Cup Qualifying Record
Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 161.522 mph (22.288 sec.); June 4, 2004
Cup Race Record
Mark Martin, Ford, 132.719 mph; Sept. 21, 1997
Track Length: 1 Mile (400 laps = 400 miles)
Race Length: 400 Miles
Grandstand Seating Capacity: 140,000
First Race: July 6, 1969 - Mason-Dixon 300
Banking in Corners: 24 degrees
Banking on Straights: 9 degrees
Frontstrech: 1,076 feet
Backstretch: 1,076 feet
History
The fastest true oval on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series circuit opened its gates in July 1969. Richard Petty drove his Ford (the only season he sported a Blue Oval on the hood) in a 300-mile event on an asphalt surface to capture the first checkered flag. The asphalt surface at "The Monster Mile" was replaced with yards of concrete in 1994.
In 1971, the NEXTEL Cup event was lengthened to 500 miles. The race ran caution-free giving Bobby Allison his first Dover win. Also, a second 500-mile race was added and Petty, once again, took inaugural honors.
During the 1997 season, in an attempt to make the event more competitive, both events were shortened to 400 miles each.
Pole and race winners at each track on the Nextel Cup circuit since the beginning of the modern era in 1971
Date Race Name Pole Winner Race Winner Starting Pos. Make
06/04/06 Neighborhood Excellence 400 presented by Bank of America Ryan Newman Matt Kenseth 19 Ford
09/25/05 MBNA RacePoints 400 Ryan Newman Jimmie Johnson 5 Chevrolet
06/05/05 MBNA RacePoints 400 Rained Out Greg Biffle 2 Ford
09/26/04 MBNA America 400 Jeremy Mayfield Ryan Newman 2 Dodge
06/06/04 MBNA 400 "A Salute to Heroes" Jeremy Mayfield Mark Martin 7 Ford
09/21/03 MBNA America 400 Rained Out Ryan Newman 5 Dodge
06/01/03 MBNA Armed Forces Family 400 Ryan Newman Ryan Newman 1 Dodge
09/22/02 MBNA All-American Heroes 400 Rusty Wallace Jimmie Johnson 19 Chevrolet
06/02/02 MBNA Platinum 400 Matt Kenseth Jimmie Johnson 10 Chevrolet
09/23/01 MBNA Cal Ripken, Jr. 400 Dale Jarrett Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3 Chevrolet
06/03/01 MBNA Platinum 400 Rained Out Jeff Gordon 2 Chevrolet
09/24/00 MBNA.com 400 Jeremy Mayfield Tony Stewart 27 Pontiac
06/04/00 MBNA Platinum 400 Rusty Wallace Tony Stewart 16 Pontiac
09/26/99 MBNA Gold 400 Rusty Wallace Mark Martin 8 Ford
06/06/99 MBNA Platinum 400 Bobby Labonte Bobby Labonte 1 Pontiac
09/20/98 MBNA Gold 400 Mark Martin Mark Martin 1 Ford
05/31/98 MBNA Platinum 400 Rusty Wallace Dale Jarrett 4 Ford
09/21/97 MBNA 400 Mark Martin Mark Martin 1 Ford
06/01/97 Miller 500 Bobby Labonte Ricky Rudd 13 Ford
09/15/96 MBNA 400 Bobby Labonte Jeff Gordon 3 Chevrolet
06/02/96 Miller 500 Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon 1 Chevrolet
09/15/74 Delaware 500 Buddy Baker Richard Petty 2 Dodge
05/19/74 Mason-Dixon 500 David Pearson Cale Yarborough 3 Chevrolet
09/16/73 Delaware 500 David Pearson David Pearson 1 Mercury
06/03/73 Mason-Dixon 500 David Pearson David Pearson 1 Mercury
09/17/72 Delaware 500 Bobby Allison David Pearson 2 Mercury
06/04/72 Mason-Dixon 500 Bobby Isaac Bobby Allison 2 Chevrolet
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Team notes: Drivers to take their Chase chances to Dover
Posted 9/21/2006 12:24 AM ET
NASCAR team notes as the Chase for the Nextel Cup enters its second round, Sunday's 400-miler at Dover (Del.) International Speedway:
Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
This week: Harvick's ascent to the top of the standings marks both a career highlight and significant milestone for his team. It's the first time in Harvick's six-year Cup career he has led the standings and the first time an RCR driver has led the points since Mike Skinner in March 1999. After consecutive victories at Richmond and New Hampshire, Harvick has emerged as the early Chase favorite. He has won three out of the last six races to assume the lead by 35 points over second-place Denny Hamlin. Harvick has five top-10 finishes in 11 career starts at Dover. His third-place finish in June is his best at the track.
