NASCAR moves All-Star to Dover

NASCAR shifted one of its showcase weekends and one of its nostalgia projects in the same move. The sanctioning body said on August 20, 2025 that Dover Motor Speedway would host the 2026 All-Star Race, ending North Wilkesboro Speedway’s three-year run as the exhibition’s site. In the same announcement, NASCAR put a points-paying Cup Series race back at North Wilkesboro on July 19, 2026, giving the restored short track a regular-season date for the first time in decades. NASCAR’s 2026 schedule lists the Dover All-Star Race for May 17 at 1 p.m. ET and the Window World 400 at North Wilkesboro for July 19 at 7 p.m. ET. ### Why did NASCAR split the two tracks’ roles? Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s executive vice president, said fan feedback after the 2025 All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro was the biggest factor in the change. In NASCAR’s account of the decision, Kennedy said 70% of surveyed fans asked for a points race at North Wilkesboro, and about four out of five fans ages 18 to 34 said the same. (nascar.com) North Wilkesboro had hosted the All-Star Race from 2023 through 2025 after Speedway Motorsports revived the track. NASCAR said the exhibition would move on while the restored oval kept a place on the Cup calendar through a race that counts in the standings. ### What exactly is Dover getting in 2026? (nascar.com) Dover Motor Speedway will host the 42nd annual NASCAR All-Star Race, the track said when the event was awarded there. Dover said the race will be the first All-Star event held on a one-mile oval and the first in the Northeast. The winner will receive $1 million. (nascar.com) May 17, 2026 is the Cup race date, and NASCAR’s official weekend schedule shows the All-Star Race as the headline event of a three-day program at Dover. Dover’s site lists Truck and regional-series races on May 15 and May 16 before the Cup exhibition on Sunday. ### What format will drivers race under at Dover? (dovermotorspeedway.com) NASCAR said on May 13 that the 2026 All-Star Race at Dover would be a 350-lap event broken into segments. The format starts with 100 laps for the full field, then a 75-lap second segment with an inversion among top finishers from the first stage, before a 200-lap final for 26 cars. (nascar.com) FS1 will carry the race live, and NASCAR and Dover both said coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET. NASCAR’s entry-list page also lists HBO Max, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio as outlets for the event. ### What changes for North Wilkesboro beyond losing the All-Star Race? (nascar.com) North Wilkesboro Speedway will get the Window World 400 on July 19, 2026, according to NASCAR’s Cup schedule. NASCAR said the race will be part of TNT Sports’ portion of the season and will also serve as Round 4 of the 2026 in-season challenge. (dovermotorspeedway.com) The track page on NASCAR.com lists the July 19 Cup event and a July 18 Truck Series race. That gives North Wilkesboro a full national-series weekend even after the All-Star Race moves to Delaware. ### Is Dover now the permanent home of the All-Star Race? Dover Motor Speedway’s fan information page says the track is not the permanent home of the NASCAR All-Star Race. (nascar.com) NASCAR has not announced a long-term fixed site for the exhibition beyond the 2026 event. Mike Tatoian, Dover’s president and general manager, said in the track’s announcement that hosting the race would put the event at the “Monster Mile” during a busy sports year for the Philadelphia region. (nascar.com) Dover linked the date to a broader 2026 calendar that includes World Cup matches in Philadelphia and the MLB All-Star Game on July 14. (dovermotorspeedway.com) May 17 is the next milestone in the shuffle. NASCAR’s official 2026 Cup schedule lists the All-Star Race at Dover at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, and North Wilkesboro’s points race follows on July 19 at 7 p.m. ET. (nascar.com) (dovermotorspeedway.com)