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Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR All-Star Race, $1 million prize at Dover

James Fletcher IIIby: James Fletcher III05/17/26jdfletch3

Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag to win the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway, securing the $1 million grand prize tied to the event. The Cup Series standings will not be impacted by the result of the unique, three-tiered event with no points on the line.

A dominant run for Hamlin helped him lead plenty early laps through the 200 laps finale, walking away with the big payday after making a move by JGR teammate Chase Briscoe. It is the No. 11 driver’s second All-Star win, becoming the second oldest to lift the trophy after Mark Martin.

The first race, a 75 lap sprint to the finish line was Denny Hamlin on the pole, with Brad Keselowski starting well before Bubba Wallace made a run to the front to finish first. Despite being locked into the main event with their spot in the season standings and recent wins, several contenders were part of a Lap One wreck which shook up the field.

The second 75 lap event flipped the order of the drivers who finished 1-26 and made those up front work through the field again. Tyler Reddick was able to pass through the field to finish first, followed by Chase Briscoe. Denny Hamlin, with the best average finish between the two early races, took the pole again for the grand finale.

Daniel Suarez won the fan vote to transfer into the final race, which featured just 26 cars on the track. He thanked his ‘Amigos’ for pushing him through during a radio interview with FS1’s broadcast team.

NASCAR Cup Series

The NASCAR season continues next week with points on the line, as the All-Star Race kicks off the unofficial back-half of the year. With 33 races scheduled for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series this season, there are sure to be plenty of twists and turns over the coming months as drivers move up and down the standings following each race.

Tyler Reddick currently leads the Cup Series standings through 12 weeks, taking the checkered flag five times to start the season. His 23XI owner Denny Hamlin entered the weekend in second with Chase Elliott in third.

No longer looking to make a playoff bracket down the final stretch of the season with cut races, NASCAR has adopted the Chase system for this season. In the Cup Series, that means 16 drivers battling from Race 27 on for the championship.