Dover's NASCAR All-Star race has wild format, and a potential pothole

NASCAR has already shown an inclination to exploring new venues and new courses. This season, NASCAR is holding a street-course event at San Diego’s Coronado Naval Base. From 2022-24, NASCAR held exhibition races inside the Los Angeles Coliseum, where Southern Cal plays its home games in football.

Dover, however, is unique in its own right, most notably its high-banking, concrete oval.

"Dover is one of those tracks that when you strap in … you know you gotta go hard on that very first lap," NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski said. "You gotta get in the car, and you gotta commit to a long-ass (day) at a track that’s fairly unforgiving, really fast, and it’s a big challenge.

"It’s one of the most mentally-challenging things that you have to do as a race-car driver. I respect that so much about this track. I actually enjoy it. It feels a little masochistic to enjoy that. I know I’m going to have to suck it up. But the reward for that, after that first few laps, is, ‘Man, that was pretty bad-ass.’"

RACE WEEKEND FUN: Entertainment for kids and adults during NASCAR race weekend in Dover

What is the All-Star format?

The All-Star format could actually make the racing at Dover even more "bad-ass" than usual.

The first All-Star race was held in 1985 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where it remained for all but one year until 2019. It has moved around since then, going from Bristol, Tennessee in 2020 to Texas Motor Speedway in 2021-22, to North Wilkesboro the last three seasons and now to Dover.

The formats have changed over the years. This year, the race is divided into three segments. The first two are 75 laps. The order for the first segment is determined by qualifying on May 16. The order for the second segment is determined by an inversion of the top 26 finishers.

So the first-place finisher will start the second segment from the 26th spot, the second place finisher will start from the 25th spot, and so on. The remaining drivers will be lined up by finish in the first segment. All of that is done to encourage passing over the second segment.

That sets up the final 200-lap segment, which will consist of only 26 drivers. The field for that will include Cup Series winners from both 2025 and 2026, former Cup Series champions who compete full time and a fan vote winner.

The remaining drivers will be included based on the lowest combined finishing positions among the first two segments.

"I like the All-Star race concept," Keselowski said. "I like the concept of a race without points. I like the concept of not everybody being in the race."

What is the prize money for the NASCAR All-Star race?

The winner after all of that gets $1 million. Interestingly, the prize money has remained the same since 2003.

While no one will ever turn down $1 million, a few drivers noted that inflation over the years has diminished the value of that original $1 million from 2003.

"I would like to see the prize money go up, to match the inflation for the past two years," Keselowski said, before adding with a laugh: "I know the TV money (to NASCAR) has."

Then he added diplomatically: "I will say to the credit of the sport that the team owners have certainly elevated the prize money on the other races."

Kyle Larson had similar sentiments. He has won the All-Star race three times, in 2019, 2021 and 2023, tied with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Only Jimmie Johnson, with four victories, has won more All-Star races.

When Larson was asked if he would like to see the prize money increase, he replied: "Always. We’re all selfish. We would love for every race to pay more. But a million dollars is still more than any other race pays to win. So you can appreciate that."

And Dover will appreciate the experience of having the top drivers competing in a unique format trying to tame a Monster Mile that has always presented its share of challenges. For now.

"We've done something for 107 straight times, which is host a great points race," Tatoian said. "That's important to us. We'd like to get a points race back."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the "Eye On The Eagles" newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Dover's NASCAR All-Star race has new format, new questions for future