilner were the network's pit lane reporters. The network's broadcast was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcer | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Mike Bagley | Backstretch: Brad Gillie | Steve Post Chris Wilner |
References
[edit]- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Dover Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "All-Star Race Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 11, 2026. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ↑ "All-Star Race Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. May 17, 2026. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases overly complicated rules for 2026 All-Star Race at Dover". Yahoo Sports. February 25, 2026. Retrieved April 2, 2026.
- ↑ DeGroot, Nick (May 16, 2026). "Denny Hamlin spins, still wins pole for All-Star Race in crazy qualifying session". Motorsport.com. Dover, Delaware: Motorsport Network. Retrieved May 16, 2026.