Next Race: Drydene 400 The Place: Dover International Speedway The Date: Sunday, October 6 The Time: 2:30 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 2 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) 2018 Race Winner: Chase Elliott Busch leads Playoff contenders into the Round of 12 The NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular season champion Kyle Busch is especially eager to start the second round of the 2019 Playoffs after a rough opening round with a pair of uncharacteristic outcomes – at Las Vegas (19th) and at the Charlotte ROVAL (37th). A runner-up at Richmond in between those races, however, plus some hard-earned Playoff points collected through the regular season have kept him atop the newly-reset standings as the sport heads to Dover International Speedway for Sunday’s Drydene 400 (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Busch leads his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. – a two-time winner in the opening three races of the Playoffs – by five points heading to Dover. Their JGR teammate Denny Hamlin – like Busch, a four-time winner this season – is third in the points reset and trails Busch by 16. Twelve drivers remain eligible to contend for the championship with races at Dover International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway to decided which eight advance to the next round. The 15-point regular season championship bonus Busch earned has certainly come in useful. Before adding regular season bonus points that he diligently collected, Busch was technically seventh in points earned in the three Playoff races. However, he reassumes the lead thanks to the series-best 46 Playoff points that count toward each Playoff round. After dominating the early season – tying a NASCAR record with 11 top-10 finishes in the opening 11 races and accumulating four victories by early June, Busch’s pace has slowed somewhat. The driver of the No. 18 JGR Toyota led a race best 202 laps and finished second to Truex in the Richmond Playoff race, but it’s his only top-10 finish in the last four races. Dover’s “Monster Mile” however, has been a positive venue for Busch. He finished 10th there in May and has three career wins – in 2008, 2012 and 2017. The 2015 series champion finished in the top-10 in three of the last four Dover races. In total, he has 12 top fives and 18 top 10s in 29 starts. Busch has led laps in five of the last six Dover races. And his record in the fall at the track is notably better than the spring version. Busch has a pair of runner-up finishes (in 2015-16), a victory (2017) and an eighth place in the last four October races. As if often the case with the versatile Busch, he has celebrated plenty in Dover’s Victory Lane thanks to success in NASCAR’s other two national series, as well. He has five NASCAR Xfinity Series and four NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series wins at Dover. “You strive to go out there and win every single time you’re on the racetrack, but if you put yourself in a bad spot or try or push too hard and get yourself out of whack and crashed or something like that, obviously that’s going to be way worse for yourself,’’ Busch said. “You have to be mindful of those situations and you have to pick and choose your battles.’’ Giving Chase to the defending Dover winner Hendrick Motorsport’s star Chase Elliott shows up in Delaware in a perfect mindset to defend his victory from last year’s Dover Playoff race. He hoisted a trophy last Sunday after winning at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL – the final race of the Playoff’s opening round. The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 opens the Round of 12 on a positive note at one of his best tracks, statistically speaking. In seven Dover starts, Elliott has one win and six top fives. His “worst” showing at the track is 12th. He won this October Playoff race last year and in May, won the pole position, led the most laps (145) and finished fifth. His average finish at the “Monster Mile” is 4.4. Only 11-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson (113.3) has a better Driver Rating than Elliott’s (108.3). In addition to his win last year, Elliott was runner-up in 2017’s Playoff race and finished third in his first two races at the track in the 2016 season. Some drivers believe in momentum, whether or not Elliott does, the 23-year old has plenty of it. His victory at Charlotte last Sunday was his third on the year. Interestingly, 10 of his 13 top-10 finishes are actually top-5 finishes. He’s finished in the top-10 in six of the last eight races, including a win from pole position at Watkins Glen. The good vibes aren’t limited to Delaware either. Elliott has won at both the other tracks in this round of the Playoffs. He won at next week’s Talladega Superspeedway earlier this season and is the defending Playoff race winner at Kansas Speedway, where the series races Oct. 20 and four more drivers will be eliminated from postseason contention. Dover’s home track hero Martin Truex Jr. the favorite? With a series best six victories, Martin Truex Jr. is the winningest driver