This Weekend in NASCAR – Storylines – Dover

• Next Race: Drydene 400
• The Place: Dover International Speedway
• The Date: Sunday, May 16
• The Time: 2 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 400 miles (400 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 120), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 240), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 400)

Monster of a good time ahead for the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover

Next up on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Dover International Speedway and Sunday’s Drydene 400 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) the 13th race of the season.

Aptly named the Monster Mile, Dover International Speedway is a 1-mile concrete paved oval located in Dover Delaware. Dover International Speedway, originally known as Dover Downs International Speedway, has hosted 102 NASCAR Cup Series races dating back to the inaugural event on July 6, 1969. The first Dover race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty driving a Petty Enterprises Ford (115.772 mph, 02:35:28). Petty actually won the first two Cup events at the track (1969, 1970).

In total, the 102 NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover have produced 42 different pole winners and 38 different race winners. NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the series in poles at Dover with six (1969, 1973 sweep, 1974, 1975, 1981). Ryan Newman (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007) and Denny Hamlin (2012, 2013, 2015, 2019) lead all active series drivers in poles at Dover with four poles each. Recently retired driver, Jimmie Johnson holds the series record for the most wins at Dover with 11 victories (2002 sweep, 2005 Playoffs, 2009 sweep, 2010 Playoffs, Spring of 2012, 2013 Playoffs, Spring of 2014, Spring of 2015, and Spring of 2017).

Of the 38 different NASCAR Cup Series winners at Dover International Speedway, nine are active this weekend. Four drivers are tied for the most wins among active drivers at Dover – Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, and Ryan Newman – each have three wins.

This weekend’s Drydene 400 race will be 400 laps (400 miles) and will be broken up into three stages. The first two stages will be 120 laps each and the final stage will be 160 laps. Since the inception of Stage racing in the Cup Series in 2017, six different drivers have won at least one stage at Dover, led by Kevin Harvick with six stage wins; followed by Martin Truex Jr. with four, Denny Hamlin with three and Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson each have one. Hamlin and Harvick swept both stages en route to their wins last season at Dover.  

Sunday’s Drydene 400 will set the starting lineup by Metric Qualifying and as a result Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. (pole) and Denny Hamlin (second) will start on the front row. Hamlin should feel quite fortuitous starting in the second position this weekend, as it is the most proficient starting position in the field producing (20) the most wins of any starting position – winning percentage 19.61%. And it’s the same starting position he won from last season.

Countdown to the NASCAR All-Star Race: Who’s name will be added next?

Time is ticking and June 13 will be here before we know it for this season’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. With the format announced and the current 17 eligible drivers already locked in, who will add their name to the list over the next four races (Dover, COTA, Charlotte, and Sonoma)?  

Those eligible for the NASCAR All-Star Race include drivers who won a points event in either 2020 or 2021; drivers who won a NASCAR All-Star Race and compete full-time; and drivers who won a NASCAR Cup Series Championship and compete full-time. Drivers who have already clinched an All-Star Race spot this season are Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Ryan Newman, and Martin Truex Jr.

This weekend at Dover International Speedway nine active former Monster Mile winners are entered and all nine have secured their eligibility to the All-Star Race.

But four former NASCAR Xfinity Series Dover winners entered this weekend are looking earn their way into the All-Star and Playoffs with a win this weekend – Chase Briscoe (2020), Chris Buescher (2015), Daniel Suarez (2016) and Eric Jones (2016). Plus, two former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Dover winners are entered this weekend hungry for their first win of 2021 – Tyler Reddick (2015) and Aric Almirola (2010).

Only two NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Dover International Speedway: Martin Truex Jr. (June 4, 2007) and Jody Ridley (May 17, 1981).

• Next Race: Drydene 200
• The Place: Dover International Speedway
• The Date: Saturday, May 15
• The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 200 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

Gearing up for the Monster Mile

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Dover International Speedway this weekend for the Drydene 200 on Saturday, May 15 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio for the 10th race of the season.

Last weekend, Justin Allgaier took home his second victory of 2021 at Darlington Raceway for Throwback Weekend, while his JR Motorsports teammate Noah Gragson grabbed the Dash 4 Cash prize; his third Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus in a row bringing his total to $300,000 this year.

As the series heads to Dover this weekend, look for Allgaier to keep the recent momentum on his side as he is the defending winner of this weekend’s race at the Monster Mile. 

