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The NASCAR All-Star Race fan voting is heating up ahead of Dover.

The NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race fan voting is heating up days before Sunday’s green flag drops at the Dover Motor Speedway. Each year, one lucky driver is granted a spot in the All-Star Race field thanks to the support of the fans.

Right now, five drivers are in contention to win the All-Star Race fan vote. If the winner is unable to race their way into the All-Star Race in the first two 75-lap segments of Sunday’s race, they earn a spot in the final 200-lap segment based on the fan vote. 

Alex Bowman leads fan voting ahead of NASCAR All-Star Race

NASCAR’s social media posted the updated rankings of the All-Star Race fan vote on Tuesday morning. Based on the post, Alex Bowman is the frontrunner to lock himself into the field with the fan vote.

Bowman has failed to win a Cup Series race since the Chicago street race in 2024. Because a driver needs a win in 2025 or 2026 to clinch an All-Star Race spot, Bowman is not locked into the field.

However, even if he wins the fan vote, the driver of the No. 48 can still race his way into the All-Star Race based on his finishing positions in the opening two segments of the race. 

This year, every driver starts the All-Star Race and races the first two 75-lap segments. At the end of the segments, the field is cut down to 26 drivers for the final 200-lap segments. Winners from 2025 and 2026, past Cup champions, and the fan vote winner are all locked in.

The rest of the field is determined by whoever has the lowest combined finishing positions in the first two stages. If Bowman is able to be one of those drivers who locks himself into the field based on positions, he will not have to rely on the fan vote.

That means whoever had the second-most votes gets into the field. As of now, Chris Buescher sits in second in the polls. Third is Noah Gragson, followed by Ryan Preece in fourth, and Connor Zilisch in fifth.

Voting for the All-Star Race fan voting period closes at 9 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday. Fans must be 18 years or older to vote and can vote up to five times daily. 

History of the NASCAR All-Star Race fan vote

There are often many twists and turns NASCAR adds to the All-Star Race every year. One of the unique ones has been the fan vote, which gives the fans an opportunity to choose who they want to see in the All-Star Race field.

The fan vote was first introduced in 2004, with Ken Schrader being the inaugural winner of the award. Seventeen different drivers have won the All-Star Race fan vote, with Chase Elliott and Noah Gragson holding the most fan vote awards with three apiece.

In the two-plus decades of the fan vote, only one driver has taken full opportunity of the position. In 2008, Kasey Kahne won the All-Star Race after securing a spot in the field from the fan vote.