in the Monster Energy Series right now, but with the slate of tracks on deck in the Playoffs, he may also be the most confident. Truex won the opening two Playoff races – at Las Vegas and Richmond – to bring his season’s victory tally to six. And while that pace right out of the gates was a huge message to the competition, he will start the second round of the Playoffs this weekend ranked second to regular season champion and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch – by a mere five points. Confidence will not be a problem for the 39-year old New Jersey native this weekend at Dover, International Speedway where he has three wins – including the first series victory of his career back in 2007. A decade later he was hoisting the series championship trophy. This season Truex has made a compelling case to be considered the title favorite. He has 12 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes through the opening 29 races. He has seven more races to try to equal his career best mark of eight season wins – a mark set in his 2017 title run. Truex was a perfect three-for-three in top-10 finishes in the opening Playoff round – his 3.0 average finish is best in show. Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski are next – having averaged a 4.0 finish in the opening three Playoff races. With a victory in the series’ first visit to Dover in May, Truex is the most recent winner at the track. He has six top-five and 15 top-10 finishes and three wins in 27 Dover starts. Truex has finished ninth or better in seven of the last nine races. He’s been top five in five of the last six, including two wins in that time. His victory in May was a strong signal to the field. He won the race by more than nine seconds – easily the largest Margin of Victory this season. Harvick is closing in At the very least, Kevin Harvick is keeping the competition honest. The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford has answered his dominating win-from-pole in the Indianapolis regular season finale with three top 10s in the opening round of the Playoffs. Harvick was runner-up to Truex at the Las Vegas opener, seventh at Richmond and a third at the Charlotte ROVAL during the weekend. His 4.0 average finish exceeded only by Martin Truex Jr., who won the first two Playoff races and has a 3.0 average finish. Since his first win this season at New Hampshire, Harvick has nine top-10 finishes in 10 races. He won at New Hampshire, Michigan-2 and Indianapolis and finished runner-up at the Vegas Playoff opener. The only finish worse than seventh in that time is a season-worst 39th at Bristol Motor Speedway when his car suffered an early race mechanical issue. His work at the ROVAL last weekend was Harvick’s 20th top 10 of the season and marks the seventh consecutive season he has earned at least 20 top-10 finishes on the 36-race schedule. The “Monster Mile” has been a strong mark on Harvick’s resume, particular since he switched to his current Stewart-Haas Racing team in 2014. He earned his first Monster Energy Series win there in Oct. 2015 leading a dominating 355 of the 400 laps. He won again in May 2018, leading 201 laps and taking a class-of-the-field 7.450-second win over SHR teammate Clint Bowyer. Harvick has seven top five and 18 top 10 finishes at Dover, with two victories and a pole position. He’s led 1,443 laps – one of only three drivers to top 1,000-laps led at the track. Jimmie Johnson’s 3,109 laps is most. Kyle Busch (1,210) is the only other active driver to top the 1,000-laps led mark. Johnson’s Dover domination With two top-10 showings in the first three Playoff races so far, Jimmie Johnson is proving to himself, to his team, to his fans and to his competitors that even though he didn’t qualify for the Playoffs for the first time in his seven-championship career, he is every bit as determined to finish strong. And win. Johnson returns to the site of his last victory this week. On June 4, 2017, Johnson celebrated his 83rd career win in Dover’s Victory Lane, having no idea that he would sustain a winless streak ever since. Dover may be the answer, however. Johnson’s 11 victories on the concrete mile is most all-time. NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison are next with seven wins. In addition to his 11 wins, he has 17 top fives and 24 top 10s in 35 starts – best in the field. He boasts the top Driving Rating (113.3) and has easily led the most laps (3,109). During an eight-race stretch from 2009-2012, Johnson earned four wins, a runner-up finish and three pole positions in his famous No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. In just those eight races, he led 1,681 laps or 54 percent of total. Five times during that time period, he led at least 200 laps in a race. He answered that mastery with three victories in five races from 2013-15. Johnson was 36th in this race last year, but 14th this May. He has finishes of 11th (Las Vegas), 10th (Richmond) and ninth (Charlotte) in the three Playoff races this season. Only five of the current 12 Playoff drivers have a better average finish through the opening three races than Johnson (10.0). He