By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Larson Chasing Fourth All-Star Track Victory

DOVER, Del. – Three-time NASCAR All-Star Race champion Kyle Larson has picked up where he left off when it comes to the $1 million-to-win fan favorite event. Out front.

DOVER, DELAWARE – MAY 15: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race – Pit Road Qualifying Entry/Exit practice at Dover Motor Speedway on May 15, 2026 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

The NASCAR Cup Series held the longest practice session of the season – 90 minutes – late Friday afternoon with the reigning series champ Larson pacing the session at the famous Dover Motor Speedway Monster Mile with a fast lap of 157.957 mph in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. 

A victory Sunday at Dover for Larson would give him wins at four different tracks adding to an All-Star resume that includes trophy hoists at Charlotte (2019), Texas (2021) and North Wilkesboro, N.C. (2023).

“All my all-star wins have come at different tracks,” Larson said. “I think just to add another track would mean just as much as adding another [win].

“Every weekend is fun. To me I don’t treat [the All-Star race] any different, you’re still trying to go out there and execute the practice, qualifying and race. It doesn’t pay any points, but we all want to win just as bad as a points race.

Adding with a smile, “To me, it doesn’t feel any different, just pays more.”

Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell was second fastest in practice with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and JGR’s Ty Gibbs rounding out the top-five. Defending All-Star race winner, JGR’s Christopher Bell was sixth fastest.

Of note, two-time series champion, Team Penske’s Joey Logano not only has a pair of All-Star race trophies but his work in this race, in particular, is stunning. His 5.80 average finish (in 15 starts) is tops all-time for the event – as are his 369 laps led and incredible 11-race streak of top-10 finishes. His No. 22 Team Penske Ford was 24th fastest in practice.

New Track, New Rules, Same Million-Dollar Stakes

Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin joins a group of NASCAR drivers that likes the idea of moving the sport’s All-Star race to different venues and keeping the rules fresh and exciting.

Sunday’s All-Star Race at the Dover Motor Speedway one-mile, high-banked concrete oval will be a first for the track and drivers seem open and eager to the new challenges this venue and format will produce.

This is the fifth different venue in the past seven years. And there have been only two repeat winners – Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson – in that time, proving what a competitive event the non-points race tends to be.

“It’s going to be a different challenge and certainly feel like there’s a lot of excitement around it,” said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and the 2015 All-Star winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I don’t think we’ve ever done any kind of invert or anything before. This is going to be different, and anytime you can adapt to something quicker than the next, there’s a sense of satisfaction there, but for us personally, it’s – can we get a grasp on kind of the new aerodynamic package, at tracks where we have went from one to the other this year, we haven’t been our best, I feel like.

“We think we’ve made some adjustments for that, and hopefully, we’ll learn something from those first two events at Darlington and Bristol, and we’re going to apply what we know here, and hopefully it’ll work.”

Keselowski Still Hunting Elusive All-Star Win

Brad Keselowski has been excellent in NASCAR’s annual All-Star race – whether on the traditional Charlotte 1.5-miler, or the half-mile Bristol, Tenn. high banks or even the North Wilkesboro, N.C. short track.

His three career runner-up finishes– just missing on the big check in 2012, 2016 and 2021 – joins retired NASCAR drivers Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader for most all-time for a driver without a win. His 183 career laps led is sixth most all-time.

Should the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion not claim the trophy Sunday in his 18th try, it would mark the most starts by a driver without a win.

Keselowski’s No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Mustang was ninth fastest in opening practice at Dover, where he won a regular season race in in 2012 and has finished top-10 (12 times) in nearly half his 27 NASCAR Cup Series starts. He also earned a 2009 victory in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race here. So he’s hoping the All-Star Dover debut may be just the answer.

“Last year [at North Wilkesboro] we sat on the pole and led a lot of the race and kind of became unglued there in the middle part, but that was really nice,” Keselowski said of his . “I feel like Charlotte and Bristol and Texas I’ve gotten second places but not the win. I’d like to change that. I’d like a million dollars.

“It’s one [race] that has kind of eluded me.”

Zilisch, Love Balance Friendship and Fierce Competition

Connor Zilisch’s win in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race last week on the famed Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course was a test of the 20-year old’s skill and resilience. It also provided a glimpse into his longtime friendship with driver Jesse Love, who Zilisch passed on the final lap to claim his third consecutive win at the famous venue.

While Zilisch was doing burnouts and making his way to a celebratory Victory Circle, an emotional and clearly-gutted Love climbed out of his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet the disappointment in losing that way, evident to all. And in the midst of it all, Zilisch’s mom Janice was the first to stop by Love’s car to console her son’s friend.

It was a reminder of the delicate balance between being fierce competitors and dear friends. A year ago as a series rookie, Zilisch won a record nine races and set modern day record with 18 consecutive top-five finishes – but it was Love who ultimately hoisted the championship trophy after beating Zilisch in the Phoenix season finale.

“I think it’d be different if I wrecked him, then I think it’d be a little tougher to have a conversation,’’ said Zilisch, now a rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series driving fulltime for Trackhouse Racing. “But, I did nothing wrong. So, yeah, we hung out on Monday and everything was normal. It’s kind of just something you’ve got to expect when you’re friends with the guy you’re racing against, is that you’re not going to be friends on the track, and you’ve just got to separate the two as best you can.

“It happens, right? That’s our sport. That’s part of it. We race each other hard on the weekend, but when it’s time to be friends away from the racetrack and put racing to the side, we’re able to do that.”