Last week: Harvick dominated Sunday's 312-mile race at New Hampshire, which allowed him to leap from third to first in the standings.
Etc.: Harvick also leads the NASCAR Busch Series standings by 619 points and could become the first driver to win two NASCAR national series titles in the same season.
Denny Hamlin
No. 11 Chevrolet, Joe Gibbs Racing
This week: Hamlin is at his career high-mark in the points race. He trailed leader Matt Kenseth by 437 points at the conclusion of the Race to The Chase before the point adjustment and by 20 after the adjustment. He now trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 35. Hamlin is the first Rookie of the Year contender to make the Chase since the format's inception in 2004. He has scored 10 straight top-15 finishes and has 14 top-10 finishes in 2006, the most among all rookie contenders. He was 11th in June in his only Cup race at Dover.
Last week: Hamlin finished fourth at New Hampshire, his fifth top-five this season. Hamlin is the first rookie to score a top-five in the fall race at New Hampshire since Kasey Kahne, who finished fourth in 2004.
Etc.: Hamlin has been the highest-finishing rookie in 14 of the 27 races this season and has been running at the finish in the last 21 races.
Matt Kenseth
No. 17 Ford, Roush Racing
This week: Dover is one of four Chase tracks where Kenseth has won a Cup race. Kenseth was 26 when he made his Cup debut at Dover in September 1998. He substituted for Bill Elliott, whose father had just died, that day and drove to a sixth-place finish. Kenseth has one win, four top-fives and eight top-10s in 15 races at Dover. He will drive chassis No. RK-267, a Ford that was last raced at Dover and led 83 laps on the way to his victory there in June. "Dover is a tough racetrack and one of the most physically demanding tracks we race at," Kenseth said.
Last week: Kenseth's 10th-place finish at New Hampshire was his 17th top-10 of the season, just one less than Jimmie Johnson.
Etc.: By leading a lap at New Hampshire, Kenseth has led at least one lap in 18 of the series' 27 races in 2006, more than any other driver.
Jeff Gordon
No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
This week: In previewing the final 10 races, Gordon singled out three tracks — New Hampshire, Texas and "possibly" Phoenix — as stumbling blocks for the No. 24 team. His last three finishes at Dover were 12th, 37th and 39th, but Gordon has four wins, two poles, 12 top-fives and 16 top-10s in 27 starts at Dover. He has paced the field for 2,197 laps — the most among active drivers — for an average of 81 laps led per event.
Last week: Gordon finished third at New Hampshire and climbed from ninth to fourth in the standings, the biggest gain among the top 10.
Etc.: Gordon will be driving a new chassis this weekend. "This car has been ready for months. We were just saving it for the Chase," crew chief Steve Letarte said. "It's a 'sister' to the car we won with at Chicago with a similar aero package — a package that has been successful for us this year."
Jeff Burton
No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
This week: Burton has six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 25 races at Dover. He has yet to win there but finished second on May 31, 1998. Burton will drive chassis No. 164 from the RCR stable, which was built new for 2006. This is the same car Burton has run in seven races this season, accumulating two top-five and six top-10 finishes. The lone finish outside the top 10 came at Atlanta when a tire issue forced Burton to pit under green while running third with just seven laps remaining in the event. He raced this car to a fourth-place finish in June at Dover and has five other top-10 finishes in it this year.
Last week: Despite starting in 22nd place, Burton was able to finish seventh at New Hampshire.
Etc: Burton, a 22-time winner in the NASCAR Busch Series, claimed his second Busch Series victory of the season in June at Dover.
Mark Martin
No. 6 Ford, Roush Racing
This week: Martin has four wins, 19 top-fives and 25 top-10 finishes in 40 career Cup starts at Dover. His last win there came in June 2004. Martin finished ninth there in June but hopes the same car he drove that day, RK-315, can get him closer to the front. "The very first time I went to Dover, I loved it from the start," Martin said. "It is definitely on my list of top tracks, and there probably is no cooler track to go and race on."
Last week: Martin finished 11th at New Hampshire and climbed from seventh to sixth in the standings. He trailed leader Matt Kenseth at the conclusion of the Race to the Chase by 449 points before the point adjustment and by 30 after the adjustment. He now trails point leader Kevin Harvick by 75.
Etc.: Martin's 19 top-five finishes at Dover ties him with the late Dale Earnhardt for the most in the series' history.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
No. 8 Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Inc.
This week: Earnhardt is seventh in the point standings, 81 points out of the lead. He has 19 top-15 finishes this season, which includes a win at Richmond in May, eight top-fives and 12 top-10s. He has also driven his Chevrolet to the lead in 12 races for 209 laps. He has one victory, three top-fives and six top-10s at Dover in 13 starts. "We've been hit-or-miss at Dover — sometimes we're great, sometimes we're not," Earnhardt said, noting that he qualified fourth there last year before a loose wheel at the beginning of the race slowed him down. "The car was good, so I know we've got good notes to go off of," he said.
