Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway would have been a fine race if it were not weighted by the expectations of the All-Star Race name.
This was the first race at The Monster Mile with the increased horsepower and reduced downforce package. Combined with a light application of resin from top to bottom and the use of a tire dragon all weekend, this was the best racing product at Dover in the five-year history of the NextGen car.
That will get lost in the shuffle because NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports needed to pigeon-hole the All-Star Race somewhere at least for a year after giving North Wilkesboro Speedway a points race.
The end result was an All-Star Race that did not remotely feel like an All-Star Race during the day in Delaware with a full field taking the green flag before eliminations and inversions. The dynamic was best summed up by runner-up Chase Briscoe.
“Maybe it was because it was during the day,” Briscoe surmised. “I don’t know. All weekend it didn’t feel like an All-Star Race. It felt like a normal points race. We had practice, which was cool. I’ve never driven out of the garage in my career so that was unique, being able to practice that way again.
“That definitely didn’t feel like an All-Star Race just because it was new. It definitely didn’t feel like one for whatever reason. Now, the reward for winning definitely feels like an All-Star Race but the race itself — it was so long.
“All-Star Races typically are like the shortest race of the year. I felt like it was a Coke 600 or something or the Southern 500. It took forever. Like, you’ll have that feeling next weekend or the next, that come lap 100 or 200, man, we’re only a quarter of the way or halfway into the race. We got past both 75 lap runs and it was like ‘man, we have another 200 laps?’ It was just a long race.”
It was a long race because NASCAR and SMI didn’t want to take laps away from those who attend races at Dover every year. To simulate an ‘open race’ dynamic, the first half featured a full field with an invert and eliminations.
Basically, it was The Open and All-Star Heats combined, and race winner Denny Hamlin doesn’t even know when the race technically began – with the first lap or the final segment at Lap 150.
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“When y'all print off a sheet, is it going to have 36 cars, or is it going to have 26,” Hamlin asked NASCAR officials, referencing the eliminations.
26.
“Yeah, so I think we should know when the All-Star Race starts,” Hamlin said with a laugh. “Let's start there first.”
Hamlin thought the racing was good at Dover today too because there was no shortage of passing during the inversions.
“You had the extra horsepower too,” Hamlin said. “So you're going in the corner at a slower rate of speed, so the tires are the one that has to make up the difference for grip you have lost. Then you're applying more power. When you put the throttle down, it makes the car further out of control.
“As you could see, we were running all over the racetrack. I thought NASCAR and the whole team did a great job preparing the track as good as they possibly could. Yeah, it's as good as you'll get.”
So, the ultimate conclusion here is that the racing at Dover was made better, but this isn’t the long-term home for the All-Star Race, as best summed up by Hamlin.
“First thing is let's give Dover their points race back and then let's figure out where we're going to go, and then figure out the format,” Hamlin said. “Let's start there.”
Photos from All-Star Race: Sunday
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Ryan Preece, RFK Racing, Daniel Suárez, Spire Motorsports
Ryan Preece, RFK Racing, Daniel Suárez, Spire Motorsports
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Ryan Preece, RFK Racing
Ryan Preece, RFK Racing
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Ryan Preece, RFK Racing
Ryan Preece, RFK Racing
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports
Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports
Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing, Zane Smith, Front Row Motorsports, Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing, Zane Smith, Front Row Motorsports, Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing, AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing, AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Joey Logano, Team Penske
Joey Logano, Team Penske
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports
Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing
Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Daniel Suárez, Spire Motorsports
Daniel Suárez, Spire Motorsports
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Meg Oliphant / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Joe Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
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