Has NASCAR's All-Star race lost its luster?

There are certain variables that every NASCAR race weekend needs to be successful. You can start with good weather and a competitive racetrack. Then you can look at the depth of the field, race strategy, and crowd engagement, but another variable is often understated in its importance: the vibe.

Dover Motor Speedway did not have the vibe of a NASCAR All-Star Race. It is not a criticism of the racetrack as much as the race, which lost its vibe years ago.

“Absolutely,” Christopher Bell agreed. “That’s a good way to put it, for sure.”

It started around the time that the race was moved from its longstanding home at Charlotte Motor Speedway to Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020. However, that could have been attributed to pandemic effects.

Over the following two years, it faded further, if not completely, after it was moved to Texas Motor Speedway. North Wilkesboro did its best between 2023 and 2025, but the vibe was probably more about the beloved track being back on the schedule.

The constant venue changes and tweaks to the format have turned a once much-looked-forward-to event into something that barely gets a second look. In other words, it has killed the vibe.

North Wilkesboro provided a brief shot in the arm for the All-Star Race, but was that just down to nostalgia? Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

“It feels like a normal race weekend,” Chase Elliott said on Friday. “I would say it feels the least like an All-Star weekend than it ever has in my career. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not used to having an All-Star Race here. It feels like an October race weekend almost with the weather … kind of cooler and whatnot. It kind of reminds me of that fall Dover race more than anything.

“But I’m sure as we get closer to Sunday, it might feel a little bit more like an All-Star weekend, but right now, it feels totally like just a normal Dover points race, and certainly I think there is a lot to learn from our perspective on this package and how we can help ourselves at some of the other tracks coming up.”

It's not what NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports, nor anyone, should want to hear from the drivers. Like a championship format, they need to buy into what’s going on so that everyone else does too.

Sunday was a full-blown Cup Series race. It started with 36 drivers and ended with 26 drivers on the track (the largest All-Star Race field in at least the last decade) and 350 laps. And that’s after removing the Open and putting everyone on the same track; perhaps the least popular move and one that needs to be rectified in the future.

Charlotte did it right, and that doesn’t mean another racetrack couldn’t do the same. But there was something about a Saturday night in NASCAR’s backyard, driver introductions with blaring music and fireworks, and the fans right next to the stage feeding into it all that really drove home the event was different and special. Maybe it doesn’t sound like it, and it’s hard to explain, but if you were there, you felt it.

It was felt by those competing in the event, those watching it, and those covering it. The All-Star Race was one-of-a-kind, and everyone knew it. On the track, while not all races were memorable, that was hardly a dagger. to the overall event. Today, there seems to be nothing but criticism of the event.

Pre-race in the past let you know the All-Star race was special. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

“I woke up Monday, and I’m like, ‘Where are we racing at? Oh, it’s Dover. It’s All-Star,’” said Bubba Wallace. “It doesn’t feel like All-Star weekend. That sucks. I think from a fan standpoint now, the All-Star hasn’t been anything like it was back in the heyday. I know that. I was a part of it indirectly when All-Star week was around, and we did Speed Street and all that stuff, and that was super cool. Obviously, that died down, and I think we were like, well, it’s changing, we got to stick with the change and follow that and move it around.

“But it just doesn’t feel like All-Star weekend. To me, it feels like another race weekend. I’m having to tell myself that this weekend doesn’t really matter; let’s go out and try new things, different things. It’s just like, blah. And I hate that. I hate that for the sport. I hate that for the fans. We need to have some fun interaction and All-Star type vibes, and you don’t get that here.”

There will continue to be many ideas about the venue and format for the All-Star Race. The drivers get asked about it every year on All-Star weekend. Charlotte always seems to be the leading candidate, along with the idea that one track should be the set host and have that identity.

It’s a fun exercise for an event that is in desperate need of recapturing its former glory, or a more serious conversation about its purpose on the schedule needs to happen.

With the 35th anniversary of “One Hot Night” coming up next year, perhaps a move back to Charlotte would help for the time being. Because while there are plenty of things that can be done to the All-Star in the future, the most immediate priority should be to get its vibe back. Without a vibe, you’ve already lost the plot of the entire event.