Last week: Earnhardt's 13th-place finish at New Hampshire dropped him one position in the point standings.
Etc: Earnhardt's victory at Dover, one of 17 in his career, was on Sept. 23, 2001, the first NASCAR race after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Kasey Kahne
No. 9 Dodge, Evernham Motorsports
This week: Kahne has won five races in 2006, more than any other driver, and has 10 top-10s and 16 top-15s in 27 races. One year ago he ranked 22nd in the point standings. He has just one top-10 finish in five races at Dover, was not able to finish the first three and has led in only one. He finished 16th in this race one year ago and seventh there in June, his best Dover finish.
Last week: Kahne finished 16th at New Hampshire and climbed from 10th to eighth in the standings. Kahne made the Chase by edging 16 points in front of 11th-place Tony Stewart. He trailed points leader Matt Kenseth by 466 points at the conclusion of the Race to The Chase but, with the point adjustment, began the Chase 45 points out of first.
Etc.: Kahne's 24.2 average finish at Dover is the worst among the 10 Chase drivers.
Jimmie Johnson
No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
This week: The Dover race marks Johnson's 175th career start. He has won three times at Dover, including this race in 2005. His other two wins were in 2002, the first two times he ever raced Cup cars at Dover. "We just need to get to work and go racing," Johnson said. He will be driving chassis No. 48329, which finished 10th and 30th at Bristol and fourth at Darlington. Chassis No. 48297, which finished second at California in February, will be the backup.
Last week: Slowed by a faulty spark-plug wire and then an crash, Johnson finished 39th, his worst result of the season, at New Hampshire and is ninth in the Chase, 139 points behind Kevin Harvick. "We definitely got off to a start that we didn't want," Johnson said. "That's racing. Stuff happens."
Etc.: Johnson dropped 134 points and seven positions, the largest decline of any driver in the Chase this week.
Kyle Busch
No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
This week: Busch leads the series with an average finish of third at Dover. He finished second in both 2005 races at the one-mile oval and fifth earlier this season. Busch has one top-five finish in a Busch Series race at Dover and also won a Truck race there last year. Busch said he feels confident about his chances at seven of the nine remaining tracks in the Chase. The exceptions? Texas and Atlanta, where he has struggled.
Last week: Busch finished a miserable 38th at New Hampshire and dropped to the bottom of the 10-driver field in The Chase. "That was our mulligan," Busch said.
Etc.: Busch goes into Sunday's race with hopes of becoming the sixth Hendrick Motorsports driver to record a Dover win. Car owner Rick Hendrick leads the Nextel Cup Series with 10 victories at the Delaware track among five drivers: Jeff Gordon (four), Jimmie Johnson (three), Geoffrey Bodine, Ricky Rudd and Ken Schrader.
This week: In June at Dover, Stewart was forced to call on relief driver Ricky Rudd because of a fracture at the tip of his right scapula. Stewart said "that was one of the hardest days of my life — having to watch my car go around the track without me in it." Stewart will be looking for his third win at Dover. He has nine top-five finishes in 15 starts at the Monster Mile.
Last week: With 33 laps remaining, Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli decided to change all four tires, and it turned out to be a great decision as Stewart was able to race from eighth to second.
Greg Biffle
No. 16 Ford, Roush Racing
This week: Biffle has one win and three top-10 finishes in eight starts at Dover. He finished eighth in the June race.
Last week: Biffle started the New Hampshire race with high hopes after three straight top-five finishes at the track. Instead, he battled handling problems all afternoon and finished 14th to fall 313 points back of Tony Stewart in the battle for the $1 million bonus that goes to the 11th-place finisher in the point standings.
Carl Edwards
No. 99 Ford, Roush Racing
This week: There have been five winners in the last five races at Dover. Edwards hopes to make it six for six. He has one top-10 finish in four starts at the one-mile track. Starting up front is important at Dover. Nine of the last 11 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including six of the last seven.
Last week: Edwards battled handling problems all afternoon as he finished a disappointing 18th at New Hampshire.
Kurt Busch
No. 2 Dodge, Penske Racing South
This week: Dover has not been one of Busch's better tracks; he has only one top-five finish and three top-10s in 12 starts there. But it still ranks high on his list of favorite speedways since he made his Cup debut at Dover exactly six years ago on Sunday.
Last week: It was a trouble-filled day for Busch at New Hampshire. First, he smacked the wall while racing with a lapped car. Then, he missed his pit during the ninth caution period and when he backed up, the car fell off the jack.
