For two weeks, the NASCAR schedule has taken the series to road courses. While Chicago and Sonoma hosted dominating performances by Shane van Gisbergen, a new type of road-course focused NASCAR star, but the series returns to its stock trade of oval racing at Dover.
And it’s one of the most impressive and historic ovals at that. The one-mile concrete track, which features 24 degrees of banking in the corners and 9 degrees on the straights, plays host to Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400, airing at 2 p.m. ET on TNT, HBO Max, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Dover Motor Speedway, which has hosted races since 1969, is an awe-inspiring facility, even for the drivers. The challenge it poses to drive at the limit for a long race makes the track fully deserving of its ‘Monster Mile’ moniker.
“It feels like you’re driving off a cliff at Dover,” described Cody Ware. “You almost come out of the racetrack on entry into (turns) one and three there because the transition from the straightaway to the corners is so massive. It’s probably a two-story drop from the straightaways down into the corners.
“Your car gets light, and if you’re fighting a loose-handling condition, the rear of the car really wants to come around on you. You’re basically driving down and into a hole, which creates this massive compression zone, and once you land the bottom of the car, your front tires load up. It’s a whole different feeling. There isn’t another track on the schedule that prepares you for it. It’s what sets Dover apart.”
Odds via BetMGM
+450 – Denny Hamlin
+500 – Kyle Larson
+650 – Ryan Blaney
+750 – William Byron
+1000 – Chase Elliott
+1200 – Christopher Bell
+1200 – Ross Chastain
+2000 – Tyler Reddick
+2000 – Chase Briscoe
+2000 – Alex Bowman
With that challenge as a backdrop, several drivers will be feeling extra pressure to perform and tame the monster. In fact, there are two real races to watch, races which epitomize NASCAR’s modern framework, at this historic racetrack.
The first is a new invention for this season: the Bracket Challenge. Invented by Denny Hamlin and adopted by Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Dirty Mo Media as an entertaining thing to watch during the middle of the season, the sanctioning body officially adopted the bracket with six different rounds. Dover is the semifinal event.
That means four drivers are competing for a chance for the championship crown, and more importantly the million-dollar paycheck. (A similar amount was on offer for fans with a perfect bracket, but since the challenge started at superspeedway-style Atlanta no brackets even made it past the first race.)
There are two challenges to watch: Tyler Reddick v Ty Gibbs and John Hunter Nemechek v Ty Dillon. The two lineups couldn’t really be more different.
Reddick and Gibbs both drive for powerhouse teams: 23XI and Joe Gibbs Racing respectively. Admittedly, Gibbs is looking for his first win in the Cup Series while Reddick has eight wins to his name, but both have the equipment to regularly compete up front.
Nemechek and Dillon, on the other hand, both drive for newer teams that are still working on building towards the front on a regular basis: Legacy Motor Club and Kaulig Racing, respectively. In fact, Ty Dillon came in ranked as the lowest seed in the tournament based on best finishes in the three races preceding the start of the tournament.
Whether it’s more testament to the unpredictability and parity of modern NASCAR or Kaulig bringing fast cars to Bracket Challenge Races, Dillon has outperformed that qualifying stretch. Gutsy racing by the driver himself is certainly also a factor, as Dillon showed with a decisive move on Alex Bowman, who he was pitted up against in the bracket last week, in the final corner at Sonoma to push him out of the way on entry and get by.
The second is something that’s become a signature of modern NASCAR: qualifying for the postseason. Only sixteen drivers can make the Playoff, and, counting Dover, there are just six more races before the field is set.
The battle therefore is to be within the top sixteen in points when those six races are done and dusted – or earn the golden ticket of an automatic berth in the postseason by virtue of a win.
As it stands, there are currently four spots on points. Tyler Reddick has a huge 149-point advantage to the cutline. Somewhat closer are Chris Buescher (+34) and Alex Bowman (+32). But there’s practically nothing in the battle for the sixteenth and final spot: Bubba Wallace enters Dover in that spot, just three points ahead of Ryan Preece.
