It’s All-Star weekend for the Cup Series and this year all of the drivers will get a chance at making the 200 lap main event.
The winners of races from 2025 and 2026, champions still running full time are automatically guaranteed a spot in the main event. The winner of the fan vote will also make the main event. There are 19 drivers guaranteed a spot in the main event.
In an unprecedented event, the Cup Series drivers geta 90 minutes of practice time as they try to tame Miles the Monster. The teams have two sets of tires for this practice session.
And still wearing his fire suit, Clint Bowyer has made his way to the broadcast booth to join Mike Joy and Kevin Harvick after qualifying the Kaulig Racing number 25 Ram truck for the Truck Series race later Friday afternoon.
The drivers are not only practicing on the one mile concrete track; but also must work on how to get on pit road properly. While always important, getting on and off pit road properly is essential in qualifying for the All-Star race.
Qualifying is three laps with a four time change on lap two after making a full circuit of the oval. While no fuel is added to the car, the fueler simulates adding the fuel as a part of the pit stop.
Several drivers have their cars in the garage up on jack stands with the crews working on the cars; something seldom seen during practice sessions these days.
Larry McReynolds reports that temperatures on Sunday for the race are forecasted for 85 degrees; which means the track surface will be 15 to 20 degrees hotter and a lot warmer than air and track temperatures during practice.
Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick noted that last year Chevrolet introduced a new version of the car; shortly after that NASCAR changed the rules and increased horsepower. The teams are still trying to sort it all out.
Chase Briscoe gets into the wall with just a few minutes remaining in practice.
Kyle Larson topped the leaderboard with the fastest single lap time of 22.792 seconds.
All 36 cars were within one second of each other during practice.
The first driver to make a qualifying run is Cody Ware. All qualifying times will include the pit crew challenge four tire change stop. He posted a total time of 155.898 seconds.
Connor Zilisch had issued coming to pit road and spun out but didn’t hit anything. Zilisch was caught speeding on pit road which results in a 10 second penalty.
The crew did not get one of the tires secured on John Hunter Nemechek’s car. His pit crew challenge time has been disallowed.
Ricky Stenhouse spins out on the track – spinning around several times – but didn’t hit anything. He doesn’t make a stop for the pit crew challenge.
Zane Smith was caught speeding getting on to pit road. He had the fastest pit stop time and had a 10 second penalty.
Michael McDowell was caught speeding coming on and off of pit road and has 20 seconds in penalties.
AJ Allmendinger’s car failed to start and will not make a qualifying run.
Right after taking the checkered flag the right front tire came off of Daniel Suarez’s car and sent him into the wall. As a result Suarez went from third place to the back of the field.
Ryan Preece was charged with a blend line violation; resulting in a 10 second penalty.
With temperatures at least 10 degrees warmer than practice on Friday, many of the drivers are fighting loose conditions.
Kyle Larson was caught speeding on pit road and had a blend line violation for 20 seconds in penalties.
Carson Hocevar had a loose wheel but the crew caught it before he left the pit box.
Chris Buescher spins out after coming off of pit road. He was charged with speeding on pit road and a blend line violation for a 20 second penalty.
Ryan Blaney has a slow pit stop when a ride side tire was loose and had to be tightened. He was also charged with a safety violation and a 10 second penalty.
Chase Elliott had to back up into the pit box for a loose tire.
Denny Hamlin spun out on his up to speed lap but didn’t effect his qualifying lap.
Thirteen of the 36 drivers had some sort of issue during their qualifying laps.
With a time of 109.298 seconds, Denny Hamlin puts his number eleven car on the pole with Brad Keselowski alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the All-Star Race:
Denny Hamlin
Brad Keselowski
Erik Jones
Ross Chastain
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Bubba Wallace
Joey Logano
Ty Gibbs
Austin Cindric
Kyle Busch
Alex Bowman
Noah Gragson
Tyler Reddick
Ty Dillon
Chase Briscoe
Austin Dillon
Shane van Gisbergen
Josh Berry
Todd Gilliland
Riley Herbst
Cole Custer
Cody Ware
Carson Hocevar
Zane Smith
Ryan Preece
Connor Zilisch
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Michael McDowell
Chase Elliott
Chris Buescher
John Hunter Nemechek
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
AJ Allmendinger
Daniel Suarez
Zane Smith’s pit crew wins the pit crew challenge, the trophy, and the $100,000 prize.