Casey Mears
No. 42 Dodge, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
This week: Mears finished 10th in this race a year ago, his first top-10 finish at Dover. In six other starts at the one-mile, high-banked oval, his best finish has been 21st.
Last week: Mears battled back from a mistake on pit road to finish 21st at New Hampshire. Mears was running in the top 15 when he made a green-flag stop on lap 162. But he slid through his pit stall and had to be pushed back into the stall before the crew could change tires and refuel the car.
Ryan Newman
No. 12 Dodge, Penske Racing South
This week: Newman will be looking for his fourth win at Dover this weekend as well as his fourth pole at the Monster Mile. In nine starts at the track, he has finished outside the top 10 only twice.
Last week: Newman finished 12th at New Hampshire but felt as if he deserved better. "I thought we had a pretty good car," he said. "We just couldn't show it, but I'm happy to say two weeks in a row that we had a better car than where we finished. We haven't been able to say that a lot this year."
Clint Bowyer
No. 07 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
This week: Bowyer finished 17th in his Nextel Cup debut at Dover in June and thought he would have done even better if not for a bad set of tires.
Last week: After finishing 24th at New Hampshire, Bowyer said his car's front end needed some adjustments, and "then we were too far back in traffic to make up a whole lot of ground. It's amazing how competitive this sport is. Everyone on this team worked their butts off to finish 24th."
Brian Vickers
No. 25 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
This week: In five starts at Dover, Vickers has one top-10 finish. He also has two DNFs at the one-mile track. Vickers was one of six drivers who spent Tuesday and Wednesday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, taking part in the Goodyear tire test at the newly repaved 2.66-mile oval.
Last week: Vickers ran up front throughout the New Hampshire event as he finished fifth — his fourth top-five finish of the season.
Jamie McMurray
No. 26 Ford, Roush Racing
This week: McMurray needs a morale boost and Dover would seem to be the perfect place to give him one. In June, he led 95 laps and finished second. "The last few weeks have been really tough for this 26 team," McMurray said. "We are hungry for a solid run, and hopefully this weekend we can get it. We need that same type of run (as June) this weekend."
Last week: It was a long afternoon at New Hampshire for McMurray as he finished 29th, two laps back of winner Kevin Harvick.
Elliott Sadler
No. 19 Dodge, Evernham Motorsports
This week: Sadler has finished in the top 10 in two of the last three races at Dover, and he has led in two of the three.
Last week: Sadler was all smiles after finishing sixth at New Hampshire. "I think it shows our team is jelling together," he said. It was the team's second top-10 in five races since he joined Evernham.
***
Notes provided by The Sports Xchange
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“Dover is a tough track. Although it’s twice the size of Bristol, they are very similar. Everything happens fast at Dover and you are constantly on the wheel. We had some issues last time around and hopefully we can rebound and get a top five finish this weekend.”
With only nine races remaining until the end of the 2006 season, are you still confident that your goal of top 20 in points is still attainable?
“With all the talk about the Chase, you would think that the season is almost over. But nine races to go is still 25 percent of the schedule, so there is plenty of time for us to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season. Those nine races include a lot of tracks where we have been really good, and if we can keep the momentum going that we have had over the last 10 races or so I think we will be very happy with how our 2006 season turns out. Even though the points don't show it right now, this has been a really good season for us simply because we know we are running much better than a 24th place car. We're only going to get better from here."
Menards/MAPEI Fast Facts:
· Welcome Back –
Menards and MAPEI team up for the sixth time in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season as the primary sponsor of Robby Gordon’s No. 7 Chevy at this weekend’s event. MAPEI, a global corporation, has been supplying residential and major commercial projects with total installation solutions for tile and stone, floor covering and decorative concrete as well as concrete restoration for more than 65 years. Visit www.mapei.com for technical information or call 1-800-42-MAPEI (1-800-426-2734) for the nearest location. Harrah’s, Jim Beam and CarLoan.com will serve as associates.
· Chassis –
Robby Gordon will compete in chassis No. 106 at the 1-mile concrete bull ring of Dover International Speedway. Chassis No. 106 last saw action on July 23rd at Pocono Raceway, where Gordon brought it home to a 13th-place finish. Chassis No. 104 will serve as back up.
· Points Position –
Following back-to-back top-20 finishes at Richmond and Loudon, Gordon moved up two spots to 24th in owner points, a mere 28 points from 23rd and 275 points out of 20th, which remains the team’s goal.
· Meet the Driver –
Robby Gordon will sign autographs and visit with fans on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 10:15 a.m. at the Robby Gordon Motorsports merchandise trailer.
