- Hamlin and teammate Chase Briscoe battled intensely in the final 200 laps, with Hamlin ultimately pulling away in the closing stages.
- This victory marked Hamlin’s second All-Star Race win and his first since 2015, making him one of only three drivers to win at multiple tracks.
- A major crash early in the race involved Ryan Preece and several other drivers, setting a chaotic tone for the event.
DOVER, Del. (May 17, 2026) – Denny Hamlin added another chapter to his legendary NASCAR Cup Series career Sunday afternoon, surviving a chaotic and dramatic NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway to claim the $1 million prize in impressive fashion.
Hamlin battled Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe throughout the closing laps of the 350-lap event, with the two repeatedly swapping the lead during the final 200-lap segment before Hamlin ultimately pulled away in the closing laps at The Monster Mile.
The victory marked Hamlin’s second career NASCAR All-Star Race win and his first since 2015 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It also made him just the 10th driver to win multiple All-Star Races and only the third driver to win the event at multiple tracks, joining Kyle Larson and Joey Logano.
The race itself was pure excitement from start to finish on The World’s Fastest One-Mile Oval, where Miles the Monster was hungry all afternoon long.
On just the second lap, a major crash erupted on the frontstretch involving Ryan Preece, whose car became engulfed in flames following heavy contact with the Turn 1 outside wall. Cole Custer, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and several others were also collected in the incident, immediately setting the tone for a wild afternoon.
Drivers fought slick conditions throughout the race as the combination of resin in the corners and the 750-horsepower package created multiple racing grooves and more opportunity for contact.
Despite the constant action and cautions, the race eventually settled into a thrilling duel between Hamlin and Briscoe in the closing laps.
“I mean, I liked it,” Hamlin said of battling through traffic and the All-Star Race format. “It challenged us to have to go through traffic. Otherwise, I mean, you could go out there, and you could lead a bunch of laps. I definitely like the invert. Obviously, it caused some chaos there, took out some good cars.”
Briscoe took the lead away from Hamlin on the final restart of the afternoon, but Hamlin was too strong on the long run. He then rocketed by Briscoe and didn’t look back.
“Every time I got the lead, I was so loose and killed my right rear,” Briscoe said after finishing second. “I couldn’t guard against it. I thought we were close; just needed a little bit more. I kind of caught him near the end for a second. I just started trying stuff to see if I could find something. Just couldn’t quite get him.”
Briscoe said the race around Dover’s concrete surface was one of the most enjoyable events he’s competed in this season.
“I felt like I was running the Coke 600 a week early, it was a long race,” Briscoe said. “It was definitely chaotic, but I enjoyed it, it was fun. I thought the resin was unbelievable. We were able to move all over the place. Yeah, I had a lot of fun.”
Briscoe’s runner-up finish came after his team rebuilt much of the car following an incident in Friday’s practice.
“It was obviously a really fast car,” Briscoe said. “I’m just proud of our group. I knocked the wall down in practice. We basically rebuilt the whole car. So, for them to be able to get the car back to where it’s competitive, it says a lot about the guys.
Connor Zilisch finished an impressive fifth to earn the highest-finishing rookie honors.
The victory also marked Joe Gibbs Racing’s fourth NASCAR All-Star Race win and tied Hamlin with Kevin Harvick and Terry Labonte for the longest gap between All-Star Race victories at 11 years.
When asked what he planned to do with the $1 million prize, Hamlin smiled.
“Probably give it to mama.”
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