"A bit challenging": Denny Hamlin confronts the future of the NASCAR All-Star race

Denny Hamlin recently commented on the current state of the All-Star race and what NASCAR should do going forward. The All-Star race is an annual exhibition race that rewards the winner with a prize money of $1 million. The event has been a staple of the calendar since 1985.

Ahead of this Sunday's All-Star race, the 2015 winner of the race, Denny Hamlin, was asked whether NASCAR now needs to 'reimagine' the event for the future. Hamlin said:

"I don't know how we stack up to other sports as far as, how does their All-Star weekends from a ratings perspective equal to what a regular season game is. I feel like ours is pretty much the same. It's a normal race weekend. Certainly the purse could get updated with the times. And if you don't win it, it really financially is not a great deal for us to come here. So it's a bit challenging as far as that's concerned." [5:10]

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver said that NASCAR is at an advantage compared to any sport which can get the maximum out of its players and teams in an All-Star format. Hamlin claimed it's because the aspect of the athlete getting injured isn't a problem NASCAR drivers have.

"We're going to put it all on the line for this specific moment. We're doing it, we might make some silly moves on the track, but we're not moving, you know, taking our intensity from 100 to 80 because we're fearing injury," he mentioned.

Denny Hamlin further said that if there's one sport which can make an All-Star weekend, it is NASCAR which has 'the best chance.'

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Denny Hamlin weighs in on why NASCAR hasn't increased the prize money of the All-Star race

During the media availability session at the All-Star weekend in North Wilkesboro, Denny Hamlin was asked about his take regarding the purse. The prize money for the race is currently $1 million, the same it has been for over two decades.

It's worth mentioning that the NBA's All-Star game awards a prize money of $1.8 million.

As Denny Hamlin was asked whether he has raised the subject of prize money in the All-Star race, he said that it 'just doesn't make sense.'

"I don't know. It's probably a NASCAR and SMI thing. I'm really not sure," he said. [6:30]

A journalist then remarked that adjusting the $1 million prize from 2003 to inflation, the number should be $1.7 million in 2025. Hamlin remarked that the way NASCAR promotes the event and what's at stake, they don't 'bolster it as much.'

He mentioned that to win that kind of money, one can also finish third in a normal PGA event. Because of that, Denny Hamlin claimed that the All-Star race is more about trying to 'showcase the best.' But even that has been 'watered down' over time. He pointed to how there used to be an open winner and now one could be first or second because NASCAR has just 'added a little bit too much' to the event.