· Hear It –
Got a scanner? Tune it to 469.4500 or 463.6500 to hear Robby Gordon Motorsports team communications during the race.
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Last edited by mrsmopar12 : 09-22-2006 at 01:17 AM.
Reason: title
Newman Has Experienced Success Several Times At Dover And Is Hoping To Do It Again This Weekend
Penske South Racing, Press Release
NNCS Notes:
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, will make his 10th NASCAR Cup Series start at Dover International Speedway on Sunday and his 180th in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Newman has earned three Bud Pole Awards at Dover in nine races. He won the pole for the Neighborhood Excellence 400 in June and for the MBNA RacePoints 400 in September 2005. His first Bud Pole at Dover came in the June 2003 race. Newman has only started one race at Dover outside the top five - a 38th-place start in the June 2002 race. Newman's eight straight top-five starts is the longest current streak at Dover. His average start at the track is 6.44, which leads all active drivers at the "Monster Mile".
Newman also has performed quite well in the Dover races. In his nine previous starts at the 1-mile oval, Newman has finished outside the top 10 only twice, including a 24th in June 2004 and a 14th in June 2006. Along with three Cup victories, Newman has seven top-10 finishes, including five in the top five. His average finish at Dover is 7.33.
Newman has led six races at Dover for 644 laps. He has finished 3,976 laps out of a possible 4,004, giving him a 99.3 percent completion rate.
Matt Borland, crew chief of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, and the Alltel team will take chassis PRS-79 to this weekend's Dover 400. This car was driven at Bristol in August where Newman qualified 21st and finished eighth. It was also run in the June race at Dover where Newman earned the Bud Pole. Before that, it was driven in Atlanta in March when Newman started second and finished 18th.
The backup car for Dover is chassis PRS-76. This car was run at Chicagoland in July where Newman started 12th and ended up 36th. Before that, Newman drove the car three previous times this season, most recently at Michigan. Newman used this same chassis at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600, where he finished 35th after starting 18th, and at Darlington in May, where he placed sixth after starting second. Newman also tested this car at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 3. Last year, Newman raced this car at Chicagoland Speedway. Prior to the 2005 Chicago race, the car was used in May at Darlington and at Charlotte, and in June at Michigan. The car qualified on the front row in each of the four 2005 races, winning two poles - one at Charlotte and the other at Michigan.
Newman on Dover International Speedway:
"Dover is one of my favorite tracks. The banking makes it nice to pass and race the other cars. I've had a lot of success there in the past. This team and the Busch team have gone to Victory Lane there four times before and we're hoping to do it again this weekend."
Quick Stats:
Dover International Speedway: 9
Races Led/Laps Led: 6/644
Best Starting Position: 1 (three times)
Best Finishing Position: 1 (three times)
September 2005 Start: 1
September 2005 Finish: 5
This Press Release and any images that are used,
are used with permission. Do not duplicate or
redistribute in any form without permission or credit.
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It's Either A Hit-Or-Miss For The Budweiser Team At Dover
Fingerprint, Inc., For Budweiser Racing, Press Release
Budweiser Race Preview
Dover 400 at Dover International Speedway
Quotes from: DALE EARNHARDT JR. / Driver, #8 Budweiser Chevrolet:
“We’ve been hit-or-miss at Dover – sometimes we’re great, sometimes we’re not. But we’ve won there, so there’s always confidence we can do it again. I’m looking forward to going back with Tony (crew chief Eury) Jr. and seeing how much better we can be. We qualified fourth and were strong there last year, but a loose wheel at the beginning of the race ruined our chances to win. We had to make a green-flag pit stop, lost a couple laps, and that was all she wrote. But the car was good, so I know we’ve got good notes to go off of. If we can keep the car turning, we’ll be fast. We’ll be good.”
On being 7th in points one race into the Chase:
“We’re fine. It’s still early in the Chase, and anyone who’s already counting out Jimmie (Johnson) and Kyle (Busch) is a little foolish. Everybody is so quick to want to cross people off the list, but you can’t do that. There are a lot of points to be distributed in nine races. I was frustrated (Sunday after the New Hampshire race) about finishing 13th when I knew we were so much better. I was disappointed, but let me tell you, if that’s our one bad race, then we’ll contending for the championship. I’ve got a great team, and I have a lot of confidence in them. They want to win this championship as bad as I do.”
The No. 8 Bud Team at Dover:
Previous Starts: 13
Best Start: 2nd (Sept. 21, 2003)
Best Finish: 1st (Sept. 23, 2001)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 4th / FN: 31st
Last Time at Dover: ST: 11th / FN: 10th / LED: 1 lap
This Week’s Bud Car: #42
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the #8 Budweiser team enter race 2 of 10 in the Chase for the Championship seventh in the Nextel Cup point standings, 81 points out of the lead. Junior is coming off a 13th-place finish at New Hampshire on Sunday, his 19th top-15 of the season. He also has one win (Richmond), eight top-fives and 12 top-10s in 2006. He has led in 12 races for 209 laps.
