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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Dover's Monster Tamer

A Look at Jimmie Johnson's Career at Dover



By Richard Tix

Dover International Speedway is nicknamed the "Monster Mile" for a reason, it is no easy feat to win here. Since 1995 this mile round track has been a rough and tough concrete surface that frustrates drivers, teams, and tire makers alike. One thing is for sure when you leave Dover, you earned your finish. Heck, even Miles the Monster is a bit scary just to look at, especially the 46 foot monument of him.

Over the course of time a few drivers in NASCAR have tamed the mile long track at Dover. Richard Petty and David Pearson both have 7 career wins at Dover, but both are tied for second and behind a current driver for most wins. Only Jimmie Johnson can truly be considered the Monster Tamer as all of his 8 wins have come during the Monster Mile (concrete surface) era at Dover.

Jimmie Johnson started out his career at Dover in 2002 as a rookie by sweeping the two Monster Mile races. Not a bad start for just a kid Jeff Gordon recommended Hendrick bring in. Beginers luck right? Wrong, Jimmie has gone on to win 6 more times to date with 5 Pole awards to go with them. 


Dover International Speedway
Jimmie Johnson Career Stats
Year
Start
Finish
Laps Led
2002
10
1
188
2002
19
1
170
2003
5
38
36
2003
4
8
0
2004
14
32
1
2004
9
10
0
2005
1
4
24
Dover Totals
2005
5
1
134
Races
24
2006
42
6
0
Wins
8
2006
18
13
0
Top 5
12
2007
27
15
0
Top 10
17
2007
1
14
1
Top 15
20
2008
4
7
2
Top 20
22
2008
20
5
81
2009
8
1
298
2009
1
1
271
2010
5
16
225
2010
1
1
191
2011
1
9
207
2011
6
2
157
2012
2
1
289
2012
11
4
43
2013
24
17
143
2013
8
1
243
Averages
10.25
8.67
112.67



After taking a break to look at some of Johnson's Dover statistics it is interesting to note that he has a 8.67 career average finish. Of active drivers, he is the only one who is sub 10 in this category (Next closest is Carl Edwards at 10.0). Johnson is also second only to Ryan Newman (9.0) in career average starting position.

If you didn't know before you now know after looking at these stats that over a full career he is untouched by current drivers. Its crazy to think he has on average led 112.67 laps a race in his career at Dover. In his last 9 races at Dover he has lead on average 195.27 laps a race!

Jimmie has had two stretches -one of 5 races and one of 6 races- between wins at Dover and since then has only had to wait two races between wins. In his 12 years in Cup he has won at Dover 6 of those years, so half of the time. In his 24 career races he only has two finished outside the top 20 and both of those were early in his career and resulted because he got into a wreck. So its safe to say Jimmie Johnson will find away to finish well at Dover.

So, this week NASCAR heads to the Monster Mile and we all know Jimmie Johnson has tamed and figured out Miles the Monster, but can any other driver tame and slow down the Monster Tamer Jimmie Johnson?

**Edit: Once again Jimmie Johnson won the first race at Dover in 2014. Now its Chase time, will he do it again?**


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).


2014 Dover International Speedway Entry List (Race One)

NASCAR Driver Entry List for Dover


By Richard Tix

Little different view this week but with the same results. Here is your driver entry list for this weekend.


NASCAR Driver Entry List for Dover International Speedway Sunday 6/1

Car
Driver
Manu.
Sponsor
Owner
Points
Attpt.
1
1
Jamie McMurray
Chevy
Cessna
Felix Sabates
23
12
2
2
Brad Keselowski
Ford
Miller Lite
Roger Penske
10
12
3
3
Austin Dillon #
Chevy
American Ethanol
Richard Childress
15
12
4
4
Kevin Harvick
Chevy
Budweiser
Tony Stewart
13
12
5
5
Kasey Kahne
Chevy
Farmers Insurance
Linda Hendrick
17
12
6
7
Michael Annett #
Chevy
Pilot Flying J
Tommy Baldwin
30
12
7
9
Marcos Ambrose
Ford
DeWalt
Richard Petty
21
12
8
10
Danica Patrick
Chevy
GoDaddy
Tony Stewart
27
12
9
11
Denny Hamlin
Toyota
Autism Speaks
J D Gibbs
8
12
10
13
Casey Mears
Chevy
GEICO
Bob Germain
24
12
11
14
Tony Stewart
Chevy
Code 3 - Mobile 1
Margaret Haas
22
12
12
15
Clint Bowyer
Toyota
Cherry 5-Hour Energy
Rob Kauffman
20
12
13
16
Greg Biffle
Ford
3M
Jack Roush
12
12
14
17
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Ford
Nationwide
John Henry
25
12
15
18
Kyle Busch
Toyota
M&M's Peanut Butter
Joe Gibbs
3
12
16
20
Matt Kenseth
Toyota
Dollar General
Joe Gibbs
2
12
17
22
Joey Logano
Ford
Shell Pennzoil
Walter Czarnecki
7
12
18
23
Alex Bowman #
Toyota
Dr. Pepper
Ron Devine
34
12
19
24
Jeff Gordon
Chevy
Drive to End Hunger
Rick Hendrick
1
12
20
26
Cole Whitt #
Toyota
Burger King
Anthony Marlowe
32
12
21
27
Paul Menard
Chevy
Menards/Pitt Paints
Richard Childress
16
12
22
31
Ryan Newman
Chevy
Caterpillar
Richard Childress
11
12
23
32
Blake Koch (i)
Ford
supportmilitary.org
Frank Stoddard Jr.
37
12
24
33
David Stremme
Chevy
Little Joe's Autos
Joe Falk
41
12
25
34
David Ragan
Ford
Dockside Logistics
Bob Jenkins
35
12
26
36
Reed Sorenson
Chevy
Click it or Ticket
Allan Heinke
36
12
27
38
David Gilliland
Ford
The Pete Store
Brad Jenkins
33
12
28
40
Landon Cassill(i)
Chevy
Hillman Racing
Mike Hillman
31
12
29
41
Kurt Busch
Chevy
Haas Automation
Gene Haas
28
12
30
42
Kyle Larson #
Chevy
Cottonelle
Chip Ganassi
14
12
31
43
Aric Almirola
Ford
Smithfield
Richard Petty
19
12
32
44
J.J. Yeley(i)
Chevy
TBA
Johnathan Cohen
44
12
33
47
A.J. Allmendinger
Chevy
Scott Products
Tad Geschickter
18
12
34
48
Jimmie Johnson
Chevy
Lowe's/Kobalt Tools
Jeff Gordon
6
12
35
51
Justin Allgaier #
Chevy
TBD
Harry Scott Jr.
29
12
36
55
Brian Vickers
Toyota
Aaron's Dream Machine
Michael Waltrip
9
12
37
66
Brett Moffitt
Toyota
Land Castle Title
Jay Robinson
39
12
38
77
Dave Blaney
Ford
TBA
Randy Humphrey
48
10
39
78
Martin Truex Jr.
Chevy
Furniture Row
Barney Vissar
26
12
40
83
Ryan Truex #
Toyota
Burger King
Ron Devine
42
12
41
88
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Chevy
National Guard
Rick Hendrick
5
12
42
98
Josh Wise
Chevy
iRacing.com/Reddit.com
Mike Curb
38
12
43
99
Carl Edwards
Ford
Subway
Jack Roush
4
12



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