Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Dover - Gander Outdoors 400 Preview

brospn (60)in #sports • 6 years ago

Gander Outdoors 400

Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE
Sunday October 7, 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on NBCSN
1 Mile High Banked Concrete Oval
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 80°F

Previous Five Winners and Pole Sitters

Race	Race Winner	Pole Sitter
Spring 2018	Kevin Harvick	Kyle Larson
Fall 2017	Kyle Busch	Martin Truex Jr.
Spring 2017	Jimmie Johnson	Kyle Busch
Fall 2016	Martin Truex Jr.	Brad Keselowski
Spring 2016	Matt Kenseth	Kevin Harvick

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to Delaware this Sunday with the Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway. A total of 39 cars are scheduled to enter the event. The second elimination round of the playoffs begins this week and the winner is guaranteed to move into the next round. Who can tame the famous "Monster Mile" and capture the checkered flag on Sunday?

The Favorite

As NASCAR enters the second elimination round of the 2018 Monster Energy Cup Playoffs, Kyle Busch currently sits atop the drivers points standings so it is no surprise he is the favorite to win at Dover.

Busch won this race last fall to give him three victories along with four runner-up finishes in 27 career starts at Dover.

"I love that place," Busch said. "It’s fun to race there and it’s a place I’m looking forward to going to with our Interstate Batteries Camry. You carry so much speed at that racetrack and, for it to be a mile in length and for it to be concrete – concrete surfaces that we race on, anyway, are a little bit slick. It’s definitely a roller-coaster ride and you need to treat it like it’s fun and not to be scared of the place, I think, because you can get so much out of that place. There are two ways about it – you can probably be really, really good there, or really, really bad there. Some days you’re going to be better than others, obviously, with how you can get your car set up compared to the competition."

Busch certainly understands the highs and lows of racing at Dover. He has seven DNFs in his 27 career starts, including one in the spring race here this season. With the playoffs in full swing, Busch should be able to keep his natural aggression in check. Look for him to be a contender for the checkered flag this week.

Other Drivers to Watch

To say Kevin Harvick dominated the spring race here at Dover this season would be an understatement. He led 201 of the 400 laps on his way to winning both race stages and bringing home the checkered flag. He absolutely crushed the competition to claim his second career win at the Monster Mile. Harvick leads all drivers in top-five and top-ten finishes while breaking even with Kyle Busch for the most wins this year. Expect the No.4 car to be battling with Busch once again Sunday.

New Jersey native Martin Truex Jr. considers Dover to be his "home" track and he has definitely enjoyed the home-cooking here lately. He has finished no worse than fourth place in his last four starts, a streak that includes one of his two career Dover victories.

"No question Dover has been a good track for us,” said Truex. "I really feel comfortable driving there. It’s been one of my favorite tracks."

The Big Three have won three out of the last four races at Dover and it seems likely one of them will win again this week.

Then again, Chase Elliott might throw a monkey wrench in the Big Three's works. Elliott has four top-five finishes in five career starts at Dover, including a runner-up finish in this race last fall. Elliott currently sits 9th in the drivers points standings and only eight drivers will move into the next round. He will be highly motivated to do well at what is statistically one of his best tracks on the circuit.

Clint Bowyer had a strong run in the spring Dover race, leading 40 laps and coming home with a runner-up finish behind teammate Kevin Harvick. He has yet to win here but has finished in the top-ten 14 times in 25 career starts. Bowyer's career has been resurrected since joining Stewart-Haas Racing last season after toiling with smaller race teams for several seasons. He has already won two races this year and has a solid chance to pick up win number three after coming so close in the spring.

Kyle Larson can't catch a break in 2018. He has been one of the strongest Chevrolet drivers this year with six runner-up finishes, but is still searching for his first victory. Last week at Charlotte he was running in second place late in the race when he got caught up in an accident on a re-start with less than 10 laps remaining. Sooner or later his luck has to change and it could happen at Dover this weekend. In nine career starts Larson has seven top-ten finishes.

News Around the Track

On Tuesday NASCAR announced new setup packages based on the design used in this year's All-Star Race will be used in 2019. The baseline changes of a taller spoiler, larger front splitter and wider radiator pan will be used at every track on the circuit in an effort to increase downforce. Other changes, like smaller tapered spacers to reduce horsepower and aerodynamic ducts to reduce drag on the front tires, will be tailored to specific tracks.

The races at Pocono, Atlanta, Homestead and Darlington will use the smaller spacers, but not the aerodynamic ducts. Short tracks (less than 1 mile) and road courses will use neither the spacers nor the ducts. The 2019 Daytona 500 will use traditional restrictor-plates but the second Daytona race and both Talladega races will forego restrictor-plates for the first time in 32 years in favor of the smaller spacers and aerodynamic ducts.

"I think it’s probably looking at the bigger picture of where we want to go as a sport, and as we looked at the racing on track, certainly we’re pleased with what we have, but how do we continue to evolve with what’s out there," current NASCAR Vice President Steve O’Donnell said in a release Tuesday.

No doubt the domination of the Big Three this year is the driving force behind these new setup packages. NASCAR is looking to cut horsepower and increase downforce in order to create a more even playing field by cutting speed. The end goal is to keep the field closer together while promoting drafting to make passing easier. In other words, NASCAR is taking away certain advantages out of the shop to put more control in the driver's hands. Will these moves create more exciting races? We'll have to wait for next season to find out.