DOVER NOTEBOOK ON THE BUD TEAM:
Dale Jr. scored one of his 17 career victories at Dover (Sept. 23, 2001), notable for being the first NASCAR race following 9/11. Junior led 193 laps that day.
In 13 starts, Junior has one win, three top-fives and six top-10s at DIS.
The Bud team has led eight races at Dover for 366 laps.
Earnhardt has a 15.923 finishing average at Dover.
Junior has won three times on one-mile tracks (twice at Phoenix, once at Dover). In the last 20 “one-mile” races, Dale has scored eight top-fives and 12 top-10s.
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True Speed Communication For Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release
ATLANTA (Sept. 19, 2006) - Tony Stewart's last visit to Dover (Del.) International Speedway was a lot like being stranded in an airport - nothing was comfortable, and your mode of transportation was inaccessible.
The two-time and reigning NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion came to Dover in June with a non-displaced fracture at the tip of his right scapula. Back-to-back crashes the week earlier in the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup races at Charlotte (N.C.) were the culprit. The injury didn't require surgery. The only remedy was rest and time.
Neither is available at Dover. Nicknamed the "Monster Mile," Dover can chew up and spit out green rookies and savvy veterans alike. It's indiscriminate, with its 24 degrees of banking and bumpy, concrete surface making Dover one of the more physically demanding tracks on the series' 36-race schedule.
As a result, Stewart had to stand on the sideline for much of the Dover race weekend while veteran NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd piloted Stewart's familiar orange and black No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Stewart made only a handful of practice laps, as it was Rudd who qualified the No. 20 and then dialed it in for 400 laps at Dover.
To earn the points for whatever finish Rudd would post, Stewart started the race, and under the first caution period on lap 38, ceded the wheel to Rudd. Considering the circumstances, the 25th place result was a respectable one.
Three months later with the series set to return to Dover for Sunday's 400-miler, Stewart is 100 percent healthy and 100 percent determined.
For the first time in his eight-year Nextel Cup career, Stewart will not finish among the top-10 in points. He missed the Chase for the Championship by a scant 16 points following the cutoff race Sept. 9 at Richmond (Va.). While disappointed with not being a part of the 10-driver, 10-race Chase for the Championship, Stewart has turned that disappointment into steely determination.
If a championship can't be won, races can.
Stewart's win-or-bust attitude was on display last Sunday at New Hampshire. There, he and crew chief Greg Zipadelli gambled that four new tires would be better than two for the final, 30-lap sprint to the finish. Their thought proved correct, as Stewart piloted the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet from eighth to second, .777 of a second behind race winner Kevin Harvick.
Dover should be another good track for Stewart. The Indiana native has an average finish of seventh at the 1-mile oval, complemented by two wins, nine top-fives, a sixth, a seventh and a total of 1,066 laps led in 15 career starts.
While the Chase for the Championship continues at Dover, Stewart's chase for the checkered flag continues as well.
Since you didn't get a chance to make many laps at Dover back in the spring, are you looking forward to going back to Dover for the fall race 100 percent healthy?
"That was one of the hardest days of my life - having to watch my car go around the race track without me in it. I'm really looking forward to going back. We've typically run well at Dover, and I feel like it's a great opportunity for us to go back and try to get a win."
Are you looking at these last nine races one at a time, or are you taking a bigger picture approach and using these nine races to build toward next year?
"It's a week to week deal right now. Our goal is just to go out and try to win the race each week, just like it's always been. Our focus hasn't changed. Our goals haven't changed."
When two other high-profile teams - the No. 8 and the No. 24 - failed to make the Chase last year, they made some personnel changes as a way to get a head start on the next season. But in its eight years of existence, the No. 20 team has always had very little employee turnover. Do you expect the team to stay intact, as it's pretty much the same outfit that delivered a championship in 2002 and 2005?
"It's not the people that are keeping us from winning races. It's just circumstances. I don't see any changes, as far as personnel goes. I think everybody is doing a good job of working on the car. It's just a matter of getting our cars just a little bit better and having a lot more luck on our side. You can't do anything when you have accidents and mechanical failures that are out of your control. You can change all the people you want, but that part of the sport isn't ever going to change."
How tough is it to race around the top-10 drivers competing for the championship?
