Denny Hamlin says NASCAR All-Star Race format 'stinks' despite $1 million victory

Denny Hamlin might have won the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, but he says that the new format 'stinks' and that changes must be made moving forward.

Hamlin emerged victorious from the 350-lap event at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday, bagging himself the $1 million prize money in the process in what was a totally new-look All-Star event.

As well as changing venue from North Wilkesboro Speedway to Dover, the format of the All-Star Race was also massively tweaked for this year's action.

In previous years, there were strict criteria for qualifying for the race, including being a recent race winner, a former champion, a former All-Star winner, winning the fan vote, or finishing inside the top two in the All-Star Open.

However, the All-Star Open was scrapped for 2026, with all Cup Series cars starting the event, and the field was then inverted and cut at various stages, with the 'All-Stars' already locked in to the final 200 laps.

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Denny Hamlin on NASCAR All-Star format changes

If we're being totally honest, it was all a bit confusing, and it certainly didn't help that there were several big wrecks during the race, which saw some of the All-Star drivers miss large portions of the event. For that reason, Hamlin said post-race that the new format 'stinks', with his comments also capturing the confusion around the race perfectly.

Asked if the previous format and All-Star Open should return for 2027, Hamlin told the media: "Truthfully, I couldn’t tell, did the All-Star Race start at lap zero or did it start at lap 150, the official All-Star Race?"

After being told zero, Hamlin continued: "See, there you go. I don’t think so. You’re only going to have 25 cars. When y’all print off a sheet, is it going to have 36 cars, or is it going to have 26?"

"I think we should know when the All-Star Race starts. Let’s start there first," Hamlin added.

"It stinks, right? Yes, of course. First thing is, let’s give Dover their points race back, and then let’s figure out where we’re going to go, and then figure out the format. Let’s start there."

Denny Hamlin wants All-Star Race at night

Hamlin continued further, calling for the All-Star Race to take place at night, under the floodlights.

"I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like an All-Star Race should be at night," he explained.

"I don’t even care where it is. Night was always something that was always…I’m not trying to throw mud. They did as good as they possibly could given where they put this track in the schedule and whatnot. But at night somewhere.

"I definitely prefer Dover as a points race. There’s no other track like this on our schedule. It is so unique, and it requires such a unique style of driving, far different from any oval we go to that you can’t lose tracks like this in our points schedule. I just think it’s too valuable. The fans really, really are passionate here. I’m a fan of this place."