Wednesday, May 27, 2015

2015 Week 13 Preview: Dover

FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks

Dover International Speedway


By Richard Tix

NASCAR gets back to some "short track racing" this week after a few stops at the 1.5's. The Monster Mile is a fast 1 mile track and will give some guys an opportunity for a good finish. But, can anyone catch Jimmie Johnson?

Johnson has 9 wins in 26 races, which breaks down to a winning percentage of 34.62. In his last 21 races Johnson has Just two finishes outside of the top 15 (16th and 17th) 16 top 10's, and 7 wins (dates back to 2004). Since 2009 he has 6 of those 9 wins (12 races). If you are still doing the math, that means JJ is winning 50% of the time NASCAR heads to Dover in the last 12 stops.

So again, can anyone catch JJ? Well, take a look below to get an idea who might, and who most likely will not challenge him this Sunday.

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The Good
  • Jimmie Johnson- People have been clamoring a lot lately about Dover getting two stops on the season, most of that is because of this guy. He has been so good here that the races have been too much about the 48. In his last 14 races here he has 12 top 10's, 10 top 5's, and 6 wins. So, it might really be all because of JJ that people are being turned off by the "Monster Mile" lately.
  • Jeff Gordon- Last year Gordon won at Dover in the Fall after leading 94 laps. It wasn't as dominant as JJ, but Gordon still knows how to get around the Monster Mile, remember he still has 5 career wins here.
  • Matt Kenseth- In his last 18 Dover starts he has 14 top 10's, 12 top 5's, and 2 wins. The last one hasn't come since 2011, but when you are talking about a track where JJ has won 6 since 2009 (12 races), one win in that span isn't too bad.
The Middle
  • Clint Bowyer- Last time around in the Fall Bowyer was on the "Good" list, this time he moves down? Why the move after finishing 9th and notching his 8th top 10 in a row? Well, because for all the good he has done he still hasn't won a race at Dover. A win will change all of this "Middle" talk and move him back up the list.
The Bad
  • Sam Hornish Jr- His last start here was 2012, but even back then he wasn't running well at Dover. In 7 starts he only has 2 top 20's and 3 top 25's. 
  • Austin Dillon- It's still early in his career, but his first three starts he didn't finish higher than 20th. He only had that one top 20 even after qualifying 10th last time around in the Fall of 2014. 
  • Kasey Kahne- The rough streak here at Dover continues for Kahne. He now has five straight finishes without a top 10 and only two of those were top 15's. If you look back to his last 10 races he only has two top 10's and 4 top 15's. 
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 Cup race since 2010 (Kyle Busch), or 9 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-9, Jeff Gordon-5, 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 (part time), Martin Truex Jr, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Kurt Busch)
  • Most career wins at Dover: Jimmie Johnson (9), Richard Petty (7), and Bobby Allison (7).
  • Most career top 5s 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