"It's the first time we've been in this situation - being on the outside of the Chase. It's very uncomfortable to race around the guys who are running for a championship. You're so scared to make a mistake around them and cause them a problem - like what happened to Jimmie Johnson at New Hampshire. You can't race like you would normally race. It's a very frustrating situation. There seems to be a lot less give-and-take than normal, and that makes it even more frustrating. It is what it is. I think the idea of having a Chase is an awesome deal, but being on both sides of it now, I think it's a very weird deal. It makes it very uncomfortable for the other 33 guys that have to race around those 10 guys that are on the race track racing for a championship. It's a lot more fun being in the top-10 than it is being on the outside of the top-10 and trying to race for wins and having to worry about those guys at the same time."
Have you changed the way you race the drivers who are competing for the championship?
"When you're up there racing with those guys, it makes you timid and it makes you think, 'Well, should I just let them go, or should I just go ahead and race my race?' I know the consideration I got last year from guys and how much I appreciated it. Instead of just saying you want to race your own race, you say maybe you should give this guy an extra break here and there. It makes it frustrating to race because you aren't racing your own race that way. You're racing a race in a race, so to speak.
"You just have to show them respect. You still want to win races, but at the same time, you still have to be mindful that there are 10 guys racing for a series championship. You try to race hard, but at the same time, you have to be respectful and give them the room they deserve."
Now that you've seen both sides of the Chase, do you think there should be a separate point system for those competing in the Chase?
"I am in favor of it. I think that if you have 10 guys racing each other, they should have their own deal. You know if you get in between two Chase drivers that you cost them five points. It shouldn't be that way.
"The Chase is exciting. There is nothing wrong with it. It just puts some of us drivers in some awkward positions."
With back-to-back wins and the championship point lead, Kevin Harvick and his team seem to be on quite a roll, similar to the kind of roll you and the No. 20 team were on last year when you won five races in seven weeks. What is that like?
"When we had that last year, we went to the race track with our head up high each week. He's in the perfect situation right now as a driver - win the race before the Chase and win the first race of the Chase. That team is on an emotional high and that carries some weight. It relaxes the team. They don't feel like they have to go out and make something happen. They feel like everything is going their way. And when it seems like things are going your way, you just kind of go to the track with a smile on your face and you go through the motions. It's not that they're not working hard, but they're not pressuring themselves to try to make something happen. So they're not making mistakes. When you try to make something happen, that's when you make mistakes."
How intimidating can Dover be for a young driver?
"With it being as bumpy as it is, it can be tough for some of the guys when they first get there. But nowadays with everybody's cars being so good, it makes it pretty easy on everybody as far as learning the track and being comfortable there."
Dover has been dubbed the "Monster Mile." How aggressive are you at a track with a moniker that exemplifies its difficult nature?
"I like to be aggressive at Dover. It's one of my better tracks and I feel like we run really, really well there. It's a track where Zippy (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) and I feel like we have a really good package that works pretty well for us. It allows me to be aggressive to where I can go out and lead a lot of laps and put pressure on the leaders when I'm not out front."
Dover's surface is concrete. Do you have to alter your driving style when you race on concrete?
"I don't think you drive it any differently. But because it is concrete, the track has a lot more bumps than an asphalt track would. There are seams in Dover's surface and places where they've cut the concrete for expansion. Those sections shift and change, and every year when you go there the bumps are a little bit different than they were the year before. Dover is a track that's constantly changing. But it's one of those places where you really can't change your driving style. You still have to do the same things you always do. It's just a matter of finding the package that's right for that race track. But other than that, you go through the same set of scenarios and challenges you would on any asphalt track - either the car is going to be tight or it's going to be loose."
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This Week In Ford Racing With NNCS Driver Jamie McMurray
Campbell & Co., For Ford Racing, Press Release
Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion, was four laps away from victory the last time the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series visited Dover International Speedway in June, but Roush Racing teammate Matt Kenseth passed him and went on to win. The second-place effort marks the best finish of the season for McMurray, who spoke about returning to the Monster Mile for Sunday's 400-mile event.
JAMIE MCMURRAY - No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion --
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GOING BACK TO DOVER AFTER FINISHING SECOND IN THE FIRST RACE?
"I'm very optimistic. It's been a very tough season, so I guess Dover would be the highlight of our year so far. We're actually taking a different car back. The car that we ran at Dover, we actually think we've got something better, so we're gonna take a newer car back with a little bit better body. We're gonna start with a similar setup and see what we have."
DO YOU LIKE TRACKS LIKE DOVER WITH SUCH HIGH BANKING?
"Dover has always been a place for me that I either ran really well at or I struggled at. I've never had an in-between or average day there, so, hopefully, we can go back and have another great day. Our car was really pretty good from the time we unloaded it at Dover the first time, so we'll just have to wait and see."
