Kevin Harvick Bets on Denny Hamlin to Win $1 Million NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover

The NASCAR Cup Garage is at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend for the 2026 All-Star race and everyone is determined to fight hard for the $1 million payday. After 11 races in the season the big-3 (JGR, HMS and Penske) alongside 23XI Racing have been the teams to beat and it they will be the top contenders on Sunday.

2014 Champion Kevin Harvick predicted on his Happy Hour podcast Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin will most probably come out victorious. His co-host Kaitlyn Vincie also had similar feelings about the veteran as with an average finish of P9, he is one the best in Next-Gen era at Dover (two of his three wins came post-2022. He also has a strong All-Star race career with one win and seven top-5s from 19 starts.

KH: I’m going to take Denny Hamlin.

KV: I had that name also written down… That’s funny. I was trying to debate between the two.

Kevin Harvick and Kaitlyn Vincie said.

Though Vincie had Denny Hamlin in her list of potential winners like Kevin Harvick, she went for Team Penske Racing’s Ryan Blaney. He like the JGR driver has won one race in 2026 as well as in his $1 million rewarding race. The only drawback is the fact that he has never won at Dover (nine starts) and only has the career average of P15.

Ryan Blaney, that’s my choice for the All-Star win. I did some research on this and there’s a reason behind it. He’s been decent.

Kaitlyn Vincie asserted earlier on the Happy Hour podcast.

Kevin Harvick’s co-host Mamba Smith has a bold prediction

The other host of the show, Mamba Smith went for 23XI Racing star driver Bubba Wallace, despite the fact he has been winless in 2026. He argued that it being one of the No:23 drivers and Toyota’s favorite tracks give him a solid shot

I’m going to go Bubba Wallace. This is one of his favorite tracks, one of his better tracks. Toyotas, I just feel like it’s on. I’m going with Bubba. They really, it would be a real good shot in the arm for them.

Mamba Smith said.

It is a bold choice considering he has never finished inside the top-10 at the track, as his best finish was the P11 from 2021. His All-Star race performance though has been better, as he has secured P2 in the 2023 edition of the event.

Also Read: Kyle Larson Confesses His Days of Attempting the Indy 500-Coke 600 Double “Are Over”