It might be hard to believe, but there will be 42 other drivers in Sunday's Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway in addition to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This week's latest saga in "As the Junior Turns" will no doubt put most of the attention on the driver of the No. 88 car, Earnhardt's first race without cousin and crew chief Tony Eury Jr.
But the rest of the field will also have the task of trying to slay the track that has earned the nickname "Monster Mile" for good reason.
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Dover's tough one-mile concrete layout presents drivers with a high-speed challenge unlike any other stop on the schedule. Its abrasive surface and lightning-fast speeds make for 400 miles of nearly nonstop action.
"It's like Bristol on steroids," David Stremme said, referring to the half-mile Tennessee short track. "It is considered a short track but has speeds like a superspeedway. You have to be on your toes all day. Things happen so quickly, and there is no place to go."
Because Dover does only measure a mile around, the speeds drivers can reach are a bit deceiving.
"A lot of race fans don't realize how fast Dover really is," said Richard Petty, who found Dover's Victory Lane seven times in his Cup career. "You're going over 150 mph on a mile track. That's fast. You don't have a lot of time to react when things go on in front of you. The turns are big and wide, but the straightaways are pretty narrow. You see a lot of multicar wrecks because of that."
"Whoever wins at Dover usually deserves it because there's lot of things that can go wrong."
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The narrow front and back straightaways, which are lined with an inside retaining wall, can actually cause a funnel effect when packs of cars come off Dover's two sweeping, 24-degree banked turns.
One car out of shape is all it takes to wipe out a bunch of drivers.
"Yeah, when you come up off the corners at Dover and somebody wrecks in the middle of the track, the hard part from a driver's perspective is you can't see the exit of the corners," Kevin Harvick said. "You drive like some guys drive on a weekly basis, because you can't see any further than your hood for about half the corner because there's so much banking."
"When you come off the corner, the walls are so tight to the inside of the straightaway, there's just nowhere to hide. We were unfortunate to get in that wreck last year, and I think we were the seventh or eighth car into the pile. It's just hard to get stopped and hard to see what's going on."
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| Jeff Gordon owns four career wins at Dover, but none have come since '01. (Getty Images) |
"I remember sharing a pit box at Dover my rookie year because I qualified so poorly," said Kurt Busch. "They only had 42 boxes, and the last-place guy had to share with the other last-place guy. It makes it difficult when you know you're behind the 8-ball to start with, and so now that they've made improvements, it's going to be a better atmosphere for everybody."
"I think getting in and out of the garages there was always difficult. So I'm pleased to see that they've made some changes, and we're all excited to be able to go out there and race and get more practice time because of these changes."
Who's hot
Jimmie Johnson: Johnson had his 14th top 10 at Dover International Speedway, finishing fifth last fall. In this event last year, Johnson started fourth and finished seventh. In his first two starts at DIS in 2002, Johnson swept the season after leading a combined total of 358 laps. He captured his third win at the track in the 2005 fall race after leading 134 laps from the fifth starting position.
Ryan Newman: Newman has put together a pretty impressive record in his 14 starts at Dover. Newman has captured three wins, eight top 10s, and has led 813 laps. His last top 10 came in the 2007 June event, when he led 135 laps en route to a second-place finish. He comes into Sunday's race on the strength of four straight top-five finishes in the 2009 season.
Greg Biffle: Biffle's best track with more than 10 starts is Dover, based on his finishing average of 11.2. Biffle has been on a tear in the past eight races at DIS, capturing two wins and six consecutive finishes of eighth or better. Biffle combined to lead 314 laps en route to his two wins.
Who's not
Jeff Gordon: Although he's tied with Mark Martin and Bill Elliott for most career wins at Dover by an active driver with four, Gordon hasn't been to Victory Lane at the Delaware track since 2001.
Tony Stewart: Stewart has only finished in the top 10 once in the past eight races at Dover.
Kasey Kahne: In 10 career starts at Dover, Kahne's best run was a seventh and he has an average finishing position of 25th.
Make a note
- The past 12 spring races at the "Monster Mile" have been won by 12 different drivers.
- Kyle Busch and Mike Bliss are entered in all three events (Sprint Cup, Nationwide, trucks) at Dover this weekend.
- Carl Edwards leads all drivers with a 7.7 average finish.
- Johnson has three wins and nine top 10s in 14 starts.
