Memorable moments from All-Star Race

Denny Hamlin won the first-ever All-Star Race held at Dover Motor Speedway, showing off his talent by not only leading but also working through the field.  

Relive some of the most memorable moments from the traditional midseason event, which began in 1985. 

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May 25, 1985: Darrell Waltrip won the inaugural All-Star Race (originally named The Winston) at Charlotte Motor Speedway, driving the No. 11 Chevrolet for fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson. This win was a close call for Waltrip, who saw his engine expire moments after taking the checkered flag.

May 11, 1986: The All-Star Race was only held at Atlanta Motor Speedway once and hometown hero Dawsonville's Bill Elliott ended up in Victory Lane.

May 17, 1987: With eight laps remaining, Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott were battling hard for the lead. Earnhardt got sideways across Elliott's nose and maintained the lead, despite driving through the grass. This move became known as "The Pass in the Grass." Earnhardt went on to win the All-Star Race.

May 21, 1989: With a big sum of money on the line, Rusty Wallace knocked Darrell Waltrip out of the way to win the All-Star Race. Waltrip famously responded by saying, "I hope he chokes on the $200,000."

May 16, 1992: For the first time in history, the All-Star Race was held under the lights. Dale Earnhardt spun out of the lead as Kyle Petty and Davey Allison went on to fight for the win. In a close finish, Allison went hard into the outside wall on the frontstretch. Despite a torn up car and getting knocked unconscious, Allison was declared the race winner on "One Hot Night."

May 11, 1996: Entering the All-Star Race without a win in a points-paying Cup Series race, Michael Waltrip earned a surprise victory for Wood Brothers Racing in the exhibition race.

May 17, 1997: Crew chief Ray Evernham brought a special No. 24 car to Charlotte for Jeff Gordon dubbed as the "T-Rex." The Jurassic Park-themed ride won every segment, including the All-Star Race, in its one-off appearance.

May 20, 2000: With two laps to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed Dale Jarrett to win the All-Star Race, becoming the first driver to win the event as a rookie.

May 19, 2001: The All-Star Race got off to a wet start when rain caused multiple drivers to crash in Turn 1 on the first lap. Being an exhibition race, NASCAR decided to let teams with wrecked cars continue racing with backup cars. Jeff Gordon ended up winning the race in a backup car.

May 19, 2007: In a controversial clash between brothers, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch crashed out of the All-Star Race together. This left the siblings with bent fenders and hurt feelings.

May 17, 2008: Kasey Kahne made history by becoming the first driver to win the All-Star Race after receiving the Fan Vote.

May 16, 2009: For the first time as a team owner and driver, Tony Stewart delivered Stewart-Haas Racing its first win in the All-Star Race.

May 22, 2010: Kyle Busch tried passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, who put Busch into the wall after blocking his run on the outside. With his chances of winning the All-Star Race ruined, Busch went to Hamlin's hauler post-race to confront his teammate.

May 21, 2011: After winning the All-Star Race, Carl Edwards celebrated with a burnout in the frontstretch grass. The No. 99 Ford suffered heavy damage to the front during the celebration, but Edwards still took home the $1 million grand prize.

May 18, 2019: Ending a 32-year run dating back to 1987, Kyle Larson won the final All-Star Race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

May 18, 2019: On the cool down lap, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman traded paint on track, then fists on pit road with Bowyer punching Newman several times.

July 15, 2020: In Bristol Motor Speedway's only time hosting the All-Star Race, Chase Elliott took the checkered flag. On this night, the Cup Series debuted a different number placement and underglow lighting.

May 21, 2023: In the first Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996, Kyle Larson dominated the All-Star Race, leading 145 of 200 laps. In front of a sellout crowd, NASCAR's long-awaited return to Wilkes County had a strong smell of nostalgia in the air.

May 19, 2024: Dominance was one way to put it for Joey Logano. After all, the No. 22 Ford led 199 of the 200 scheduled circuits around the cherished North Wilkesboro Speedway to win claim his second career All-Star Race check. Fireworks between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch only added to the action-packed weekend. 

May 18, 2025: In a 250-lap thriller that saw a record 18 lead changes and two championship contenders duking it out for the lead late, there was nothing else you could've asked for under the lights at North Wilkesboro. Christopher Bell emerged victorious after trading paint with defending series champ and last year's winner of the All-Star Race Joey Logano to claim his first $1 million prize in the non-points event.  

May 17, 2026: In a format that demanded every skill, Denny Hamlin delivered. He led from the pole in the opening 75-lap segment despite two multicar wrecks. He then charged from deep in the field in Segment 2, where the top 26 were inverted, to finish third after another 75 laps. In the final 200 laps, Hamlin again controlled the race from pole, leading 103 laps to tame the "Monster Mile" and celebrate his second All-Star win with a pair of burnouts. When asked what he'd do with the $1 million, Hamlin said he'd buy a house for his mom.