Richard Petty was Not Impressed With NASCAR’s All-Star Race

What’s Happening?

Richard Petty made no attempt to hide his real thoughts on the All-Star Race at Dover, saying that while Dover may have delivered one of the wildest races of the season so far, the race did not feel like the major event it should be.

Entering this past weekend’s first-ever NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover, drivers and fans had already voiced concerns throughout the weekend, saying the event did not carry the typical big-game feel of an All-Star Race.

During the latest episode of the Petty Race Recap, NASCAR legend Richard Petty joined in on this take, saying, “It couldn’t be an All-Star [Race] because they eliminated so many of the stars on, what, third lap? Looked like a bunch of amateurs to begin with.”

Later on in the episode, Petty tacked on that he was not impressed by the event itself, as it looked more like a regular points race than a specialty event.

“To me, it just didn’t seem like an All-Star Race. It was just another race that they just went at it a little bit different. . . Even when they announced the All-Star Race being Dover, I don’t think anybody really got that excited. I guess all in all, they needed to probably take it back to Charlotte and just let it go from there,” — Richard Petty

The Fall Out of Dover’s All-Star Debut

According to drivers, analysts, and fans across platforms such as the r/NASCAR Subreddit and X, several structural and environmental changes stripped the event of the identity that usually separates an All-Star weekend from the standard schedule.

Traditionally, NASCAR All-Star Races are built around short bursts of aggressive, no-consequences racing.

Instead, the 2026 edition stretched across 350 miles and laps, leaving it only 50 laps shy of a standard points-paying Dover race. During a post-race interview, Chase Briscoe remarked that the event felt less like a sprint and more like surviving the Coca-Cola 600 or the Southern 500.

Another issue centered around timing and atmosphere.

For more than three decades, the All-Star Race was connected to Saturday night racing under the lights. Dover, however, lacks a lighting system. As a result, the race shifted to a Sunday afternoon slot at 1:00 PM ET, draining much of the atmosphere that normally hooks the fans to the event.

The removal of the “Open” race also became a sticking point.

For years, the preliminary event allowed drivers who had not locked themselves into the field to race their way into the main show, creating desperation, urgency, and storylines before the feature even began. This time, all 36 cars took the green flag together, wiping away one of the weekend’s core methods of funneling out the true “All-Stars.”

Besides that, the segment structure also left fans and teams trying to untangle the format on the fly.

Cars damaged in Segment 1 were allowed to repair their machines and return for the final 200-lap portion, which created confusion over which “Open” drivers had actually advanced into the deciding stretch of the event.

Even Denny Hamlin, who walked away with the $1 million prize, joined the growing chorus calling on NASCAR to restore Dover’s points-paying race and locate another venue capable of bringing back the identity and atmosphere of a traditional All-Star weekend. He even suggested going to Nashville Fairgrounds for the next All-Star race.

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