It has been 10 years since broadcaster Steve Burns died as a result of cancer. Since that time, each year FOX has presented the Burnsie Award in honour of Steve Burns. This week is the final broadcast on the FOX network and their 2026 choice for the Burnsie Award is Richard Childress Racing’s Ray Wright – Director of pit performance.
Mike Joy is on the flag stand where he will be waving the green flag to start the race.
Temperatures are in the high 80’s meaning track temps are going to be over 100 degrees.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Brad Keselowski alongside. Brad Keselowski comes up on the inside to lead the race. Drivers are getting three wide and get into a wreck at the back of the field to bring out the caution flag. Ryan Preece’s car is on fire after hitting the wall. Cole Custer is sitting on the track. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Suarez, John Hunter Nemechek, Michael McDowell, and Chase Elliott were also involved.
Ryan Preece’s car was fully aflame but Preece walked away from the car. Out of the infield care center, he says that he is fine.
Drivers are allowed to work on the cars and if they can fix them in time for the next segment or for the main event for locked in drivers, they may enter the race. The car must be repaired, backup cars are not allowed. Once repaired the drivers have three laps to make minimum speed or they are out of the race.
Newly mandated this week, every car has a “kill switch” on the outside of the car for safety workers to shut down the car.
NASCAR has red flagged the race.
Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson’s crews are in the garage for repairs in hopes of making the 200 lap main event.
Moving again, Brad Keselowski brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap seven. Keselowski edges out for the lead as drivers get three wide quickly.
The top five are Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace.
The big crash didn’t dampen any efforts, the drivers going full out.
Lap 13, Brad Keselowski has just a tenth of a second lead on Denny Hamlin; William Byron, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
After a flaming car in the laps one crash, Ryan Preece is out of the race. Cole Custer is also out of the race.
Lap 19, Denny Hamlin battles with Brad Keselowski for the lead and gets out in front.
Lap 21, Kyle Busch passes Joey Logano on the outside for ninth place.
Daniel Suarez is one lap down after being involved in the lap one crash.
Lap 24, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of a second and a half on Brad Keselowski; Wiilliam Byron, Ross Chastain, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Lap 27, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a near three second lead on Brad Keselowski.
Todd Gilliland is out of the race.
Lap 30, Denny Hamlin continues to extend his lead and is now over four seconds out in front of the field.
William Byron has passed Brad Keselowski for second. Keselowski reports that his right rear tire is “chattering”.
Bubba Wallace has passed Ross Chastain for fourth.
Tyler Reddick passes Ross Chastain for fifth.
Cody Ware is off the pace with handling issues.
Lap 44, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over five and a half seconds on William Byron; Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
While his crew works on the car in the garage, Ryan Blaney is standing on the photographer’s stand watching the race.
Lap 51, the drivers have spread out through the whole track with Denny Hamlin leading the race by four and a half seconds.
Twenty laps remain in the first segment with Denny Hamlin dominating the race; Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
With 16 laps remaining in the segment, Bubba Wallace is slowly closing the gap on Denny Hamlin.
Carson Hocevar gets into the wall but keeps going with a flat tire.
The caution flag comes out on lap 62 for debris on the track.
Josh Berry is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with William Byron winning the race off of pit road.
At the end of the segment all of the drivers must come down pit road for fresh sticker tires; no one can stay out on the track.
Kyle Busch was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the longest line.
With just six laps remaining in the segment, Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart and jumps out for the lead but Bubba Wallace comes up on the inside to pass for the lead.
Back in the field the drivers are three wide.
The caution flag comes out for another big crash John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, and Riley Herbst were all involved.
Segment one ends under caution with Bubba Wallace winning the segment.
