NASCAR’s All-Star Race, originally started in 1985 to honor recent champions of the All-Star Challenge, has undergone several shifts over the decades. Once a showcase for the sport’s elite, it has increasingly leaned into spectacle over substance, relying more on fan votes and entertainment gimmicks than competitive merit — an approach that hasn’t sat well with fans or drivers in recent years.
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In response, NASCAR introduced a new slate of changes this season, though the reception has been lukewarm at best. Dale Earnhardt Jr., however, believes he has a better answer.
This year’s marquee adjustment is the addition of a Manufacturer Showdown, aimed at guaranteeing fair representation for Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota in the main event.
NASCAR also stretched the race length to 250 laps — 50 more than last year — and added a competition break near lap 100, along with a mandatory Promoter’s Caution before lap 220.
Changes also reached the qualifying format, where the Open qualifying session and Pit Crew Challenge have been overhauled, with pit stop times once again playing a key role in advancement. The tweaks attempt to breathe life into a format often criticized for lacking the intensity and strategic nuance of a points-paying race.
But now as per Dale Jr., if NASCAR takes his suggestion, NASCAR could bring some excitement into the All-Star Race by sidelining the Next Gen cars for the weekend and replacing them with more affordable options — such as Late Model stock cars — while bringing back veteran drivers like himself and Kevin Harvick for a true exhibition-style showdown. As he put it:
“I wish Harvick and all these other drivers could come back and run it. The way for that to happen and that’s not that would be more financially reasonable is to run a cheaper car. And so, there’s all kinds of different options for that, but I think the late model stock is not a terrible idea.”
“This is way out there in left field, never going to happen… You could basically just leave the next gen at house. Everybody shows up and we race late-model stock cars,” Dale Jr. added.
He proposed that Goodyear could restart production of its old bias ply short-track tires to support the event. While Dale Jr. acknowledged potential logistical hurdles, Junior added that teams without a Late Model entry could rent one and field it for under $50,000.
Though the concept might turn heads and rekindle fan enthusiasm by reuniting beloved names on the track, NASCAR these days appears focused on pushing forward, targeting younger audiences who might be more drawn to rising stars than legacy acts.
