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.
“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
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
All-Star Race – Sunday, in photos
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