Denny Hamlin Conquers the Monster Mile Again!

Hey NASCAR Fans,

NASCAR’s bid to host an All-Star Race at Dover was an experiment. No one knew how the track would behave or whether this event would feel like an All-Star Race. There were no complaints about the racing product on track, but the leadership will have to revisit its All-Star plans.

That being said, let us take a look at the major storylines from Denny Hamlin's victory and how different this event was from a normal points race at the Monster Mile.

Denny Hamlin set the pace for this successful weekend right from qualifying. A pole position was followed by a strong run in segments 1 and 2, which allowed him to bank on his long-run speed. Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe were the only two real contenders who threatened Hamlin’s dominant run. 

Reddick had power steering issues, whereas Briscoe couldn’t keep up with the lap times of the No. 11 car. On lap 148 during the restart, it looked like Hamlin was within reach as Briscoe took command of the race. But with 31 laps to go, the driver of the #11 car switched lanes and put Briscoe at a disadvantage to complete his pass. Here’s the recap of the dogfight between the two JGR drivers.

From here, it was smooth sailing for Hamlin and his team as they bagged a whopping $1 million and the bragging rights. Despite the win, Hamlin was sceptical about NASCAR’s plan to host an All-Star race at Dover. He feels the event is better suited under the lights and also raised some important questions surrounding the format. 

It is hard to agree with Hamlin's opinions, but if you look at the format and its outcome, he does make sense. 

Unlike the All-Star Open, the drivers who were yet to qualify for the main event were running alongside contenders. This meant that a big one or a weird crash could derail the day for any of the 19 drivers locked in for the race. And that is exactly what happened. 

On Lap 2 of the race, Ryan Preece and Todd Gilliland were involved in a fierce battle. Preece tried to pull off a big move for the position, but lost his marks and came into contact with the No. 5 car. Preece rammed hard into the wall, and the rear end of his car was totaled. He was lucky to escape his racecar unharmed as it was engulfed in a ball of flame. Revisit the big crash that took out nine cars.

Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson all three needed repairs to their race cars. Elliott and Blaney managed to get their car rolling by the time the final segment came, but Larson had to settle for a DNF. The race was red-flagged, and racing action was put on hold for 13 minutes and 26 seconds. 

An All-Star race without the stars racing in it does feel off, and the reason why this situation arose is due to the format. It is fair to say that NASCAR needs to do some work and bring the All-Star race back to its original format.

The All-Star race at Dover flipped on its head right on the first few laps of the race. With a big chunk of favorites out of the equation, this was the real test for those who made their picks for the prediction challenge. And we are happy to announce that we have found our winner.

This week’s ultimate bragging rights go to: Daphne!

You take home a $25 Amazon gift card, while other notable finishers also get a spot on our weekly leaderboard.

Sunday’s Results: 60% of you felt that the All-Star race at Dover wasn’t good — Click here to read what you and other fans thought about it.

Dover Motor Speedway is one of the most unique and challenging racetracks on the schedule. Apart from Bristol, this is the only track with a concrete surface, and that has worked well with the Next Gen car’s high-horsepower, low-downforce package. A lot of folks were concerned about the future of the track beyond 2026, but it looks like there’s some good news.

FOX’s Mike Joy, during the live broadcast of the All-Star Race, confirmed that Dover has a spot reserved on the 2027 Cup schedule. However, there’s no clarity on whether this is going to be a points race or an exhibition event. North Wilkesboro got the points date, Dover lost its spot, and now we have an All-Star event at a track that isn’t suited for such a special occasion.

Even Jeff Gluck’s post-race poll clearly indicates that fans do want Dover to host this event.

A better alternative could be taking the All-Star back to Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track has it all: the lights, the facility, and the fan support. Now we might not know what NASCAR is planning with next year’s schedule, but it would be sad to see a road course race getting a points race over the Monster Mile. 

Kyle Larson saw the funny side of things after being wrecked on Lap 2. He labeled the repair work on the No. 5 car as an arts and crafts session, whereas he was also spotted watching the race from the cameraman’s bench within the infield.

By no means was this an easy race win for Hamlin. Early in the race, Bubba Wallace was right up there with the No. 11 car. In fact, he cleared Hamlin with 6 laps to go in segment 1. But as Wallace was making his way through after the field inversion, he found himself on the bitter end of a crash. Ross Chastain and Brad Keselowski spun. While Wallace had no involvement in this crash, his front bumper took a hit, and his race car lost speed. 

Another 23XI Racing driver, Tyler Reddick, had the pace on his race car, but as far as handling goes, he wasn’t up to the mark. But with 32 laps to go, something snapped inside the No. 45 car, and he had to give a third spot on the track and roll down‌ pit road. Unfortunately, the power steering issue forced Redick to park his car.

Connor Zilisch, alongside William Byron, looked like a real threat late in the race. He was right behind the Toyotas in P5. He tried to catch the leaders off guard by pitting early, but he came out of the pits with a penalty. The crew on the #88 car rolled the wheel too wide, which interfered with Noah Gragson’s pit crew, who were waiting for their driver. Watch the pit road sequence here. 

Yet despite the fumble and penalty, Zilisch finished strong in P5 and felt good about his race. “It’s been a long year, and the moments of hope like this certainly feel good. I don’t really know what to point our speed to. We still had some balance issues, but just the potential was there. We had potential in our race car.”

Corey Day’s Dover Statement Win Adds Fuel to HMS’s Cup Speculation →

NASCAR Tensions Take Backseat as Rival Driver Agrees on All-Star Issues →

Denny Hamlin Refuses to Sacrifice His Honesty for NASCAR Politics →

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