The Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway was scheduled to run on Sunday, April 30th. However, due to weather NASCAR had to postpone it to Monday, May 1st.
When the drivers lined up for the race at the “Monster Mile” a day late, things were a bit sketchy at first. There were seven caution periods in the race. Four of those came in stage one. One was a competition caution and the other three were for on track incidents.
William Byron was the winner of stage one and really dominated the day for the most part. He led 193 of the 400 laps in the race, the most of the day. However, he would not lead the most important one. Ross Chastain won stage two and led the second most laps at 98. He would have a shot at the end of the race, but would come up short.
Martin Truex Jr. started the race with three wins in the Cup Series at Dover Motor Speedway. Two of those wins came on Mondays. It had been 54 races since Martin made a trip to Victory Lane in a points paying race. Martin appeared to have a strong car all day. He would not find his way to the lead until the third stage of the race. He led the race twice. He took the lead on lap 332 and held the lead for 57 laps.
A caution came out when Joey Logano spun on lap 388. That brought everybody to pit road for either two of four tires. Denny Hamlin was able to win the race of pit road to take over the lead. When the race re-started Martin Truex Jr. was able to race from second place back to the lead. He held that lead for the final 11 laps to claim the win. It was his fourth win at Dover and third on a Monday at the track. It was his first win of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season in a points race. He did win the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum exhibition race in February.
Ross Chastain finished in second-place. Ryan Blaney took home third-place. See the complete race results for the Würth 400 here.
Following Monday’s race at the “Monster Mile,” Ross Chastain moves up a spot in the point standings to take over as the leader. Christopher Bell slips back a spot to second. Kevin Harvick remains in third-place. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.
The next stop for the NASCAR teams and drivers is Kansas Speedway Sunday, May 7th for the AdventHealth 400.
By: Buck Stevens
