The Monster Mile at Dover Motor Speedway is the host of the 2026 NASCAR All-Star Race, which is set to take place Sunday, with the green flag scheduled to drop at 1 p.m. ET. This is the first time the exhibition race has been held at Dover, which will not host a Cup Series points race this season for the first time since 1968. The NASCAR All-Star Race 2026 field will feature 36 cars and will be cut to 26 for the final stage.
NASCAR often uses this race as a place to experiment with new formats and test ideas, and things will look a little different again this year. The track itself will present some challenges, and resin will be put down to increase grip. A three-lap qualifying session is set for before the race, which will include the Pit Stop Challenge, then the main event will be run in three segments.
The race will run in portions of 75, 75 and 200 laps. The top 26 finishers in the first leg will be inverted for the start of the second. The field for the final segment will feature the top 26 from the first two, set by the average finish in the opening segments.
Christopher Bell is the defending champion and is among the favorites, with three-time Dover winner Denny Hamlin the top choice at +350 in the latest 2026 NASCAR All-Star Race odds at DraftKings. Kyle Larson, who has won the NASCAR All-Star Race three times, is right behind at +500, followed by Chase Elliott (+600), Bell (+750) and Ryan Blaney (+1000).
We'll take a look at the NASCAR All-Star Race, who is favored to win and make some predictions for the race.
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NASCAR All-Star Race 2026 odds (via DraftKings)
- Denny Hamlin +350
- Kyle Larson +500
- Chase Elliott +600
- Christopher Bell +750
- Ryan Blaney +1000
- Tyler Reddick +1100
- Chase Briscoe +1200
- Alex Bowman +1200
- Ty Gibbs +1400
- Carson Hocevar +1400
The format, the track and the different mindset -- though the $1 million prize is a strong incentive -- make the NASCAR All-Star Race a tough one for bettors. Of course, past success on the track is a key, as is past performance in the unusual format. Hamlin and Kyle Busch, who is +2800 to win at FanDuel, have won three times at Dover in their careers. Hamlin also has one All-Star Race victory, in 2015 at Charlotte.
Larson has had uncanny success in the All-Star Race, winning in 2019, 2021 and 2023. He is eighth in the Cup Series standings and has finished in the top 10 in half of this season's races, with three in the top five. Larson has raced seven times on this track and has finished in the top five in five of them, including a 2019 victory in the fall race. He finished third in the spring race that year.
Chase Elliott also has had success at both the track and in the NASCAR exhibition. He has won twice before at Dover, most recently in 2022, and was the All-Star Race champion in 2020 at Bristol on his way to the Cup Series championship. Chase Briscoe (+1600) has not won the All-Star Race, but he was the runner-up to Hamlin at Dover last year.
On the other hand, NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Tyler Reddick, who has five victories in the first 12 races of the season, has had a rough time on the Monster Mile. Reddick has never finished in the top five at Dover but has been in the top 12 in his past three races there.
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Predictions
- Hamlin to win +350 (1 unit)
- Reddick to win +1100 (0.5 units)
- Briscoe group win vs. Byron/Logano/Hocevar +200 (0.5 units)
The All-Star Race is an unknown from a betting perspective, especially with the format inverting the field, and the Monster Mile is a tough track for a lot of drivers. Throw in the resin that will be added for grip and it's going to be an unusual but likely entertaining race, and drivers will have adjustments to make. The "short track with bite," as Dover has been called, is surely not a leisurely drive, so looking for drivers who have had success on the Cup Series' shorter tracks is the best approach.
Busch (16) and Hamlin (15) have the most true short-track victories among drivers in the All-Star Race field, but Busch has just two top-10 finishes in the 2026 regular season. Hamlin, on the other hand, is second in the points standings, with a victory and five top-five finishes. I'm going to put one unit on Hamlin, as he clearly has the best resume on tracks like Dover and has been in fine form in 2026. There's a reason he's the favorite, as he has the clear inside track barring anything unforeseen.
Of course, the format here leads to a lot of unexpected things so I also have to put a half-unit on Reddick, simply because the price is too good. The Cup Series leader has been dominant all season, finishing in the top 10 in nine of 12 races and in the top five eight times. His short-track record isn't great, but he did finish fourth at Bristol last month. Anything can happen here and if Reddick can end up in the right position in the shuffling, he is as good a pick as any.
William Byron and Chase Briscoe aren't too far behind the favorites, and both have been competitive most of the season. Byron has two top-fives and six top-10s, with two DNFs keeping him from being higher than 12th in the standings. Briscoe is 17th in the standings and also has failed to finish twice but has been in the top five four times and has one other top-10.
Briscoe was second in the last points race at Dover and finished fifth at Bristol last month. That was one of three top-fives in his past five races, while Byron hasn't finished higher than seventh over that span. Logano and Hocevar have both been inconsistent, so this should be a fight between Byron and Briscoe, and I'm going with hotter hand.