Results of segment one:
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin
Ross Chastain
Chase Briscoe
Brad Keselowski
Austin Cindric
William Byron
Joey Logano
Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Connor Zilisch
Michael McDowell
Alex Bowman
Ty Gibbs
Erik Jones
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Dillon
Josh Berry
Shane van Gisbergen
Zane Smith
Noah Gragson
AJ Allmendinger
Chris Buescher
Christopher Bell
Riley Herbst
John Hunter Nemechek
Kyle Busch
Chase Elliott
Carson Hocevar
Daniel Suarez
Cody Ware
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Todd Gilliland
Ryan Preece
Cole Custer
Chase Elliott and John Hunter Nemechek have stated that they don’t think the cars can be repaired.
Several of the cars at the top of the field are in the garage which will mix up the new lineup.
Drivers that were laps down will now be on the lead lap. Segment two is like a new race.
After the inversion, the lineup for Segment two:
AJ Allmendinger
Shane van Gisbergen
Ty Dillon
Noah Gragson
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Gibbs
Michael McDowell
Tyler Reddick
Connor Zilisch
Alex Bowman
Joey Logano
Erik Jones
Denny Hamlin
Austin Dillon
Josh Berry
Austin Cindric
Chase Briscoe
William Byron
Daniel Suarez
Cody Ware
Brad Keselowski
Ross Chastain
Bubba Wallace
John Hunter Nemechek
Christopher Bell
Chris Buesher
Kyle Busch
Chase Elliott
Carson Hocevar
Daniel Suarez
Cody Ware
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Todd Gilliland
Ryan Preece
Cole Custer
AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag start of segment two with Shane van Gisbergen alongside. Allmendinger gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are AJ Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Dillon, Noah Gragson, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Denny Hamlin has advanced 10 spots in four laps.
The caution flag ocmeso ut on lap six for a crash involving Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, and ross Chastain.
Chase Elliott’s car has too much damage and will not be a part of the 200 laps race.
NASCAR will field 26 cars in the 200 laps race and will include more than the original six drivers planned if drivers who have guaranteed spots cannot make the race.
Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain have taken their cars to the garage. Brad Keselowski backs his car down pit road to his pits stall.
AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 12 and battles with Shane van Gisbergen for the lead.
Tyler Reddick moves up on the outside to make it a three wide battle for the lead.
Shane van Gisbergen gets loos and spins out to bring out the caution flag on lap 16.
Ross Chastain will not be a part of the 200 lap race.
AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag restart with Tyler Reddick alongside on lap 21. Allmendinger gets out in front for the lead.
The top five are AJ Allmendinger, Tyler Reddick, Ty Dillon, Noah Gragson, and Ty Gibbs.
After getting into the wall, Carson Hocevar is back on the track and in the top 10.
Tyler Reddick takes the lead and begins to pull away.
Carson Hocevar passes Ricky Stenhouse Jr for sixth.
Lap 29, Tyler Reddick has a one second lead on AJ Allmendinger; Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, and Ty Dillon round out the top five.
Lap 32, there are 23 cars on the track with the remained either out of the races or in the garage for repairs in hopes of making the 200 lap main event.
40 laps to go in segment two with Tyler Reddick leading the race; AJ Allmendinger, Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, and Carson Hocevar.
With 29 laps remaining in the segment, Tyler Reddick holds on to the lead with AJ Allmendinger a half second back; Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Ty Gibbs spins out to bring out the caution flag on lap 51. Gibbs has a right front flat tire.
Drivers come down pit road for service Alex Bowman winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires.
AJ Allmendinger brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 57 after staying out on the track. Erik Jones in second is the other car that stayed out on the track.
With 18 laps remaining in the segment AJ Allmendinger gets passed by Chase Briscoe; Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Drivers are getting three wide after getting four fresh tires.
With 14 laps to go, Chase Briscoe leads the race with Tyler Reddick in second; AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones, and Connor Zilisch round out the top five.
Ten to go, Tyler Reddick passes Chase Briscoe for the lead; Erik Jones, Alex bowman, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Ryan Blaney returns to the track after repairs from the lap one wreck.
Denny Hamlin passes Carson Hocevar for fifth.
