NASCAR All-Star Race

The NASCAR All-Star race is a non-championship, all-star race held annually since 1985. For a majority of the history of the all-star race, the race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but has been changing venues since 2020. The 2026 race will be held at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware for the first time in the history of the race.

The first running of the race was held in 1985 at NASCAR's longest and fastest non-restrictor-plate superspeedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (briefly renamed Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999, before reverting to the original in 2009) and was run there every year until 2019, except in 1986 when it was run at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Michael Waltrip became the first driver to win the All-Star race after transferring in from a qualifying race in 1996. Until 2001, the rule restricted only champions of the past five All Star Challenge events, but in 2005, the rule became the winners in the past ten years of either the NASCAR Cup Series or the All-Star Race. For 2015, the full-time drivers who have won a NASCAR Cup Series or All-Star Race are now exempt, regardless of when they won the race. The All-Star Open (formerly the "Showdown" from 2008 to 2016; the Open name was also used under Winston and Nextel sponsorships) was restricted to the top 50 drivers in either the final standings of the previous year or current standings in the current year. From 2000 to 2002, and again starting in 2015, two qualifying races are implemented.

In 2004, Nextel, predecessor to Sprint, added a vote of race spectators, internet users and Sprint cellphone users to add one additional driver not in the field, but in the Showdown, and finishing on the lead lap, to the final starting field. For 2008, the event's name featured the use of the edition of the race in Roman numerals, with the 2008 race's official name being the "Sprint All-Star Race XXIV". Also, the fan entry driver was changed, with the new formula coming from those attending races up to that point, Sprint retail locations and double votes from Sprint subscribers. In 2014, the Showdown race was moved to the night preceding the All-Star Race. To replace the event, Charlotte Motor Speedway president, Marcus Smith announced that qualifying for the All-Star Race will take place shortly before the main event.

In 2020, the race was moved to Bristol Motor Speedway in July, as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Charlotte from accommodating fans. The venue changed again in 2021 to Texas Motor Speedway, which replaced its spring date with the All-Star Race. In 2023, during NASCAR's 75th anniversary season, the race moved once more to North Wilkesboro Speedway. In 2026, the race was moved to Dover Motor Speedway.

The twelve race winners from the 1984 season participated in the inaugural running of The Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race was 70 laps with one pit stop required. It was held the day before the Coca-Cola World 600. A $10,000 bonus was paid to the leader of Lap 20 for leading that lap. Terry Labonte won that bonus.

From its first year, the unique moniker "The Winston" was adopted by sponsor R. J. Reynolds. Rather than referring to the event as a traditional "All star" race, no generic reference was included in the title. Due to limitations on television tobacco advertising, other races which involved tobacco title sponsorship utilized generic names on network television. For example, on ABC, the Winston 500 was called the "Talladega 500" and the Marlboro 500 was called the "Michigan 500." Without a generic alternative, television and other media were forced to acknowledge Winston as the title sponsor, effectively skirting, and pushing the limits of tobacco advertising regulation. The event is however referred as "The All-Star" in NASCAR Thunder 2003 and NASCAR Thunder 2004, EA Sports' games based on the last seasons of Winston title sponsorship. By 2004, Nextel used the "All-Star" name in the event, which NASCAR has since adopted.

The race moved to Atlanta International Raceway in 1986, with a 200 kilometer format of 83 laps (126.326 miles) on Mother's Day, a day typically avoided on the NASCAR calendar. Like its previous counterpart, green flag pit stops were mandatory, and only winners from the 1985 season were eligible. Only nine different drivers won a race in 1985, so the highest placed non-winner in final 1985 points, Geoffrey Bodine, was added to the field for an even 10 cars. A 100-lap (152.2 miles) consolation race for the rest of the drivers, the Atlanta Invitational was held the same day. It featured only thirteen participants, and was won by Benny Parsons. A lackluster crowd of only 18,500 attended the second edition of The Winston, with only twenty-three cars racing in the two races combined.

The race returned to Charlotte with a new 135-lap (202.5 mile), three-segment format which reflected on NASCAR's short-track roots. A new date was introduced, the weekend before the Coca-Cola 600, which gave teams a popular two weeks of festivities, known locally and by both die-hard fans and teams as "The Two Weeks of Speed" at what is generally considered most teams' home track. Live national television coverage on ABC would also be featured for the first of four years. This format consisted of a 75-lap first segment, with a mandatory green flag pit stop, a 50-lap second segment, and a 10-green flag lap final sprint. Each segment would be separated by a ten-minute break.