Dover International Raceway
Race
Date
Cars
Winner(s)
St
Car
1969-29
7/6/1969
32
Richard Petty
3
'69 Ford
1970-41
9/20/1970
36
Richard Petty
2
'70 Plymouth
1971-22
6/6/1971
40
Bobby Allison
2
'69 Mercury
1971-43
10/17/1971
40
Richard Petty
4
'71 Plymouth
1972-13
6/4/1972
40
Bobby Allison
2
'72 Chevrolet
1972-26
9/17/1972
40
David Pearson
2
'71 Mercury
1973-13
6/3/1973
40
David Pearson
1
'71 Mercury
1973-24
9/16/1973
40
David Pearson
1
'71 Mercury
1974-12
5/19/1974
35
Cale Yarborough
3
'74 Chevrolet
1974-25
9/15/1974
40
Richard Petty
2
'74 Dodge
1975-12
5/18/1975
35
David Pearson
1
'73 Mercury
1975-22
9/14/1975
37
Richard Petty
3
'74 Dodge
1976-12
5/16/1976
39
Benny Parsons
7
Chevrolet
1976-24
9/19/1976
36
Cale Yarborough
1
Chevrolet
1977-12
5/15/1977
36
Cale Yarborough
6
Chevrolet
1977-24
9/18/1977
40
Benny Parsons
7
Chevrolet
1978-11
5/21/1978
40
David Pearson
3
Mercury
1978-24
9/17/1978
37
Bobby Allison
2
Ford
1979-12
5/20/1979
31
Neil Bonnett
5
Mercury
1979-25
9/16/1979
36
Richard Petty
4
Chevrolet
1980-12
5/18/1980
34
Bobby Allison
8
Ford
1980-25
9/14/1980
40
Darrell Waltrip
2
Chevrolet
1981-12
5/17/1981
32
Jody Ridley
11
Ford
1981-25
9/20/1981
34
Neil Bonnett
3
Ford
1982-11
5/16/1982
32
Bobby Allison
3
Chevrolet
1982-24
9/19/1982
35
Darrell Waltrip
3
Buick
1983-10
5/15/1983
36
Bobby Allison
10
Buick
1983-24
9/18/1983
36
Bobby Allison
7
Buick
1984-11
5/20/1984
36
Richard Petty
5
Pontiac
1984-24
9/16/1984
40
Harry Gant
3
Chevrolet
1985-10
5/19/1985
32
Bill Elliott
4
Ford
1985-22
9/15/1985
39
Harry Gant
4
Chevrolet
1986-10
5/18/1986
37
Geoffrey Bodine
3
Chevrolet
1986-23
9/14/1986
40
Ricky Rudd
11
Ford
1987-11
5/31/1987
39
Davey Allison
2
Ford
1987-23
9/20/1987
40
Ricky Rudd
13
Ford
1988-11
6/5/1988
40
Bill Elliott
17
Ford
1988-23
9/18/1988
40
Bill Elliott
3
Ford
1989-11
6/4/1989
35
Dale Earnhardt
2
Chevrolet
1989-23
9/17/1989
40
Dale Earnhardt
15
Chevrolet
1990-11
6/3/1990
36
Derrike Cope
15
Chevrolet
1990-23
9/16/1990
40
Bill Elliott
1
Ford
1991-11
6/2/1991
35
Ken Schrader
19
Chevrolet
1991-23
9/15/1991
40
Harry Gant
10
Oldsmobile
1992-11
5/31/1992
40
Harry Gant
15
Oldsmobile
1992-23
9/20/1992
36
Ricky Rudd
6
Chevrolet
1993-12
6/6/1993
38
Dale Earnhardt
8
Chevrolet
1993-24
9/19/1993
37
Rusty Wallace
1
Pontiac
1994-12
6/5/1994
42
Rusty Wallace
6
Ford
1994-25
9/18/1994
40
Rusty Wallace
10
Ford
1995-12
6/4/1995
42
Kyle Petty
37
Pontiac
1995-25
9/17/1995
40
Jeff Gordon
2
Chevrolet
1996-12
6/2/1996
42
Jeff Gordon
1
Chevrolet
1996-25
9/15/1996
41
Jeff Gordon
3
Chevrolet
1997-12
6/1/1997
43
Ricky Rudd
13
Ford
1997-26
9/21/1997
42
Mark Martin
1
Ford
1998-12
5/31/1998
43
Dale Jarrett
4
Ford
1998-26
9/20/1998
43
Mark Martin
1
Ford
1999-13
6/6/1999
43
Bobby Labonte
1
Pontiac
1999-27
9/26/1999
43
Mark Martin
8
Ford
2000-13
6/4/2000
43
Tony Stewart
16
Pontiac
2000-27
9/24/2000
43
Tony Stewart
27
Pontiac
2001-13
6/3/2001
43
Jeff Gordon
2
Chevrolet
2001-27
9/23/2001
43
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
3
Chevrolet
2002-13
6/2/2002
43
Jimmie Johnson
10
Chevrolet
2002-28
9/22/2002
43
Jimmie Johnson
19
Chevrolet
2003-13
6/1/2003
43
Ryan Newman
1
Dodge
2003-28
9/21/2003
43
Ryan Newman
5
Dodge
2004-13
6/6/2004
43
Mark Martin
7
Ford
2004-28
9/26/2004
43
Ryan Newman
2
Dodge
2005-13
6/5/2005
43
Greg Biffle
2
Ford
2005-28
9/25/2005
43
Jimmie Johnson
5
Chevrolet
2006-13
6/4/2006
43
Matt Kenseth
19
Ford
2006-28
9/24/2006
43
Jeff Burton
19
Chevrolet
2007-13
6/4/2007
43
Martin Truex, Jr.
26
Chevrolet
2007-28
9/23/2007
43
Carl Edwards
15
Ford
2008-13
6/1/2008
43
Kyle Busch
3
Toyota
2008-28
9/21/2008
43
Greg Biffle
5
Ford
2009-13
5/31/2009
43
Jimmie Johnson
8
Chevrolet
2009-28
9/27/2009
43
Jimmie Johnson
1
Chevrolet
2010-12
5/16/2010
43
Kyle Busch
4
Toyota
2010-28
9/26/2010
43
Jimmie Johnson
1
Chevrolet
2011-11
5/15/2011
43
Matt Kenseth
24
Ford
2011-29
10/2/2011
43
Kurt Busch
2
Dodge
2012-13
6/3/2012
43
Jimmie Johnson
2
Chevrolet
2012-29
9/30/2012
43
Brad Keselowski
10
Dodge
2013-13
6/2/2013
43
Tony Stewart
22
Chevrolet
2013-29
9/29/2013
43
Jimmie Johnson
8
Chevrolet
2014-13
6/1/2014
43
Jimmie Johnson
4
Chevrolet
2014-29
9/28/2014
43
Jeff Gordon
6
Chevrolet



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