Five to go, Denny Hamlin passes Alex Bowman for fourth.
With four laps to go, Tyler Reddick has a three and a half second lead on Chase Briscoe.
Bubba Wallace returns to the track.
Tyler Reddick wins segment number two.
The results for segment two:
Tyler Reddick
Chase Briscoe
Denny Hamlin
Carson Hocevar
Connor Zilisch
Erik Jones
William Byron
Alex Bowman
Michael McDowell
Noah Gragson
Ty Dillon
Austin Cindric
Joey Logano
Austin Dillon
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Daniel Suarez
Josh Berry
Cody Ware
AJ Allmendinger
Ty Gibbs
Shane van Gisbergen
Zane Smith
Riley Herbst
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Christopher Bell
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Blaney
Ross Chastain
John Hunter Nemechek
Chris Buescher
Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson
Todd Gilliland
Ryan Preece
Cole Custer
After crashes Todd Gilliland, Ryan Preece, Cole Custer, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain will not be a part of the 200 lap main event.
Daneil Suarez is the fan vote winner for 2026.
The starting lineup for the 200 lap feature race:
Denny Hamlin
Chae Briscoe
Tyler Reddick
William Byron
Connor Zilisch
Austin Cindric
Erik Jones
Joey Logano
Michael McDowell
Alex Bowman
Austin Dillon
Bubba Wallace
Ty Dillon
Noah Gragson
Brad Keselowski
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Carson Hocevar
Ty Gibbs
Josh Berry
AJ Allmendinger
Shane van Gisbergen
Christopher Bell
Kyle Busch
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Daniel Suarez
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the 200 lap feature event with Chase Briscoe alongside. Chase Briscoe gets out in front initially but Hamlin comes up on the inside to battle for the lead. Briscoe holds on to the lead.
The top five are Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Connor Zilisch.
NASCAR is going to call an All-Star caution around laps 75.
Lap eight, Chase Briscoe holds a near half second lead on Denny Hamlin.
Lap eleven, Chase Briscoe has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Connor Zilisch round out the top five.
Kyle Busch has moved up six spots since the start of the race.
Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski are having handling issues with their cars.
Lap 18, Chase Briscoe has increased his lead to over a second on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Connor Zilisch round out the top five.
Lap 24, Chase Briscoe holds a lead of over a second on Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, William Byron, and Connor Zilisch continue to round out the top five.
Lap 27, Tyler Reddick passes Denny Hamlin for second.
Lap 31, Chase Briscoe has a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Denny Hamlin, Connor Zilisch, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap 33 after starting 23rd, Kyle Busch has entered the top 15.
Lapa 39, Tyler Reddick has closed the gap on leader Chase Briscoe to just half a second.
Lap 41, Tyler Reddick battle with Chase Briscoe for the lead.
Lap 42, new leader, Tyler Reddick takes the lead and pulls away from the field.
Lap 45, leaders are amid slower traffic.
Lap 47, Tyler Reddick has a one second lead on Chase Briscoe.
Ty Gibbs comes down pit road with a flat tire after getting into the wall. He has a shredded tire.
The top five are Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Connor Zilisch, and William Byron.
Rookie Connor Zilisch has seen the track at Dover one time…and that was in an O’Reilly Series car.
Lap 54, Chase Briscoe has caught up to leader Tyler Reddick and is just a third of a second in front.
Kyle Larson is slowed on the track and losing spots.
Lap 58, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe battle for second.
Kyle Busch comes down pit road.
Lap 60, Denny Hamlin has passed Chase Briscoe and is on Tyler Reddick’s bumper.
Connor Zilisch has passed Chase Briscoe for third.
William Byron passes Chase Briscoe for fourth.
Kyle Busch was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Tyler Reddick reports that he is worried about the right front tire.
Several drivers are making green flag pit stops with corded tires.
Lap 68, Tyler Reddick is lapping slower traffic; there are 20 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 71, Denny Hamlin has caught leader Tyler Reddick and battling for the lead.
Lap 75, Denny Hamlin passes Tyler Reddick for the lead
Lap 76, NASCAR waves the yellow flag for the All-Star caution. Bubba Wallace is the “lucky dog”.
