The Playoffs‘ field of drivers has been reduced to 12 as NASCAR heads to Dover International Speedway for the Gander Outdoors 400.
Last week’s elimination race on the Charlotte ROVAL course was full of surprises and drama all the way to the last seconds of the race. The NASCAR officials took a little time after the race was over to determine which drivers would advance to this week’s first race in the Round of 12 with a chance to contend for the championship.
The path to the title does not get any easier this week for the drivers that did advance. They will try to earn the automatic advance in the second round of the post-season by winning on the track nicknamed the “Monster Mile.”
Winning at Dover International Speedway requires a car with good speed and great handling. It also requires the driver to be near perfect from start to finish. Any mistake made during the race will result in losing spots that very difficult to regain or worse, a crash that ends the day for that driver (and possibly others around the initial incident).
The pit crews will need to be perfect as well. Mistakes during a pit stop can put a driver back in the field and erase any chance of challenging for the win. On the other end of the spectrum, a great pit stop by the crew can move a car into position to challenge for the win.
Here is the raw data for both the track in Dover and the race itself.
Dover International Speedway Data
Track Size: 1-mile
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 24 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 24 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 9 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 1,076 feet
Backstretch Length: 1,076 feet
Gander Outdoors 400 Data
Season Race #: 30 of 36 (10-07-18)
Race Length: 400 laps / 400 miles
Stage 1 and 2 Length: 120 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 160 laps
Here is a look at the best career performers at Dover among active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Dover
Jimmie Johnson …………………….. 117.2
Matt Kenseth …………………………. 107.7
Kyle Busch ……………………………. 105.5
Chase Elliott ………………………….. 104.4
Kyle Larson …………………………… 100.8
Martin Truex Jr. ……………………….. 97.9
Daniel Suarez ………………………….. 96.9
Kevin Harvick ………………………….. 93.6
Brad Keselowski ………………………. 91.6
Clint Bowyer ……………………………. 89.4
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2018 races (29 total) among active drivers at Dover Motor Speedway.
There is one name that stands well above all others when it comes to winning in NASCAR’s top division at Dover. That name is Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie has scored 11 wins on the “Monster Mile” over the years. To put that into perspective, there are five other active drivers that have won races at Dover, Adding those wins together still doesn’t match Jimmie’s win total at the track. Last week he was eliminated from the playoffs because he went for the win on the ROVAL instead of playing it safe. You can bet that Jimmie will go for the 12th career win at Dover even more so because of that.
Kyle Busch won this race last year bringing his “Monster Mile” win total to three. Kyle is still in the hunt for the championship and sits at the top of the Playoff Leader Board to start the Round of 12. You know he will be racing hard to punch his ticket to the next round.
Kevin Harvick also advanced in the playoffs and is second on the Leader Board currently. Kevin not only won the first race of the year on the “Monster Mile,” he dominated it! The win gave Kevin two career wins and sweeping the 2018 Dover races would automatically move him ahead in the post-season.
Martin Truex Jr. sits in the third spot on the Leader Board and has two career wins at Dover International Speedway like Kevin. He is the third of what people are calling the “Big Three” including the previously mention Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. These three drivers are widely considered the front runners to win this year’s championship. If Martin can move his Dover win total to three it will also move him instantly to the next round of the playoffs.
The only other active drivers to have scored a “Monster Mile” cup series win are also drivers that advanced to the Round of 12. Those drivers are Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski. If either one of these drivers can add a second Dover win to their resume they would also earn the golden ticket to the next round of the playoffs.
Will this weekend’s race on the “Monster Mile” include as much drama as last week’s ROVAL race? There is a good chance it will. We will find out when the green flag waives to start the Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway Sunday, October 7th starting at 1:00 PM central time (2:00 PM eastern time).
By: Buck Stevens
