For decades, North Wilkesboro stood as one of NASCAR’s most treasured venues, a short track steeped in history, nostalgia, and a kind of grassroots atmosphere that fans felt had all but disappeared from the sport. Its recent revival as the home of the All-Star race was celebrated as a victory for tradition, breathing life back into a track many thought would remain a relic of the past.

Now, however, rumors and reports pointing to Dover Motor Speedway as its replacement for the Mark exhibition have stirred unease across the fan base. And it’s not just the fans raising eyebrows; drivers are beginning to speak out too. Denny Hamlin has been the most vocal so far, questioning the reasoning behind the shift, while Dale Jr has backed Hamlin’s reservations

“You’re not going to see a lot of change,” Dale Jr. sounds off on the Monster Mile

As NASCAR prepares its 2026 Cup Series schedule, a seismic shift is looming. The All-Star race is poised to swap venues from the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway to Dover Motor Speedway. The move will simultaneously race to a point-paying event in North Wilkesboro, its first since 1996, while Dover would relinquish its traditional points race. This proposal, first highlighted by the Athletic, has sparked debate across the NASCAR community.

Fans and insiders alike are reacting strongly. Dover, affectionately called the Monster Mile, carries a deep legacy, and fans have continued to pack its stands, even in punishing summer heat. Yet the shift reflects NASCAR ownership alignment and calls for rebalancing tradition with modern scheduling priorities. And speaking on this, Denny Hamlin didn’t mince words as he questioned why NASCAR would replace Dover’s points race with an All-Star exhibition.

And now in the mix, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shown support and echoed Hamlin’s words. Speaking on DJD, Dale Jr. sounded off on this hot debate. He said, “And it’s—Denny had such a great point on his show. Denny said on his show, you can go back and listen to Actions Detrimental, came out yesterday.  Denny said, “Man, you know, Dover needs 400 laps to have a chance at being a good show. The All-Star race are quick segments, you know, 30, 20, whatever it is, right? Quick little, you know, stages, and a 30-lap run at Dover is not going to be that compelling. You’re not going to see a lot of change.”

On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin didn’t just oppose the move; he explained why Dover is fundamentally unsuited for the All-Star format. Dover’s 1-mile concrete oval demands 30 to 40 laps to build the rubber on the track and open multiple grooves for passing. In contrast, the All-Star race is structured into short segments, typically less than 50 laps, often broken into 10-15-lap sprints. Simply put, the format and track do not match; unless you give drivers 30 or 40 laps under green, there won’t be space to maneuver or create meaningful competition, which the All-Star format sorely needs.

Dale Jr. went on to say, “You’re not going to see a lot of… not going to be a lot of change. And it’s so aero there. Like, you know, we want to have the conversation around what’s wrong, where this car doesn’t really do all the things great—Dover’s one of them. But you need 80 laps of racing at Dover just to see a little bit of cars moving around, running different lines, guys maybe having a chance to drive up and take the lead. Takes a while. It takes a while to happen there.”

At Dover’s one-mile concrete oval, heat dynamics differ significantly from asphalt tracks. The smooth concrete makes rubber lay in slower, meaning it takes more laps for tires to effectively deposit grip on the surface. Goodyear’s specialized compounds are designed to lay down rubber during green flag runs and then pick it back up during caution when the hot tire is momentarily reheated on a cooling track.

However, Junior also shared his views on North Wilkesboro returning as a points-paying race. Junior added, “Yeah. I wanted to say it’s a wash to be conservative because of the public reaction that I’ve seen, but for me, it’s a net gain. I hate to think about it like that—like, man, I don’t give a s—- what happens in Dover, you know, go on Dover, do what you do, man. I’m gonna be—I’m excited about this new toy. That’s the points race at Wilkesboro. So, yeah. I mean, for me personally, massive net gain.

However, the fans and insiders aren’t too happy about it. But as Denny Hamlin advances with his views on Dover, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has other plans for another track.

Denny Hamlin shares some key changes that could make racing at Richmond better

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday delivered both excitement and praise, with Austin Dillon taking the win and drivers hailing the on-track product. Three-time champion Joey Logano even labeled the venue as a racing purist’s favorite. However, Hamlin had other plans. Back in the studio, Denny Hamlin shared on Actions Detrimental how the event could have been better.

Hamlin suggested adding one more set of tires to give teams greater flexibility. He said, “I do think one more set would be the right number, just simply because then it would allow the field to have more options. Obviously, you would like to see the ability for them to pit once in Stage One, the option to pit twice or three times in the second stage, and then the option to pit twice or three times in the third stage. What that would do is create varying strategies. You would see tons of passes simply because I think the field, three-quarters would be on one strategy, a quarter would probably be on the other, and trying to figure out which is the right one.” 

Despite finishing 10th, Hamlin was highly satisfied with the race and praised Goodyear for providing tires that outperformed the usual short track compounds used on the next-gen car. He noted that in the season, drivers could make passes within 15 to 20 laps, compared to the 30 to 40 laps it took last year. Hamlin hopes that these tires will also be used in the upcoming Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.