The 2026 schedules were announced by NASCAR on Wednesday (Aug. 20), and for the first time since 1968, the high-banked concrete oval of Dover Motor Speedway will not play host to a points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race.
That said, the Monster Mile will remain on the 2026 Cup schedule as the latest home of the All-Star Race. It will be paired in a triple-header weekend from May 15-17 alongside the soon-to-be-renamed O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series, the latter of which is returning to the track for the first time since 2020.
It was only a matter of time before North Wilkesboro Speedway would return as a points-paying Cup race after two successful All-Star outings, and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. — the current owner of North Wilkesboro — elected to move NASCAR’s $1 million showdown to another one of its properties in Dover.
Dover will be the fifth home of the All-Star Race in the last seven years, and the event is desperately looking to reclaim an identity after a 33-year run at Charlotte Motor Speedway came to an end after 2019.
Dover itself has been on shaky ground the last half decade. The track lost its second Cup date at the end of 2020, and its long-time owner, Dover Motorsports, Inc., was purchased by SMI at the end of 2021.
For a track looking to reclaim an identity and a long-term future on the Cup schedule, is playing host to the All-Star Race the best way to do it? Or is it a mistake to remove Dover’s lone points-paying Cup race when the Northeastern United States has less than a handful of NASCAR weekends to choose from?
Two Frontstretch writers debate it out.
The All-Star Race Will Unleash the “Monster” in the Monster Mile
NASCAR fans are traditional at heart, sometimes to a fault. Something that was new and pushed back against 10 years ago is now seen as nostalgia or some of the “good ol’ days.” The All-Star Race is no exception with the amount of pushback it has received since it was announced it would be going to Dover in 2026. This current model of that race IS the tradition; it has been for years.
Sure, we loved the classic All-Star and Coca-Cola 600 races at Charlotte back-to-back, but for the last several years, the race has had a new home or been tried in various places such as Bristol Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway. But it’s never been above the Mason-Dixon line in the northern part of the country to a track that has an identity.
Dover is known for Miles the Monster as its mascot. Haulers sell merch on shirts and figures. The statue in front of the track and the location of the track give off a theme park vibe — a racing theme park. It’s perfect for an All-Star event where the rulebook can be tossed and new things can be explored, which is why this place is ideal. It is the Bristol of the north with the high banks and enclosed stadium-like seating around the track, bringing fans up close to the action. NASCAR can bolster that action by trying new things on the Next Gen cars on a track where passing is virtually non-existent.
Do everything that fans want for this race on this car at this type of track and see what works. Goodyear can bring the softest tire, rev those engines up and boost them with 150+ extra horsepower. Bring Miles to life and make this track the Monster Mile it is nicknamed with a monstrous event. There are tweaks to the car that can be used and experimented with for one night only, or if they succeed, implemented in regular races in future seasons.
One driver will walk away with an extra one million dollars; 35 others and a whole fan base can walk away with new ways to make this car better. That’s a win we all can celebrate. – Trenton Worsham
The All-Star Race Has Officially Lost the Plot
North Wilkesboro fans packed the stands for the last three All-Star Races, and the track was more than due for a points-paying Cup race. It’s a move that should excite all of us.
What isn’t exciting is the game of hot potato that SMI has played with the All-Star Race ever since it left Charlotte at the end of the 2010s.
It left for Bristol in 2020 (albeit because of wonky COVID-19 rescheduling) and it was a bust. It went to Texas for two years and was another bust. The last three years at North Wilkesboro have put some identity and character back into the event, but what does it say about the prestige of the All-Star Race when a track like North Wilkesboro deserves “more”?
Now the race is back at square one in terms of identity, and the move to Dover reeks of SMI needing to host the event somewhere, so it decided to throw a bone to a track that has struggled in recent years.
The biggest reason why the All-Star Race at Dover feels like a makeshift replacement more than an exquisite new venue is the track’s lack of lights. One Hot Night, the first All-Star Race held under the lights at Charlotte in 1992, single-handedly revived the fledging event after a period of early struggles. Every All-Star has been scheduled at night since.
The move to Dover would make the All-Star Race an afternoon affair, and it would break the longest-running tradition still associated with the event. In other words, it’s fixing something that doesn’t need to be fixed.
The other trouble is the fact that the track would be losing its lone points race in Cup for seemingly no reason when SMI owns not one, not two, but four tracks with two dates on the Cup schedule: EchoPark Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (with one oval and one ROVAL).
There are only so many ovals in the country that can logistically support a Cup race, and with more and more tracks downsizing from two annual Cup races to one with modest success — Dover included — removing Dover’s only points-paying race for an exhibition will be a net negative decision in the long run.
With how good the Next Gen car races at Charlotte, the All-Star Race should return to its long-time home. It will put on an exciting show for fans, and it will give the teams and drivers another home race in what has become a grueling schedule. It will also give the race an identity that it has struggled to have this decade.
The move to Dover will instead break the few remaining traditions that the All-Star Race has, and it’s just latest track in a list of many to host the All-Star Race for the sake of having an All-Star Race.
Dover and the All-Star Race both deserve better. And unfortunately for Dover, an exhibition race that has the looks of being a makeshift substitution might make or break the track’s long-term future in NASCAR. – Stephen Stumpf
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf
