Denny Hamlin wins All-Star million @ Dover
- TSN MOTORSPORTS INSIDER
- May 19
- 3 min read
During the inaugural All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway, the Monster Mile proved its reputation as one of NASCAR's most challenging tracks.
Even for the winner, Denny Hamlin, navigating Dover was a tightrope act for the $1 million prize.
After recovering from a qualifying spin to secure the pole position, Hamlin avoided trouble on Sunday to claim his second NASCAR All-Star Race victory. He led the final 30 laps, outpaced Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, and steered clear of the eight caution flags that affected 23 of the 36 drivers, following the inversion of the field after the first 75-lap segment.
"It makes it a lot easier when you've got a car this fast," remarked Hamlin, whose No. 11 Toyota led a race-high 103 of 200 laps in the final segment. "We strive to be No. 1, and we achieved that today. It really tested us to navigate through traffic, but I definitely like the invert. It obviously caused some chaos and took out some good cars, but overall, it's a typical All-Star Race when that stuff happens."
Briscoe finished 0.887 seconds behind Hamlin in a No. 19 Toyota that had been significantly damaged in a practice crash on Saturday.
"It was clearly a really fast car," Briscoe said after achieving his career-best second place in the All-Star Race. "I'm just proud of our team. I hit the wall during practice, and we essentially rebuilt the entire car. So for them to get the car back to a competitive state says a lot about the guys."
This marks Hamlin's third consecutive win on the 1-mile oval, following his victories in points races at Dover in 2024 and last year. He also started from the pole when he won the All-Star Race in 2015 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. At 45, Hamlin became the second-oldest winner of the All-Star Race after Mark Martin, who was 46 in 2005.
Erik Jones, who was involved in a nine-car crash at the end of the first segment, completed a top-three sweep by Toyota, followed by Austin Dillon and rookie Connor Zilisch.
Several crashes during the first two 75-lap segments involved more than half of the 36-car field. There were 19 drivers locked into the 200-lap dash for $1 million, but Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain were eliminated because their cars couldn't be repaired, and backups weren't allowed.
The field was reduced to 26 cars for the final segment. Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, and Christopher Bell started the last stage with damaged cars that were slower than the rest.
Larson retired from the race with 60 laps remaining due to a power steering failure.
Daniel Suarez advanced to the final segment with a damaged car by winning an online fan vote and finished four laps down.
Untimely exits
Elliott, voted the most popular driver in the Cup Series eight times, was knocked out after his No. 9 Chevrolet was caught in two wrecks during the first segment.
"It was pretty wild," said Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion and 2020 All-Star Race winner. "I hate to get caught up in that. I knew better. I saw it getting crazy. I should have bailed."
Chastain was eliminated in a three-car crash on the sixth lap of the second segment.
"Bummer, because we thought we executed that first stage really well," Chastain said. "We weren't passing anybody, but we were able to maintain, which hasn't been the case for this downforce package. The car drove a lot better, so there's a lot to look forward to if we can take another step like that."
Early crash
The event began with a fiery crash on Lap 2 involving three former All-Star Race winners. The wreck was triggered by Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Ryan Preece, who came down the banking in Turn 1 and made contact with Todd Gilliland.
Larson, a three-time All-Star Race winner, hit the wall in his No. 5 Chevrolet after colliding with Gilliland's No. 34 Ford. The pileup also involved past All-Star winners and series champions Blaney and Elliott, as well as Daniel Suarez, John Hunter Nemechek, and Michael McDowell.
Preece's No. 60 Ford made heavy contact with the outside wall, causing the rear end to burst into flames. Preece exited unscathed and was quickly seen and released from the track's infield care center.
"I'm fine, I seem to take big hits," said Preece, who was involved in a memorable rollover in the August 2023 race at Daytona. "I don't know what happened. But if it was anything, it was probably just too close on my part to go into Turn 1 and just got sideways. So if it was my fault, I'm sorry."
Preece later took responsibility in a social media post.
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