(By NASCAR Wire Service)
Posted: Friday,September 30th, 2011
What to look for in Sunday’s AAA 400
1. A Tony Stewart triple? No driver has won three races to start a Chase, and Stewart will have to overcome long odds to be the first. He has two wins at Dover, both in 2000. Since the introduction of NASCAR’s new-generation racecar in 2007, his average finish at the Monster Mile is 19th.
2. The Monster strikes. The odds favor at least one Chase-changing accident at the high-speed concrete track. Drivers and their spotters have little time to react to crashes that tend to collect the innocent and guilty alike.
3. A Ford fest. Roush Fenway Racing drivers always seem to be in contention at Dover, and RPM’s AJ Allmendinger has started on the front row in his last two races there. This is a banner opportunity for Greg Biffle to get his first win of the season, or for Allemdinger to get the first win of his career.
AJ Allmendinger (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Track analysis
Tracks 2 and 3 in the Chase—New Hampshire and Dover—are both one-mile venues, but there the similarity ends. New Hampshire is paved with asphalt, Dover with concrete. The straightaways at Dover are banked at nine degrees, steeper than the corners at New Hampshire. Thanks in part to 24-degree banking in the turns, the sensation of speed drivers feel at the Monster Mile is unmatched anywhere else. Dover is a rhythm racetrack, and those who run best there quickly settle into a consistent racing line. Running the bottom of the track is desirable, if you can do it fast, but “diamonding” the corners (going high at the apex to gain momentum off the turn) also can be effective.
Sporting News’ pick
AJ Allmendinger. After two straight front-row starts on arguably his best track—though the finishes might not show it—Allmendinger will finally close the deal. In what has become a year of first-time Cup winners, Dinger will get his invitation to the party.
Past winners of Dover Chase races
2004: Ryan Newman
2005: Jimmie Johnson
2006: Jeff Burton
2007: Carl Edwards
2008: Greg Biffle
2009: Jimmie Johnson
2010: Jimmie Johnson
AAA 400 facts and figures
Where: Dover (Del.) International Speedway
When: Sunday, 2:15 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN, 1 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 90
Track layout: 1-mile oval
Race distance: 400 laps/400 miles
Qualifying: Saturday, 1:40 p.m. ET
Frontstretch: 1,076 feet
Backstretch: 1,076 feet
Banking on straights: 9 degrees
Banking in turns: 24 degrees
2010 winner: Jimmie Johnson
2010 polesitter: Jimmie Johnson
Website: doverspeedway.com
Points leaders: 1. Tony Stewart, 2,094; 2. Kevin Harvick, 2,087; 3. Brad Keselowski, 2,083; 4. Carl Edwards, 2,080; 5. Jeff Gordon, 2,071; 6. Kyle Busch, 2,068; 7. Matt Kenseth, 2,068; 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2,068; 9. Kurt Busch, 2,066; 10. Jimmie Johnson, 2,065; 11. Ryan Newman, 2,060; 12. Denny Hamlin, 2,028.
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