Bowman is confident of his chances in remaining above the cutline. He won at Dover in 2021, continuing a tradition of victory for the No. 48 car at the track: Jimmie Johnson picked up 11 wins at Dover in his career.
“Dover has always been a place that fits my driving style. It’s fast, it’s technical, and it demands a lot from both the driver and the car. The transitions off the corners are intense, and the concrete surface makes it unlike anywhere else we go. That 2021 win is still one of my favorite moments with this team,” Bowman described.
Behind Preece are Kyle Busch (-37), AJ Allmendinger (-50), Ty Gibbs (-60), Erik Jones (-68), and Michael McDowell (-70). All are within range of making the postseason on points but will need very strong performances over the next several races. However, those drivers have mixed feelings about coming to Dover.
Allmendinger is enthusiastic about Dover. He has had a strong performance with Kaulig this season in his return to full-time Cup Series racing, with five top-ten finishes capped off with a fourth at Charlotte in the Coke 600, and has been in contention on both ovals and road courses.
“Dover has always been a track I enjoy racing,” Allmendinger said. “The last couple years we have had really good speed and that’s made it even more fun driving the Next Gen car around Dover. We have the opportunity to have a solid weekend and get back on track after Sonoma.”
McDowell is not. He explained that he has always struggled at Dover in the past, meaning it’s not one of the tracks that team likely has circled to get the good finishes needed to secure their points position.
“I wish I knew how to figure it out. Dover has been one of those tracks that is just so tough for me,” McDowell admitted. “I enjoy the challenge, I just haven’t run well there.
“Last year was the first year where we were putting together a really solid race and we finished top-10 in the First Stage but I had a penalty on pit road, and then the right-front hub broke. It felt like that was the first time we could contend for a top-10 or a top-five finish there. So, I am going to build off that and focus on last year and not the 14 years before that, because it has been a tough place for me.”
Practice is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET Saturday followed by qualifying at 2:45 p.m. ET. Both sessions will air on TruTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Ryan Truex Returns for a Third Start at Dover
Ryan Truex may only get a few starts every NASCAR season, but he tends to make them count. Last year, he won two of his eleven Xfinity Series starts as a part-time driver (a full-time driver with that same win rate would have six wins throughout the season).
The first of those two wins last season came at Dover Motor Speedway, a home track for the New Jersey-born driver (as it was for his brother who had a long career in the Cup Series before retiring last season). In fact, Truex has won the last two times the Xfinity Series has raced at Dover Motor Speedway, picking up the win at that track in 2023 as well.
This year, Ryan Truex is back at Dover to defend his title at Dover in Saturday’s BetRivers 200, airing at 4:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. If he can do it, that will be a rare three-peat of three wins in a row at the same track.
Unlike the previous two wins which came in a Joe Gibbs Racing car, Truex is entered this year for Sam Hunt Racing in the No. 24 Toyota Supra. If Truex can win again, he will give SHR its first-ever win in a NASCAR national series.
By contrast, Joe Gibbs Racing is the most successful team at Dover in the Xfinity Series with 15 wins in its history. That team’s lineup at Dover includes the usual drivers in William Sawalich, Taylor Gray, and Brandon Jones, along with Aric Almirola making one of his part-time starts. Almirola will be driving the No. 19, the car that Truex drove to victory at Dover in 2023.
And Truex will have to beat out not only his old team but the rest of a strong Xfinity Series field. Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, and Connor Zilisch have each picked up three wins this season and have shown impressive speed on a variety of track types.
There are also a few drivers moonlighting in the garage this weekend. Cup Series driver Ross Chastain will drive the No. 9 for JR Motorsports, Truck Series driver Rajah Caruth will drive the No. 32 for Jordan Anderson Racing, and ARCA driver Lavar Scott will make his Xfinity Series debut in the No. 45 for Alpha Prime Racing.
Practice is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Saturday followed by qualifying at 12:05 p.m. ET. Both sessions will air on The CW App.
- Slimmed Playoff Field Faces the Grind of the Magic Mile - September 18, 2025
- From Spinning to Winning: Riggs Punches Ticket to Next Round - September 11, 2025
- Denny Hamlin Knows His Career Expiration Date - September 8, 2025