Report: NASCAR Mulling Dover as 2026 All-Star Race Venue

As the wait for the official 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is nearing its end, details continue to trickle out about next year's potential changes through various reports. The latest potential change to the 2026 schedule is a doozy.

According to a report from The Athletic's Jordan Bianchi, which cites several sources, NASCAR is considering Dover Motor Speedway as the latest venue to host the NASCAR All-Star Race next season. Under the proposed change, North Wilkesboro Speedway, which has hosted the last three editions of the NASCAR All-Star Races, would be elevated to a regular-season points-paying race in 2026.

This would mark the first points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event at the legendary North Wilkesboro Speedway since the 1996 season.

Since the report from The Athletic surfaced, which cautioned that no final decision has been made in regard to the 2026 All-Star Race venue, fans have begun to voice outrage about Dover being the potential All-Star Race venue on social media.

Some Northeastern-based fans are unhappy that Dover Motor Speedway, which has been reduced to one race on the schedule from two annual events in recent years, would now just host an exhibition event in 2026 under this proposal.

Additionally, some fans have expressed frustration with the fact that Dover Motor Speedway, which doesn't have the ability to have lights, would have to host a daytime edition of the All-Star Race. Also, there is the point of Dover Motor Speedway not producing the best racing product with the Next Gen car, which would conceivably produce an even more lackluster event with roughly half of a normal car count being on the track in the All-Star Race format.

Potentially making Dover Motor Speedway the venue for the 2026 NASCAR All-Star Race is a head-scratching idea, but with how the NASCAR All-Star Race played out at North Wilkesboro Speedway earlier this year, the track certainly proved it is worthy of hosting a points-paying event.

In a schedule filled with short track events that are producing underwhelming races, for whatever reason, the Next Gen car showed the ability to put on a good show at the 0.625-mile short track in Wilkes County, North Carolina.

Will North Wilkesboro's first points-paying event since the 1996 season come at the expense of Dover Motor Speedway's annual points-paying race? Or will NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports choose another venue to swap the $1 million exhibition event to? We'll find out shortly with the official release of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.