YOU'RE 117 POINTS OUT OF 15TH PLACE. DOES THAT BECOME THE GOAL NOW - TO TRY AND FINISH AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE?
"I don't even really care about any of that because what I'm concentrating on is getting our race team ready to go next year. That's the biggest goal for us. The points deal isn't something I'm really concerned about right now."
A LOT OF GUYS HAVE SAID THAT THEY'LL USE THESE LAST 10 RACES AS A TEST TO TRY THINGS IN PREPARATION FOR NEXT YEAR, BUT YOU'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF EXPERIMENTING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. DO YOU CONTINUE THAT?
"When things aren't going well you fight every week just to see what you can learn. I know a lot of people like to talk about what they're doing or what they're going to do, but the bottom line is that everyone goes out there every week and tries to win and just make their race team better."
DO YOU SEE SOME LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?
"Sometimes and sometimes not. We still have a lot of work to do."
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Harvick No Longer the Underdog as Chase Heads to Dover
Wasserman Media Group, LLC, For Richard Childress Racing, Press Release
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 19, 2006) – GM Goodwrench driver Kevin Harvick’s ascent to the top of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings marks both a career highlight and significant milestone for his team, Richard Childress Racing (RCR). It’s the first time in Harvick’s six-year Cup career he has led the standings and the first time an RCR driver has led the points since Mike Skinner March 1999.
“The roll we are on is incredible,” said Harvick. “If you look at how we have run and the finishes we have had, the whole year has just been phenomenal. If it ended right now, I think we would be happy and know we have really improved upon where we were in the past. Right now we are having fun and trying to race to win. At the beginning of the year, nobody would have expected us to be sitting in this spot, so we have kind of run from the underdog role from day one. It has kind of been nice to fly under the radar and just have fun with it.”
After consecutive victories at Richmond and New Hampshire, Harvick has emerged as the early Chase favorite heading to Dover and is riding a wave of confidence and momentum. He has won three out of the last six races to assume the lead by 35 points over second-place Denny Hamlin.
“I think it is a Catch-22,” said Harvick of the team’s recent string of successes. “You want to temper yourself to the point to where you are excited, but not overly excited. We are excited that we have turned our organization around, and we feel like we can race for the championship, but I have also been on the arrogant and cocky side of it in years past. You don't want to stick your foot in your mouth. Maybe at the end of the year, you can become a little bit proud of what you have done, but right now we just want to keep doing what we are doing. We don't want to fall on our face. We want to stay competitive and contend for the championship. Sure, we are confident in our cars. I am confident, (crew chief) Todd (Berrier) is confident, everybody is confident, but we aren't going to get cocky about it.”
Harvick also leads the NASCAR Busch Series standings by 619 points and could become the first driver to win two NASCAR national series titles in the same season. Harvick leads second-place Carl Edwards, another NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver running full schedules in both series, in the NASCAR Busch Series standings. The 2006 NASCAR Busch Series title would be Harvick’s second. His first Busch Series championship came in 2001, when he also went on to win Cup Series rookie-of-the-year honors.
Harvick has five top-10 finishes in 11 career starts at Dover. He earned his best finish to date with a third-place result in June.
No. 29 GM Goodwrench driver Kevin Harvick about Dover International Speedway and the Chase…
What is your plan for the remaining nine races?
Right now, we are doing what we have done all year, which is race week to week - at least I do. I know (the crew members) have a lot of planning and work to do at the shop, and I feel like they have laid out their plan with the cars and how we want to race them. We have stuck to our plan pretty much through everything. We are looking forward to going wherever it is we have to go and see where it falls. We are just going to race as hard as we can and take the most out of the weekend.”
Do you feel like your success has been a long time coming?
“When I started in Cup in 2001, we had really good cars. In 2003, we were in the middle of the championship race and had some trouble there toward the end of the year and fell back. The last couple of years, we have been hit or miss and struggled for the most part and missed the Chase. These guys had a good plan going in to the end of last year and the first part of this year, and it has continuously gotten better. There is really not just one thing that is better. I think our cars are better, our bodies, our motors. I feel like I am in a better frame of mind, and I feel like we have got experience, too. Every year, you gain a little more experience, and you feel like you know how to handle situations better.”
Of the nine tracks remaining in the Chase, which one are you most concerned about?
“If you look at the past record, there are probably several that on paper we haven't performed well on, but I feel like the racetracks we are going to, we have ran well at this year. The mile and a halfs we have run well. Dover we had a chance to win the race. Talladega can go either way. You can flip over or y
Dover Race Preview
Past Winners
Dover Team Notes Part 1
Robby Gordon (for desertroots)
Ryan Newman
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kevin Harvick