Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
DOVER, Del.—For the second time in his celebrated career, Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race from pole position – making the pass for victory over his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe with 29 laps remaining to claim the winner’s $1 million check.
Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota went on to win by a .887-second margin over Briscoe’s No. 19 JGR Toyota prevailing in the 200-lap final segment of competition in the three-phase non-points race taking place for the first time ever at the Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway’s famous one-mile concrete track.
Just finishing the third and final phase of this race was essentially an accomplishment for many of the sport’s best. A pair of nine-car accidents bookended the first of two 75-lap stages and either eliminated or badly handicapped perennial favorites such as past All-Star winners Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney.
Toyota drivers Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, who drive for the 23XI Racing team Hamlin co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan, each won one of the opening two stages. And ultimately it came down to another three Toyotas to settle the popular “main event” in front of a packed house at the venerable Dover “Monster Mile” on a steamy Sunday afternoon.
“Makes it a lot easier when you have a car this fast,” said Hamlin, who at 45 years old is the second oldest driver to claim a trophy in the annual All-Star race. “Hats off to this whole [sponsor] Progressive team.
“We strive to be number one and we did it today,” he said, adding, “I just knew the game-changer for us was long runs and obviously the ability to pass when behind someone.”
Of the $1 million prize, Hamlin smiled and did not hesitate to say, “I’ll probably give it to mama.” – an especially moving gesture considering he lost his father in December in a fire that destroyed his parents’ home.
Hamlin (103) and Briscoe (61) combined to lead all but 36 laps of the final stage and the runner-up showing for Briscoe was a career best in the All-Star Race.
It was obviously a really fast car and just proud of our group,” Briscoe said. “I knocked the wall down in practice and we basically rebuilt the whole car. So, for them to be able to get the car back to where it’s competitive says a lot about the guys. It was a good day.
“Wish it were a points race because we definitely need the points. But it was a hard-fought day,” added Briscoe, who said he’d been battling a stomach bug all weekend.
“Had a shot there at the end for a million bucks and you can’t ask for anything more.”
Erik Jones rallied to a third-place finish in the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota – his best showing of the season – followed by the Chevrolets of Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Trackhouse Racing rookie Connor Zilisch, who both also turned in their best finishes of the year.
It was an especially impressive day for the 19-year old fan-favorite Zilisch, who absolutely dominated the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series last year winning 10 times, but has endured some expected growing pains in his move up to the premier NASCAR Cup Series this year.
His fifth-place finish proved a remarkable comeback Sunday considering he received a pit road penalty after exiting the pits in second-place near the race’s midpoint. He steadily rallied back from the penalty – moving into the top-10 with 20 laps remaining and then into the that fifth-place showing by the checkered flag.
“It would have taken a lot to beat the 11 [Hamlin] and 19 [Briscoe]; they were both really good,” Zilisch said. “Regardless, it was a really good day for Trackhouse and this 88 team. We needed a day like this where we had contending speed. It’s been a long year and moments of hope like this certainly feel good.
“It was cool to be on offense for once, have good restarts and not feel like a fish out of water,” he added.
Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, Spire Motorsports Michael McDowell, Hendrick Motorsport’s Alex Bowman and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10. It was a notable comeback performance for the former series champion Keselowski, who started alongside Hamlin on the front row, but was collected in a multi-car accident in the second 75-lap segment.
Hamlin’s victory was his second in 20 All-Star starts and he becomes the third driver in NASCAR history to win the race at multiple tracks after claiming his first trophy at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2015.
The NASCAR Cup Series championship resumes next week in annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain is the defending race winner.
Race Results for the NASCAR All-Star Race - Sunday, May 17, 2026
Dover Motor Speedway - Dover, DE - 1. - Mile Concrete
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 200. Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 5/17/2026 @ 05:09 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Status Tms Laps
1 1 11 Denny Hamlin Progressive Insurance Toyota 200 0 Running 5 103
2 2 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 200 0 Running 2 61
3 7 43 Erik Jones AdventHealth Toyota 200 0 Running
4 11 3 Austin Dillon BREZTRI Chevrolet 200 0 Running 1 1
5 5 88 Connor Zilisch # Jockey 150th Anniversary Chevrolet 200 0 Running 1 1
6 6 2 Austin Cindric Freightliner Ford 200 0 Running
7 4 24 William Byron Axalta Solar Boost Chevrolet 200 0 Running
8 9 71 Michael McDowell RCA Chevrolet 200 0 Running
9 10 48 Alex Bowman Ally Dragons Chevrolet 200 0 Running
10 15 6 Brad Keselowski Solomon Plumbing Ford 200 0 Running
11 14 4 Noah Gragson MillerTech Batteries Ford 200 0 Running
12 20 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 200 0 Running
13 24 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Wrangler Ford 200 0 Running
14 17 77 Carson Hocevar Miner Docks Doors and More Chevrolet 199 0 Running
15 13 10 Ty Dillon Patriot Mobile Chevrolet 198 0 Running
16 16 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. NOS Energy Chevrolet 198 0 Running
17 23 8 Kyle Busch Lucas Oil Chevrolet 198 0 Running
18 19 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 197 0 Running
19 21 97 Shane Van Gisbergen SafetyCulture Chevrolet 197 0 Running
20 12 23 Bubba Wallace Xfinity Toyota 196 0 Running
21 26 7 Daniel Suarez Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation Chevrolet 196 0 Running
22 3 45 Tyler Reddick ACM Awards/Pinnacle Toyota 168 0 Steering 1 34
23 22 20 Christopher Bell Mobil 1 Toyota 164 0 Handling
24 18 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 138 0 Suspension
25 8 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 137 0 Accident
26 25 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 134 0 Accident
,Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 33 Mins, 51 Secs. Average Speed: 127.864 MPH Margin of Victory: .887 Seconds
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Race Comments: Denny Hamlin has won the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway, his second victory in the NASCAR Cup Series annual exhibition event. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty in Segment 1: No. 7 (Backup car), Nos. 16, 41, 51 (Unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: (10) 1 Ross Chastain, 38 Zane Smith, 35 Riley Herbst, 51 Cody Ware, 17 Chris Buescher, 42 John Hunter Nemechek, 9 Chase Elliott, 34 Todd Gilliland, 60 Ryan Preece, 41 Cole Custer.
Caution Flags: 2 for 14 laps; Laps: 77-81 (All-Star Caution [23]); 140-148 (#22 Incident Turn 1 [None]).
Lead Changes: 9 among 5 drivers; D. Hamlin 1; C. Briscoe 2-40; T. Reddick 41-74; D. Hamlin 75-77; C. Zilisch # 78; D. Hamlin 79-144; A. Dillon 145; D. Hamlin 146-148; C. Briscoe 149-170; D. Hamlin 171-200.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: May 24, 2026 - Charlotte Motor Speedway
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