The All-Star Race has been around since May 15th, 1985. Back then, the exhibition event was called ‘The Winston’, and the first-ever iteration featured just 12 drivers. But these weren’t just any racers; eight of them were former or future champions. The likes of Darrell Waltrip and Harry Gant were typical old-school drivers, hard-nosed and competitive on the track. By today’s definition, they would be described as elite, along with the likes of Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt, whose ‘pass in the grass’ became the stuff of legends.

The All-Star Race isn’t just an ‘event’ on the NASCAR calendar. For many, it’s a part of the sports’ tradition, one that has been accused of being watered down over the years. Questioning the eligibility criteria for the exhibition fixture, Denny Hamlin couldn’t help but raise doubts about the sanctioning body’s motives on his podcast.

Hamlin wants the All-Star Race to become prestigious again

Back in the day, the All-Star Race featured some real heavy-hitters. We’re talking about tempers flaring between Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip, with an all-out brawl taking place on pit road between their respective crew members in 1989. Apart from ‘The Intimidator’ and ‘Awesome Bill from Dawsonville’ tearing it up on the racetrack, Davey Allison’s shocking win under the lights in 1992 was truly the stuff of legends. It almost felt like the exhibition event truly lived up to its name, serving all the action, drama, and controversy, apart from bragging rights and a fat cheque. This was mainly because the field consisted of under 20 cars, all elite drivers with no ‘fan vote winners’ being pushed through. And Denny Hamlin feels NASCAR needs to revert to this.

Sharing his thoughts on the Actions Detrimental podcast, the veteran racer couldn’t help but question the eligibility criteria, saying, “We’ve watered down the importance of everything. Nothing is elite anymore. Come one, come all, here’s your participation medal.” Making a sarcastic jibe, he went on to say, “But right now, to make it in, you can win this year, last year, any other All-Star race, fan vote, we got all kinds of s— that get you in. I’m surprised the next move isn’t whoever has got the most content followers. Cleetus McFarland for the 24th entry.”

Denny Hamlin has a point. There are plenty of ways drivers can now qualify for the All-Star Race, which may be taking away some prestige from the event. Drivers can be a points race winner from 2024 or 2025 to be eligible, or be a past All-Star Race winner who is currently competing full-time at the highest level. A former Cup Series champ who is also competing full-time secures automatic qualification apart from being a fan vote winner or a top-two finisher in the All-Star Open.

Hamlin isn’t having it. Demanding that NASCAR have stricter eligibility rules in place, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran said, “I’m saying, stop trying to get these short-term bursts and lose your long-term credibility. Make it elite like it used to be. The Clash now has three quarters of the field. Our playoffs have half the field. Don’t get me started. Make it hard.” However, in a world where success or failure is decided by data, numbers, and television rating points, could the All-Star Race even go back to what it used to be?

Times have changed, and with a million dollars on the line and multi-billion-dollar agreements in place, a packed field might serve as a better ‘look’, even on a short track like North Wilkesboro Speedway. While the ‘short-sighted’ approach may take away some shine from the All-Star Race in the short term, NASCAR is currently in a transition phase. The sanctioning body needs to do what it can to keep the format exciting and compelling for viewers, even if that means shaking up the eligibility criteria to get more variety on the track. It’s just an experiment, one that hasn’t paid off in Denny Hamlin’s eyes.

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Denny Hamlin weighs in on penalties in the Cup Series

Denny Hamlin has been in his fair share of trouble with NASCAR over the years. Just last year, the No. 11 team was subjected to an L2-level penalty for an engine inspection violation. This resulted in 75 driver/owner points being docked, along with 10 playoff points and former crew chief Chris Gabehart being fined $100,000. This time around, Joey Logano and Ryan Preece were disqualified after post-race inspection in Talladega, while Chris Buescher also faced a huge punishment for violating the rules at Kansas Speedway.

Sharing his thoughts on NASCAR cracking down hard in the last few years, Hamlin said, “No, I mean, it’s certainly gotta be fair to everyone. I had a race win taken away, one [rule] for all, for sure, and whatever it is, whatever the infraction, whatever it says in the book, that’s what the penalty should be level. It shouldn’t be negotiated up or down or anything like that, just by the book.” Revealing why teams are failing tech so often, Hamlin went on to say, “Teams are trying to find any edge that they can with the Next-Gen car because you’re boxed in in so many areas that you’re just trying to find any advantage.”

With the Next-Gen cars relying on single-source suppliers, teams are looking to get every advantage they can get their hands on, even if that means bending the rules if they can get away with it. That’s a sentiment echoed by Denny Hamlin as well, who boldly claimed, “It’s just a game of can you get caught or not.” While stuff like that hurts the integrity of the sport, in a sport such as NASCAR, where the finest margins can make all the difference, it should come as no surprise that teams risk it all if they feel they can get away with it. Do you think NASCAR is cracking down hard on rule breakers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!