NASCAR Trivia All-Star Edition
by Tom Jensen May 15, 2026
NASCAR Hall of Fame owners and drivers have stepped their collective games up in the sport’s annual All-Star race.
It’s time for NASCAR greatest drivers, crew chiefs and teams to shine once again and maybe take home $1 million in the process.
On May 17, Dover Motor Speedway will host the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race for the first time in the 42-year history of the event.
Dover becomes the sixth different track to host the annual non-points race, joining Charlotte Motor Speedway (1985, 1987-2019); Atlanta Motor Speedway (1986); Bristol Motor Speedway (2020); Texas Motor Speedway (2021-22); and North Wilkesboro Speedway (2023-2025).
With the winner earning $1 million, this is always one of the most talked-about races of the year.
It’s also a great time to trot out some All-Star trivia, so here are 10 fun facts about the history of the race.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. founder and owner Dale Earnhardt (right) was a proud papa when his son and team driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the 2000 NASCAR All-Star Race, then known as “The Winston.” NASCAR Permanent Collection, gift of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
Hall of Fame Owners
To date, there have been 41 All-Star races, the first coming in 1985. In 36 of the 41 prior races, the winning car owner or co-owner has been a NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. The only exceptions were Harry Melling (Bill Elliott, 1986), Blue Max Racing (Rusty Wallace, 1989); Geoff Bodine (1994); and Chip Ganassi (Jamie McMurray, 2014, and Kyle Larson, 2019).
Team owner Rick Hendrick (left) and driver Jimmie Johnson are the most successful pairing in the 41-year history of the NASCAR All-Star Race. Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR
Leaders of the Pack
It should come as no surprise that the most successful owner and driver in All-Star history are both NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees from the same organization. Rick Hendrick (Class of 2017) leads all owners with 11 All-Star race wins, including four from Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson (Class of 2024). A record five drivers have won All-Star races with the team. In addition to Johnson, Jeff Gordon has three All-Star victories, two of Kyle Larson’s three All-Star wins have come with Hendrick and Terry Labonte (Class of 2016) and Chase Elliott are also All-Star winners with Hendrick.
Team Penske driver Joey Logano (left) has delivered two of team owner Roger Penske’s five NASCAR All-Star Race victories. Photo courtesy of Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
The Penske Way
Another Hall of Fame team owner with tremendous All-Star success is Roger Penske (Class of 2019), who has won the event five times with four different drivers: Ryan Newman (2002); Kurt Busch (2010); Joey Logano (2016 and 2024); and Ryan Blaney (2022).
After Wood Brothers Racing driver Michael Waltrip (left) scored an upset victory in the 1996 NASCAR All-Star Race, brother Darrell Waltrip hugged it out with him in Victory Lane. Photo courtesy of Dozier Mobley/Getty Images
Brother Act
Two pairs of brothers have won All-Star Races: Darrell Waltrip (Class of 2012) won driving for Junior Johnson (Class of 2010) in 1985, while brother Michael Waltrip won in 1996 when driving for Wood Brothers Racing, the team founded by Glenn Wood (Class of 2012) with Leonard Wood (Class of 2013) serving as the team’s longtime mechanical mastermind.
While driving for team owner Roger Penske (Class of 2019), Kurt Busch (Class of 2026) won the 2010 All-Star race. In 2017, Kyle Busch piloted a Joe Gibbs-owned (Class of 2020) Toyota to victory,
Chase Elliott (left) won the NASCAR All-Star Race 34 years after his father, Bill Elliott, won it in 1986. Photo courtesy of Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Fathers and Sons
Dale Earnhardt (Class of 2010) won the All-Star race three times as a driver in 1987, 1990 and 1993. His son Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Class of 2021) won it as a rookie in 2000. That was the only All-Star Race where a father owned the winning car that was driven by his son.
Also, Bill Elliott (Class of 2015) won the second All-Star Race in 1986, while his son Chase won in 2020.
In the 2018 NASCAR All-Star Race, driver Kevin Harvick claimed his second victory in the sport’s annual $1 million-to-win event. Photo courtesy of Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Doubling Up
Three drivers have won the All-Star Race for two different team owners: Terry Labonte (Class of 2016) won driving for Junior Johnson (Class of 2010) in 1988 and Rick Hendrick (Class of 2017) in 1999.
Kevin Harvick won for Richard Childress (Class of 2017) in 2007 and Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart (Class of 2020) in 2018.
Kyle Larson won with Chip Ganassi in 2019 and with Hendrick in 2021 and 2023.
At Dover Motor Speedway, driver Kyle Larson will be going for his record-tying fourth NASCAR All-Star Race victory. Photo courtesy of Chris Graythen/Getty Images
The Long and Short of it
The longest of the 41 previous All-Star races took place at Texas Motor Speedway in 2022, when Ryan Blaney won the 125-lap, 187.5-mile race.
Chase Elliott won the shortest All-Star Race, covering just 74.62 miles in a 140-lap event at the 0.533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020.
Chip Ganassi (left) was all smiles when his driver Jamie McMurray won the 2014 NASCAR All-Star Race. Photo courtesy of Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Not in the Club Yet
Nine NASCAR Cup Series team owners have more than one All-Star race win to their credit. The only one of the nine not inducted yet into the NASCAR Hall of Fame is Chip Ganassi. In this century, Ganassi is the only non-Hall of Fame owner to win the All-Star race.
Davey Allison scored a spectacular victory in the 1992 All-Star Race, crashing at the checkered flag just ahead of Kyle Petty. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
Repeat Winners
In 1992, Davey Allison (Class of 2019) became the first of only two drivers to win consecutive All-Star Races, winning the famous “One Hot Night” race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the first night race at a 1.5-mile track. The other repeat winner was Jimmie Johnson in 2011-12.
The first driver to win $1 million in NASCAR’s All-Star Race was Jimmie Johnson in 2003. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
Show Me the Money
Darrell Waltrip‘s 1985 victory in the inaugural running of “The Winston,” NASCAR’s Cup Series All-Star race, paid a cool $200,000, big money in those days. But the event gained big attention in 2003, when the purse crossed the $1 million mark for the first time, with Jimmie Johnson earning $1,017,604 for himself and his Hendrick Motorsports team.
Plan your visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and purchase tickets by visiting nascarhall.com/tickets.