now trails 17th-place Daniel Suarez by only six points in his quest to be best among non-Playoff drivers – the pair have separated themselves from the rest of the field. Paul Menard is 19th, 70 points behind Johnson. Celebrating 100 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Races This week’s Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway marks the 100th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at the one-mile concrete track. Current driver and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with 11 victories. NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are next on the list with seven wins. Another NASCAR Hall of Famer, David Pearson, holds the top-mark for pole positions with six. Ryan Newman’s four pole position is most among current drivers. Petty won the first Cup race at the historic track on July 6, 1960, the Mason Dixon 300. His No. 43 Petty Enterprises 1969 Ford led 150 of the 300 laps and beat runner-up Sunny Hutchins in a 1967 Ford by six laps. Three times in the 100-race history, a driver has managed to win three consecutive races – all of them NASCAR Hall of Famers: Pearson (1972-73), Rusty Wallace (1993-94) and Jeff Gordon (1995-95). Interestingly, the last time a driver won back-to-back races was 2013-14 (Jimmie Johnson). Mark Martin, a four-time race winner, holds the record for most runner-up finishes (eight) all-time; Ricky Rudd holds the mark for most starts at the track with 56. Hendrick Motorsports holds the record for most wins (20) for an organization. Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 40 wins in the first 99 races. Only two drivers have earned their first career Cup victories at Dover – Jody Ridley in May, 1981, and Martin Truex Jr. in 2007. Next Race: Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 The Place: Dover International Speedway The Date: Saturday, October 5 The Time: 3 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 2:30 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) 2018 Race Winner: Christopher Bell Xfinity’s next stage: Dover International Speedway This weekend the NASCAR Xfinity Series rolls into Dover, Delaware, for the third race in the Playoffs with the Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Dover International Speedway is one of only seven tracks that are currently on the schedule that have been a part of the series circuit since its inception in 1982. Dover has hosted 71 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, producing 47 different poles winners and 48 different race winners. Joey Logano and Harry Grant currently hold the series record for poles at Dover with five each. Kyle Busch holds the record for Xfinity Series wins at Dover with five victories. This season marks the fourth consecutive year Dover International Speedway will host a NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff race. For the first two years of the Xfinity Playoffs (2016-2017), Dover was the second race in the postseason. Then last year Dover was moved to the third and final race of the Round of 12, the same as it is this season. Dover has produced three different winners in its three Playoff races – Daniel Suarez won in 2016, Ryan Blaney won in 2017 and Christopher Bell won last season. Blaney is the only one of the three winners that was not a Playoff driver at the time of his victory. Both Suarez and Bell took the Playoff standings lead following their wins at Dover and went on to win the title in their respective seasons. Last season four drivers were eliminated from the Playoffs following Dover, they were Ross Chastain, Brandon Jones, Ryan Truex and Ryan Reed. Jones is the only one of the four that is currently a Playoff driver this season. Burton in JGR’s No. 18 Harrison Burton will be making his sixth start of the season and third consecutive this weekend at Dover International Speedway in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota Supra. The No. 18 team is vying for a Playoff spot in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series owner Playoffs, currently 11th in the standings, 15 points back from the eighth-place JR Motorsport’s No. 1 team driven by Michael Annett. Burton’s Playoff run has seen a sixth-place finish at Richmond and a 13th-place finish last weekend at the Charlotte Road Course. This weekend will be Burton’s series track debut at Dover. Smith in JRM’s No. 8 Zane Smith will be back in the JR Motorsport’s No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend at Dover for his ninth start of the season. Smith’s eight previous starts have produced one top five and five top 10s. Smith has competed in one Playoff race this season already – the Richmond postseason opener starting 15th and finishing eighth. The No. 8 team is currently 10th in the owner Playoff standings 12 points behind the eighth place No. 1 JRM team. Next Race: Sugarlands Shine 250 The Place: Talladega Superspeedway The Date: Saturday, October 12 The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 250.04 miles (94 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 94) 2018 Winner: Timothy Peters source – NASCAR communications
