2017 NASCAR Week 13: Dover

AAA 400 Drive For Autism

Dover International Speedway

By Richard Tix

The Monster Mile where Miles roams. I might be in the minority here, but Dover is up there on my list of favorite tracks on the schedule (RIR, Martinsville, NHMS, Bristol, Auto Club, and WGI all also included in that list). Part of it is that Dover is a mile track on a schedule filled with 1.5 mile tri-ovals. The other part is that it is a unique track that isn't exactly like everything else we see (also why I like NHMS). 

All that being said Dover has been getting a bad wrap lately. Some say it's the racing, some say it's the change back in the 90's from asphalt to concrete, and others say it has been Jimmie Johnson's dominance. Dover has a ton of reason's people don't like it, but I think what has lacked at the track is just a mix of all of those things.

If I have learned one thing in NASCAR it is that fan's don't love watching one driver dominate a certain race on Sunday, which leads me to believe they also don't love a guy dominating one track over, and over, and over, and over again year after year.... Sure, I think some of the races have missed the mark, but that's going to happen from time to time. When you mix in one guy being better than everyone else for such a long period of time, people get turned off.

However, JJ hasn't won here in three straight races and the 400 miles will be broken down into stages. With the new points rules the Monster Mile may start to breath new life and turn peoples opinion around about the racing here. The first test? This Sunday.

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Chase Elliott- It's only been two career starts but both resulted in 3rd place finishes. Elliott really needs a strong run this weekend to get back on track.
• Jimmie Johnson- Not much needs to be said about JJ here at Dover that most don't know, he's been just that good here.
• Matt Kenseth- Kenseth would be one of the best current drivers here at Dover if it wasn't for JJ. He won this race last year and also has three straight top tens.

The Middle

• Brad Keselowski- BK does have a win here (2012) but just hasn't closed the deal as much as he would have liked (two runner ups and four top fives).

The Bad

• Austin Dillon- Last time out he finished 8th here, but the six before that he had only one top 20 and three top 25's.
• AJ Allmendinger- 18 starts and only three top tens. Worse yet, only seven of those 18 starts resulted in top 20's.
• Denny Hamlin- Hamlin's finishes have been all over the place here at Dover. He currently has back to back top tens, but before that he had three straight outside of the top ten, and then before that he had a top ten and two non top tens. What will we get this time?

About the Track: Dover

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
• The most cautions was 16 in 1993, Rusty Wallace eventually won the race
• Current drivers with more then 1 Dover win (Jimmie Johnson-10, Ryan Newman-3, Matt Kenseth-3, Kyle Busch-2, and Martin Truex Jr-2)
• Current drivers with one Dover win (Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick, Derrike Cope (Part Time)-1, and Kurt Busch)
• Most career wins at Dover: Jimmie Johnson (10), Richard Petty (7), and Bobby Allison (7).
• Most career top 5's at Dover: Mark Martin (24) followed by Dale Earnhardt (19)
• Most career top 10's at Dover: Mark Martin (33), Richard Petty (26), and Ricky Rudd (26)
• Most career pole awards at Dover: David Pearson (6), Rusty Wallace (5), and Mark Martin (5)
• Most career starts at Dover is Ricky Rudd with 56.

Track Info

• Surface: 1995-Present: Concrete
• Was Asphalt from 1969-1994
• Length: 1 mile
• Banking
• Turns: 24 degrees
• Straight: 9 degrees