Dale Jr. is pushing for a drastic change to NASCAR’s All-Star Race.
The 2026 NASCAR All-Star Race will be held this weekend. It’ll be held at the Dover International Speedway at 1 p.m. E.T. on Sunday. The format for the 2026 NASCAR All-Star Race was confirmed earlier on Wednesday.
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NASCAR’s All-Star Weekend will feature a 350-lap main event broken into in-race segments and an enhanced qualifying session featuring the Pit Crew Challenge.
“In place of an All-Star Open, qualifying results will instead determine the full field for Segment 1, a 75-lap sprint as part of the 350-lap event. Following the conclusion of Segment 1, a second 75-lap dash will occur; the lineup for Segment 2 will be an inversion of Segment 1’s top 26, with the remaining drivers lined up by finish,” NASCAR announced.
“The final 200-lap segment of the 2026 All-Star Race will consist of 26 drivers. The field for the final segment will include 2025 and 2026 Cup Series race winners, former Cup Series champions who compete full-time, a Fan Vote winner and remaining drivers based on the lowest combined finishing positions among Segments 1 and 2.”
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Nov 1, 2025; Avondale, Arizona, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr during the Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
But Dale Jr. has a different idea in mind.
The son of legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. wants to see multiclass NASCAR racing in the All-Star event.
Dale Jr. wants to see big change to NASCAR All-Star Race
Dale Jr. wants to see all three levels – Truck, O’Reilly and Cup – in the All-Star race, pitting different styles of cars against each other.
“You could tighten up the restrictions on how you get into the All-Star Race. You could have all three – Truck, O’Reilly and Cup – in the race,” he said.
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“It makes getting into the race a challenge…invite only.
“Slower cars creates unique challenges.”
NASCAR, meanwhile, is pushing forward with its new format.
This story was originally published by The Spun on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the NASCAR section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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