It was a doubleheader event last season at Dover for the Xfinity Series. With Allgaier winning the first race, Austin Cindric finished second, Ross Chastain finished third, Gragson fourth and Harrison Burton finished fifth.

The race had six cautions for 27 laps and an average speed of 110.142 mph. There were six lead changes and Allgaier led a race-high 120 laps.

Rolling into this weekend at Dover, Cindric has the best pre-race driver rating at the Monster Mile with a 114.2 and Allgaier has the third-best at 106.0. Hemric is fourth on the list at 103.8 and Gragson is fifth at 101.9.

Allgaier holds the top spot in fastest laps run at the track with 246 fastest laps run. Cindric is behind him in second with 116 fastest laps.

There have been 74 Xfinity Series races at Dover International Speedway with 48 different pole winners.

Bubba Wallace is the youngest pole winner at the track from 2012 when he was 18 years, 11 months, 21 days old. The oldest pole winner is Dick Trickle in 1999 at 57 years, 7 months and 9 days.

Of the 74 races at Dover, there have been 50 different race winners and only eight races have been won from the pole or first starting position. The last race won from the pole was in 2017 by Kyle Larson.

Joey Logano holds the race record at 131.219 mph in 2013 and Erik Jones holds the qualifying record at 158.318 mph in 2016.

Kyle Busch has the most Xfinity Series wins at Dover with five and the most top 10s at 15. Allgaier has the most lead lap finishes (16) and Kyle Busch has the most laps led (1,349).

Hemric will start on the pole this weekend at Dover for the Drydene 200 with Allgaier next to him on the front row. Gragson, Jones and Burton will round out the top five. Berry, AJ Allmendinger, Jeremy Clements, Justin Haley and Brett Moffitt will occupy the first 10 starting spots.

Noah Gragson goes for first ever Dash 4 Cash season sweep

For the first time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program’s history a driver has a chance to sweep all four of the program’s rounds in a single season and win a total of $400,000 in bonus money. JR Motorsport’s Noah Gragson, from Las Vegas Nevada, has won the last three Dash 4 Cash awards this season banking $300,000 already and now heads to Dover International Speedway this weekend for the final round and a chance at getting the first ever Dash 4 Cash sweep. 

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program was designed to add elements of unpredictability and drama leading up to and during four designated races, increase on-track competition, engage fans and reward and recognize NASCAR Xfinity Series regular competitors.

Since going to a multi-round format in 2011, no driver has swept every round in a single season. Prior to Gragson winning three Dash 4 Cash rounds (Martinsville, Talladega, Darlington) in one season this year, only seven drivers had won multiple rounds in a single season: Reed Sorenson (2011: Daytona, Iowa), Elliott Sadler (2013: Daytona, Chicago), Regan Smith (2015: Dover, Indianapolis), Erik Jones (2016: Bristol, Dover), Justin Allgaier (2017: Phoenix, Richmond), Christopher Bell (2019: Bristol, Dover) and Ross Chastain (2020: Atlanta, Pocono). 

This year the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash is taking place at four tracks – Martinsville Speedway (April 9), Talladega Superspeedway (April 24), Darlington Raceway (May 8) and Dover International Speedway (May 15). This weekend at Dover will mark the final installment of the program.

Gragson and the three highest finishing full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers from Darlington Raceway – Justin Allgaier (1st), Josh Berry (2nd), Brandon Jones (3rd) will compete at Dover for the final prize.

Dash 4 Cash Qualifiers at Dover:

Noah Gragson will make his sixth start this weekend at the Monster Mile. He has one top-five finish and four top 10s to his name with an average start of 6.4 and average finish of 8.6. His best finish came at this exact race last season after starting second and finishing fourth. He’s led 38 laps at Dover.

This weekend will be Justin Allgaier’s 21st Xfinity Series career start at Dover. He has two wins (2018, 2020), nine top fives and 13 top 10s at the track. He has also led 353 laps.

Brandon Jones will make his 11th start at Dover on Saturday. He has one top five and four top 10s at the track and has led 45 laps. His best finish came at the second race at Dover last season in fourth.

Rookie Josh Berry will make his Xfinity Series debut at Dover this weekend.

• Next Race: Toyota Tundra 225
• The Place: Circuit of The Americas
• The Date: Saturday, May 22
• The Time: 1 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1, 12 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 139.81 miles (41 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 12), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 26), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 41)

source – NASCAR communications