The top six drivers represent six different teams.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road.
Connor Zilisch, Daniel Suarez, and Kyle Larson were all charged with a penalty and will restart the race from the back of the field.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with William Byron alongside on lap 82. Drivers spread out three wide with Denny Hamlin in the lead.
The top five are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Michael McDowell, and Chase Briscoe.
Lap 87, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on William Byron; Tyler Reddick, Michael McDowell, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Lap 91, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over a second on William Byron.
Both of the Dillon brothers are in the top 10.
Lap 95, Kyle Busch passes Christopher Bell for the “lucky dog” spot.
Lap 96, Erik Jones and Michael McDowell battle for fifth with Carson Hocevar joining the mix.
Lap 98, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over a second and a half on William Byron; Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Lap 105, Denny Hamlin has increased his lead to over two seconds on William Byron; Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Lap 112, Denny Hamlin continues to increase his lead and is now over three seconds out in front of William Byron; Tyler Reddick is nearly five seconds back in third with Chase Briscoe and Carson Hocevar rounding out the top five.
After getting a penalty for equipment interference during the caution flag, Connor Zillisch has moved up to 13th.
Lap 121, Denny Hamlin passes Bubba Wallace to put him one lap down.
Lap 124, Denny Hamlin now has a lead of four and a half seconds on William Byron.
Lap 127, Ty Gibbs comes down pit road after getting into the wall again.
There are 19 cars on the lead lap. Denny Hamlin is running away with the race, leading by nearly six seconds.
Lap 136 Carson Hocevar is the first driver to begin the green flag pit stop cycle.
Lap 139, Joey Logano gets into the wall and brings out the caution flag. He blows a tire and gets into the wall. There is a lot of fluid on the track. Joey Logano was in the “lucky dog” spot” so there will be no “lucky dog” this time.
The caution flag erased a six and a half second lead for Denny Hamlin.
After being involved in the lap one wreck, Kyle Larson’s crew spent the rest of segment one and all of segment two working on the car. With 56 laps remaining in the race, Larson takes his car to the garage with a power steering issue.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with Chase Briscoe alongside on lap 149. Hamlin jumps out in front but Chase Briscoe comes up on the inside lane to take the lead.
The top five are Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, and Austin Cindric.
Lap 155, Chase Briscoe has a narrow lead over Denny Hamlin; Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Fourth place driver Erik Jones is running the fastest laps on the track.
Lap 164, Denny Hamlin has caught leader Chase Briscoe; Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Tyler Reddick takes his car down pit road and the crew raises the hood with a mechanical issue. Reports are a power steering belt broke.
Lap 171, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe battle for the lead with Hamlin retaking the lead.
Lap 175, the top five are Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Austin Cindric, and Austin Dillon.
Lap 178, Connor Zilisch passes Austin Cindric for fifth.
Lap 182, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on Chase Briscoe; Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, and Connor Zilisch round out the top five.
Austin Dillon is running faster laps than leader Denny Hamlin.
Fifteen laps remain in the race with Denny Hamlin continuing to dominate the race.
The All-Star race must end under a green/checkered flag; overtime is allowed under the rules.
Just nine laps remain in the race; Denny Hamlin continues his domination of the race.
Five to go, Denny Hamlin continues to extend his lead over Chase Briscoe.
Denny Hamlin takes the white flag.
With a one second lead, Denny Hamlin wins the 2026 All-Star race.
In a one time event, the Miles the Monster trophy is in silver.
Hamlin joins Kyle Larson and Joey Logano as the only drivers to win multiple All-Star races at more than one track.
The unofficial results of the 200 lap All-Star feature race:
Denny Hamlin
Chase Briscoe
Erik Jones
Austin Dillon
Connor Zilisch
Austin Cindric
William Byron
Michael McDowell
Alex Bowman
Brad Keselowski
Noah Gragson
AJ Allmendinger
Ryan Blaney
Carson Hocevar
Ty Dillon
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kyle Busch
Josh Berry
Shane van Gisbergen
Bubba Wallace
Daniel Suarez
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson