Cup drivers want points race at Dover again, but when and how?

Even before Sunday’s first ever All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway began, drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series made it clear they wanted a points-paying race back at the Monster Mile in 2027.

The NASCAR All-Star Race (ASR) has traditionally been held at Charlotte Motor Speedway since its inception in 1985. But in 2020, it moved to Bristol Motor Speedway for the first time since a one off at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1986.

The race then began to rotate around tracks owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) such as Texas Motor Speedway for two years and then for NASCAR’s triumphant return to North Wilkesboro Speedway beginning in 2023 for three years.

However, once the decision was made to reward North Wilkesboro a points paying race for the first time since 1996 for the 2026 season, something owned by SMI had to swap into holding the non-points paying slot.

The decision was then made for Dover Motor Speedway which had at least one points-paying race every year since 1969 to hold only the All-Star Race in 2026.

The decision was confusing to fans and others in the sport as the track does not have lights (the All-Star Race is traditionally run at night) and the track races best on long runs.

The racing product on Sunday was a big step up compared to prior races with the Next Gen car at Dover due to a horsepower increase, a lower downforce package, and resin widening out the one mile oval. But the All-Star Race format introduced for the weekend was viewed very negatively by drivers and fans.

Unlike prior tradition, there was no All-Star Open which meant all 36 cars started the race in segment one. Due to multiple crashes, multiple drivers who were locked into the main 200 lap segment such as Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott didnt even get to compete.

The event was viewed negatively and even before the race began, drivers expressed wanting a points race again in 2027.

On Friday, Ty Gibbs who finished in 24th and has won before at Dover in the ARCA Menards Series East said, “100%, great track, great concrete track, great technical, its just one of the best and I love Dover.”

Elliott also responded positively to the idea where he said, “I’m great with it, Dover has been historically a great stop on our schedule for a long time.” Elliott later said that the race felt like a normal points race weekend and didn’t feel like the All-Star Race.

Ryan Blaney who finished in 13th and has won the All-Star Race before said, “yeah I would like to continue to come to Dover the fans up here are fantastic. I hate losing races in the Northeast and I think there’s a lot of great race fans up here and I look at New Hampshire its the same thing they lost one of their points races years ago. This place used to have two and now its the All-Star Race and I don’t think we need to take away from this part of the country because fans up here are very passionate.”

Some drivers called Dover one of the best tracks on the schedule and heavily preached for it to remain.

Christopher Bell who finished in 23rd said, “absolutely Dover is one of my favorite racetracks, its a drivers track and I don’t think there’s a driver in this field who’d say that this place isn’t one of their favorites to come to and it absolutely needs a points race.

Daniel Suarez who finished in 21st and won the All-Star Fan Vote said, “In my mind this is one of the most amazing racetracks that we have in the NASCAR schedule.

“I think that this race deserves to be a points race in my opinion.”

As for when a points race would be, some drivers advocated for it to be a fall race in the Chase and felt the atmosphere was the best there. On Saturday, William Byron who finished in seventh said, “this place is always a part of the schedule I personally thought it was the best when it was in the fall in The Chase and I kinda thought it was a staple in the first round, or the first three to four races when it was the old format.

“Maybe it can just go back to that one weekend in the fall and maybe that’ll bring more attendance, more interest.”

Other drivers who expressed interest in a points race returning include A.J. Allmendinger, Ryan Preece, and Austin Cindric.

To get a points race at Dover again for 2027 could be a bit of a challenge. While the track will hold a race again in 2027, All-Star or points, its not clear what could swap with the track. SMI has 15 dates on the Cup schedule (including Circuit of the Americas which is SMI leasing the track) and only four tracks they own have two dates.

Among those four, Charlotte, Bristol and Atlanta would likely not lose a points race and weather at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in May could be unbearable if not held at night.

If those four don’t lose one of their races, a track with only one date could go down to no points race in 2027 causing the same issue with Dover.

While Dover could definitely hold a points race again as soon as 2027, the path to it could be more difficult than thought of.