There was a cloud of negativity hanging over Dover Motor Speedway in the build-up to this year’s All-Star Race. Drivers questioned NASCAR’s decision to move the event from North Wilkesboro, while concerns around the atmosphere and the revamped format only added to the skepticism. Although the racing itself earned praise once the green flag dropped, much of the criticism surrounding the event ultimately proved difficult to ignore.

Bubba Wallace was one of the first Cup Series stars to speak out against Dover, opining that he didn’t feel like it was an All-Star weekend. “I know we’re bringing a whole new package this weekend, and doing the resin deal, and I’ll stay on the fence about how Sunday will go. But we’ll see, but it just doesn’t feel like All-Star weekend. It doesn’t feel like, to me, it just feels like another race weekend, all right?” he said pre-race.

Christopher Bell joined him, signalling that he would much rather race in Charlotte or North Wilkesboro, where the exhibition event had been held for the previous three years. But once the green flag dropped, Dover reminded everyone why it’s one of NASCAR’s toughest and most unique tracks.

Reporter Matt Weaver even described Sunday as “the best racing product at Dover in the five-year history of the Next-gen car,” pointing to the combination of higher horsepower, 750 HP, lower downforce, tire wear, and the resin application that widens out the racing groove. The 1-mile concrete oval produces a uniquely physical style of racing. Diehards routinely describe the sensation of plunging into Dover’s steeply banked corners as feeling like falling off a cliff before immediately climbing back uphill on the corner exit.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was among the loudest voices to embrace the event despite the skepticism. “I’m gonna turn on every TV and stream from every device. Let’s inflate the numbers, folks, so we can get more of this,” he said.

The racing on display helped the Monster Mile’s case considerably. Denny Hamlin survived a long, clean strategic battle against his teammate Chase Briscoe to capture his second career NASCAR All-Star Race victory and the $1 million prize, making him just the third driver in NASCAR history to win the All-Star Race at multiple tracks, joining Joey Logano and Kyle Larson.

For most fans, however, the issue was never the venue. Instead, it was NASCAR continuing to reinvent the All-Star Race itself. Under the revamped format, all 36 cars competed in two 75-lap segments before the field was narrowed down to 26 drivers for the final 200-lap sprint. But that setup stripped away the exclusivity tied to the event.

Even the All-Star race’s P3 finisher, Erik Jones, made his case about NASCAR’s format, saying, “Yeah, I mean, I was an open guy, but to be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan. I thought, you know, I think the all-star race is supposed to be exclusive, and, you know, having two open guys in or three for the fan vote for years was, I thought, okay.”

Fans torch the format while showering some Dover love

Hamlin’s victory marked his second career Cup win at the Monster Mile, further reinforcing Dover’s reputation as a track that rewards patience, tire management, and technical precision rather than pure chaos, which drivers like Bubba Wallace and Carson Hocevar wanted from an All-Star weekend. That exact characteristic may also explain why many fans felt Dover itself deserved praise this weekend, even as NASCAR’s heavily altered All-Star format continued drawing backlash.

Much of the frustration centred around how quickly several of the sport’s biggest names were effectively eliminated from contention.

“One champion didn’t even start, and another two were damaged badly enough to not be the most competitive. Bell and Wallace had to limp along. Chastain didn’t even start the final segment. That’s a good chunk of your most popular drivers pretty much out of the running before they even get going. And then the 8 or 9 Open guys are advancing. What are we doing? How does Ty Dillon get to race but not Chase Elliott?” one fan wrote on X.

The format changes diluted what the All-Star race was originally supposed to represent: the best of the best, competing for a glittering $1 million prize.

Chase Elliott, despite being a Cup Series champion and automatically locked into the main event, saw his afternoon unravel because of damage sustained in the early accident. Yet, because of NASCAR’s unusual stage reset system, some drivers were able to spend extended time in the garage repairing their cars and still rejoin the field later.

Fans especially pointed to Kyle Busch parking his car during Segment 2 despite having a repairable vehicle, believing teams had started gaming the format rather than simply racing through it.

“They need a no for that format. Kyle Busch pulled into the garage for stage 2 with a drivable car because they could,” one commented.

Busch was never a major factor at the front as the race settled into a long green flag run dominated by Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick. But by lap 57, Busch’s night was marred when he came to pit road and was penalized for a commitment line violation, dropping him three laps down. However, being a two-time cup series champion has its perks, and it definitely shone through because of the format.

“It was a good Dover race, but the whole race weekend felt like a contact obligation project,” one fan admitted, while another wrote, “This is tough. The format was not good, but the on-track product I thought was good.”

Others were even harder in their criticism, believing the exhibition concept itself had simply run its course.

“I thought it was a great Dover Race, but the All Star is kind of dead, just make it a points race that pays the winner $1 million,” another admitted.

All in all, all eyes will now be on the organization to see how it approaches future All-Star events, as the Dover race proved to be a massive wake-up call for NASCAR.