The NASCAR Sprint Cup series is headed to the track called the “Monster Mile” and for the Chase Grid drivers it is an elimination race in the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Racing at Dover has plenty of challenges to begin with. The racing surface is concrete and is very abusive to tires. That means even on a car that is handling well the tires could cause issues quickly for any driver. For cars that are not handling well, the track will destroy those tires even faster and cause issues.
Not only will those tire issues affect the car they on, but it can also become a problem for cars that don’t have a tire issue at the time. A car that has lost control because the tire grip has gone away or a tire has blown out completely can take a car out of the race that is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. That will require that the drivers need to be completely focused for all 400 laps (400 miles) around the “Monster Mile” if they want to have a shot at the win.
With the exception of Martin Truex Jr. (Chicagoland win) and Kevin Harvick (New Hampshire win), the remaining 14 championship contending drivers will have the added pressure of the race being an elimination race in The Chase. The four drivers that are at the bottom of the Chase Grid following the Dover race will not advance to the Round of 12 with a continued chance to win the championship.
Which active NASCAR drivers have been the best at racing on the “Monster Mile” during their Sprint Cup careers? Let’s find out.
Top 10 Driver Rating at Dover International Speedway
*Jimmie Johnson – 118.1
*Matt Kenseth – 108.5
*Kyle Busch – 104.5
*Kyle Larson – 99.3
*Carl Edwards – 99.1
*Chase Elliott – 96.7
Jeff Gordon – 96.0
Greg Biffle – 94.3
*Martin Truex Jr. – 92.4
*Kevin Harvick – 92.3
*Drivers currently in The Chase.
(NOTE: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2016 races {23 total} among active drivers at Dover International Speedway.)
Jimmie Johnson could legitimately be called the “Master of The Monster.” Not only does he have the highest driver rating at the track, he is also the all-time leader in wins at Dover having captured 10 checkered flags in the Sprint Cup series.
Jeff Gordon may not have a chance to win another championship, however I have no doubt that he would love to add another Dover win to his career five already as he fills in this weekend for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the #88 Chevrolet.
Matt Kenseth won the 2016 spring race at Dover to join Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman with a total of three “Monster Mile ” career wins.
Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch both have a pair of “Miles the Monster Trophies” in their display cases at home.
NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers that have won a single race at Dover include Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and the defending 2015 winner of this race Kevin Harvick.
Right now Jamie McMurray, Austin Dillon, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher are below the cut line on the Chase Grid. However, should one of these drivers win at Dover it would move another driver below the line. Even without winning, one or more of these drivers can advance if they have a great race with other drivers having a disastrous race.
The only Chase drivers with no added pressure are (as mentioned earlier) Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick who won the first two Chase races respectively.
For the 24 drivers in the race that are not Chase eligible, they simply want to win the race. No extra pressure other than what they put on themselves to perform.
The sprint race at Dover saw 12 caution periods. That means there were also 12 re-starts. If that trend repeats for this week’s race at the “Monster Mile” that will mean even more chances to have something bad happen for some Chase Grid drivers or something good as a result of the something bad for other drivers.
The bottom line is when NASCAR puts the Sprint Cup cars on Dover International Speedway story lines are typically written and re-written several times before the end of the race.
We will see which drivers have a positive ending to their story and which have the “better luck next time” ending written by “Miles the Monster” at the end of the Citizen Soldier 400 starting at 1 PM central time (2 PM eastern time) from Dover International Speedway Sunday, October 2nd.
By: Buck Stevens
