Is Dover losing its importance? Despite having a deep history with the sport going back to 1969, Dover was handed an All-Star race this year instead of a points one. And to add to that, the reception from the drivers about the 'All-Star feel at the track hasn't been the best. But the track's president is still optimistic about its future.

“We’ll have a race in 2027. We just don’t know if it’ll be an All-Star race. We’re going to see how this weekend goes,” said Mike Tatoian, Dover Motor Speedway Track President and General Manager.

“Where we’re located is important to the sport. Our place in the mid-Atlantic region is a pretty solid one, so we feel comfortable going forward,” he added.

Most of the renowned tracks, such as Talladega, Daytona, Indianapolis, Martinsville, Phoenix, among many others, have got their places in next year's calendar, but it's not the same for Dover, as yet.

Opened in 1969, the track has hosted almost every type of NASCAR race over the years. It has a concrete surface, four turns, and a 1-mile length, for which it is regarded as the fastest one-mile oval.

This year, the governing body will host the All-Star, a 350-mile race to be contested for 350-laps. The race will take place on Sunday, May 17, at 1 PM ET. While the future in NASCAR might be set for the race track, it failed to impress the top names in NASCAR due to its ordinary racing atmosphere.

Drivers call out lack of enthusiasm at Dover

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott, is far from excited with this weekend's NASCAR All-Star race at Dover. Speaking about how he did not find any excitement or buildup going into the race, the Hendrick Motorsports driver said,

"This feels like a normal weekend. It feels like a normal weekend. I would say this feels the least like an All-Star weekend that we’ve ever had in my career. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m not used to having an All-Star Race here, but this feels like an October weekend, almost, with the weather today being cooler and whatnot."

"It reminds me of the old fall weekend more than anything else. But yeah, I’m sure as we get closer to Sunday, it might feel a little bit more like an All-Star weekend, but right now, this feels like a totally normal Dover points race," Elliott further added.

Bubba Wallace shared a similar sentiment. "I woke up on Monday morning and was like, 'where are we racing at on Sunday' and was like 'oh yeah, Dover, All Star, and doesn't feel like All Star week so that sucks," Wallace said.

On the other hand, Hocevar feels all the drivers starting on green flag isn't that exciting to him. “It’ll feel good when those cars get eliminated at least and everything, and we get to stay out there.”

And Hamlin is with him on this. “My knee-jerk (reaction) when I saw it was if we’re all going to be racing on Sunday, is it really that special?” said Hamlin. “So, I think it does take away a little bit. Surely it does.”

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason