“The NASCAR All-Star Race continues to evolve as one of the most fun and innovative events on our calendar,” said John Probst, executive vice president and chief racing development officer. Even this year’s qualifying structure was revised, with All-Star and Open drivers in a combined qualifying session, where the Pit Crew Challenge expanded to include all teams. Now, once the 2026 schedule rolled, we saw North Wilkesboro return to a normal points race and pass the baton to the Dover International Speedway. In fact, NASCAR’s top brass has weighed in on the future of this $1-million-to-win event.

Speaking on the Dale Jr Download, NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell said: “Yeah. So, I think a lot of conversations on that, right? So, you can say, ‘Ah, you know, they just parked it at do, right?’ But the initial reactions been pretty good. Now, it’s our job to deliver the best race there. That race has been challenged, right? So, what can we do as a group getting our arms around what could make this as cool as possible? Do I have the exact answer now?”

“No, but Marcus has pushed us, and I think it’s been good on can you use the All-Star race to try some things for the future question. We went last year, we were almost a run what you brought, and we got kind of vetoed at the last.”

Take this year, for example. The Manufacturer Showdown could become the next innovation to leap. If the concept clicks, it might soon be a fixture in the regular season races, reviving interest in the manufacturers’ championship, which has long struggled to excite anyone beyond corporate boardrooms. For loyal fans who cheer for the bowtie, the oval, or the T instead of a single driver, this is a throwback to the sport’s roots.

Moreover, the 2025 All-Star weekend, held from May 15 to 18 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, was a full-blown celebration of motorsport. Alongside the Cup and Craftsman Truck series, fans witnessed the pit crew challenge, zMAX CARS Tour Late Models, and the Whelen Modified Tour, making it one of the most diverse race weekends of the year.

While the All-Star race has evolved, its purpose remains the same: to test NASCAR’s next big ideas and introduce new commercials to the thrill of stock car racing. Even with this year’s expanded 250-lap format with a promoter’s caution, the event offers the perfect snapshot of NASCAR as it’s most exciting: short, experimental, and impossible to ignore.

Without this one-off exhibition, NASCAR would risk saddling fans and teams with unproven ideas for an entire 36-race season, but thanks to the All-Star event, those ideas can be trialed, tweaked, and perfected without lasting consequences.

Speaking of change, O’Donnell dropped the biggest bombshell of all—increasing the horsepower! The current 670 hp will be amped up to 750 hp for at least 21 of 38 races next year. ‘Ask and you shall receive’ is proving to be true in the case of the NASCAR community, which has been complaining about the horsepower issues on short tracks.

But O’Donnell doesn’t stop here; he has bigger and better plans for NASCAR’s future.

Steve O’Donnell drops the hammer on the current playoff format, acknowledging the need for a change

The debate of NASCAR’s playoff format reignited after Joey Logano’s dramatic advancement into the Round of 8, which was brought by capitalizing on Ross Chastain’s last-lap rendezvous. The controversy has once again sparked conversations about fairness and consistency, prompting NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell to address the topic with a note of caution.

Interestingly, Steve credited Christopher Bell with influencing his perspective on the issue. Rather than taking his frustrations to the public, Bell chose to have an honest private discussion with O’Donnell. The NASCAR boss said, “If I [Bell] roll off 10 wins, uh, in a year right and I go to one race and couple other guys get into me or whatever, and I’m not the champion, okay, four years in a row that happens. I don’t want the next Christopher Bell, who’s 10 years old right now, thinking about NASCAR, wanting to go to NASCAR, wanting to be a champion, say, ‘Huh, this is a little bit more of a chance on a one race, right?’”

He made it clear that no changes to the playoff system will be announced before the end of the 2025 season, emphasizing his desire not to steal the spotlight from this year’s eventual champion. This exchange may have planted the seeds for a possible Championship 4 overhaul, potentially transforming it from a single winner-take-all race into a mini round that better rewards season-long excellence.

And now, as the season winds down, all eyes are on NASCAR’s shifting horizon — a future that feels poised for a shake-up.