Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Week 13 Preview: Dover

Dover International Speedway

FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks


By Richard Tix

The Coca-Cola 600 is over and Jimmie Johnson finally got his first win of the 2014 season. Just one week later, NASCAR heads to Dover which just happens to be one of Johnson's best tracks. So, will JJ add himself to the short list of drivers with two wins in 2014 just one week after getting his first?





The Good, Middle, and Bad
(This is just a review of each drivers recent past performance, generally about 5-10 past races)

The Good
  • Jimmie Johnson- Any Dover list that doesn't have JJ on it may not be a list you want to trust. JJ has 8 top 10's here in hi last 10 including 7 top 5's and 5 wins. JJ, as always, will be a favorite at Dover.
  • Kyle Busch- In his last 8 starts here he has 7 top 10's, 4 of them being top 5's and one win. The only time in that 8 race stretch he didn't finish in the top 10 he had engine issues and he finished 29th.
  • Matt Kenseth- In the last 10 races here only 5 drivers drivers not named Jimmie Johnson have a win, Kenseth is one of them. In his last 10 here he has 7 top 10's. 6 top 5's, and that 1 win. Two of his last three starts here have been rough, but that shouldn't be the case.
  • Extra Credit- Kevin Harvick
The Middle
  • Clint Bowyer- Bowyer has a 6 races top 10 streak at Dover, so he could be considered in the Good category, yet only one of those finishes was a top 5. He could have a good finish, but will he be able to contend for a win or just another top 10?
The Bad
  • Jamie McMurray- JMac doesn't have a single top 10 in his last 10 starts here, that's not a trend he will want to continue. Case for McMurray: four of his last 10 were at least top 15 finishes, but if you are looking for him in the top 10 it isn't likely.
  • Denny Hamlin- Bad luck or bad runs, no matter how you look at it DH only has 3 top 10's in his last 10 here. In fact, in his last 6 Dover starts he only has 1 top 10 (8th).
  • Paul Menard- One top 10 in his last 10 starts here, Menard also only has 1 top 15 in that same time frame. Menard seems to be on this list a lot for these middle of the season races.
Track Stats
  • Richard Petty won the first 3 of 4 races at Dover, including the first two in 1969 and 1970.
  • The race has been won from the Pole 13 times.
  • Kyle Petty won after starting 37th in 1995, the furthest back a Dover race has been won.
  • Toyota hasn't won a Dover race since 2010 (Kyle Busch), or 7 races. Dodge has won twice since then.
  • The most cautions was 16 in 1993, Rusty Wallace eventually won the race.
  • Current drivers with more then 1 Dover win (Jimmie Johnson-8, Jeff Gordon-4, Ryan Newman-3, Tony Stewart-3, Kyle Busch-2, Matt Kenseth-2, and Greg Biffle 2).
  • Current drivers with one Dover win (Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex Jr, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kurt Busch, and Jeff Burton).


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