NASCAR News: Dover Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 Preview

NASCAR reduced Dover Speedway’s Cup dates to one (historically they hosted two Cup races per year) and moved the race to July so the fans could bake in sweltering 91-degree afternoon sunshine in hot alumininum grandstands.

Last year the race was held at the end of April in comfortable temperatures for the race fans

One possible explanation is that NASCAR is trying to force Dover (owned by Speedway Motorsports) to light the Speedway so they can host night races under the lights.

Dover Motor Speedway does not currently have the infrastructure to hold night races, as it lacks permanent lighting systems.

There are no known plans to add them for night racing, unlike some other NASCAR tracks such as Daytona or Bristol.

Historically, Dover has hosted races during the day, with its 2025 NASCAR Cup Series event scheduled for Sunday, July 20, at 2 p.m.. The absence of lights is consistent with other tracks like Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Pocono, where night races are also not feasible without significant upgrades.

Any potential for night races would require substantial investment in lighting, which has not been announced or indicated in recent Speedway Motorsports plans.

DOVER PREVIEW – NASCAR WIRE SERVICE

After back-to-back road course races, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the bread-and-butter of its schedule with a visit to the famed one-mile Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400.

Although Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen shows up at the Monster Mile fresh off two road course trophy hoists – in Chicago and Sonoma – it’s Hendrick Motorsports drivers who remain ranked one-two-three in the series championship driver standings.

What was more than a 60-point advantage for William Byron a month ago, however, is now only 14 points over teammate Chase Elliott as the series returns to its oval roots with this weekend’s race at the Dover mile, followed by the traditional summer-time visit to the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway next week and then the .875-mile Iowa Speedway on Aug. 3.

Elliott is a two-time Dover winner – one of four upcoming tracks where his championship NASCAR Cup Series resume includes multiple wins.

Byron is hoping the ovals restore his regular season championship run. He finished eighth at Sonoma last weekend, ending a season-worst streak of three finishes of 27th or worse. Although Byron hasn’t won previously at Dover, he has three fourth-place finishes in the last five races there and led 193 of the 400 laps in 2023.

Kyle Larson, who sits third in the standings – 44 points behind Byron – is similarly hoping to return to form. He led the championship standings in May, but has had only a single top-10 finish in the last five races (seventh at Mexico City). He is especially good at Dover, however. His 8.19 average finish is second all-time to only the great NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson (8.0). It stands as a good opportunity to regain his mojo.

“Our team could really use a good solid weekend to get back on track,” Larson said.

With only six races remaining before the Playoffs, four drivers remain in the 16-driver Playoff-eligible standings by virtue of points – last year’s regular season champ, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, Hendrick’s Alex Bowman and Reddick’s teammate Bubba Wallace, who holds only a slight three-point advantage over RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece for that last Playoff position entering this race weekend.

Among those four, only Bowman (2021) has a previous NASCAR Cup Series win at the Monster Mile. Buescher won an Xfinity Series race at the track in 2015 and Reddick won in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series that same year.

“Honestly, I like road courses, but I am happy about returning to an oval,” said Bowman driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “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.”

Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, who is ranked just behind Preece in the standings (-37 points) is a three-time Dover winner, tops among current fulltime drivers. He has a track record five Xfinity Series and four NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins too. And Busch is the two-time defending NASCAR Cup Series race pole-winner with top-10 finishes in two of this last three races at Dover – leading 162 laps in that time.

Busch is coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes at the two road courses, but hasn’t led a lap since May 11 at Kansas Speedway.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is the defending Dover race winner and the only multi-time winner in the track’s last seven races. He’s had top-four finishes in four of the season’s last six races, including a victory at Michigan in June; his third win of the season which ties him with Larson, his teammate Christopher Bell and Shane van Gisbergen for the most trophies on the year.

Of note. … three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Team Penske’s Joey Logano, is hoping to claim his first “Monster” NASCAR Cup Series trophy in what will be his 600th career start in the series. The 34-year-old is the youngest person in the sport’s history to reach that milestone. He’s won an amazing four consecutive times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Dover sweeping the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

The $1 million to-win TNT Sports In-Season Challenge features some odds-defying semifinal pairings this week. The longshot, 32nd ranked Ty Dillon is matched up against the 12th-seed John Hunter Nemechek. Kaulig Racing’s Dillon is looking for his first top-10 finish in what will be his 12th Dover start. Legacy Motor Club’s Nemechek has a best showing of 20th – twice – in three Dover starts.

Reddick and Ty Gibbs will go at it in an all-Toyota match-up on the other side of the bracket. The 23XI Racing’s Reddick has three finishes of 11th or better in his last four Dover races but has never led a lap at the track in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has a couple top-10 showings in the Xfinity Series at the Monster Mile and that 2015 truck series victory.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver Gibbs has 13th and 10th-place showings in his only previous NASCAR Cup Series races at the track but has a fifth-place and third-place finish in two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts.

Winners from the two pairings will race for that million dollar check next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Practice at Dover is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET Saturday followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 2:45 p.m. ET (TruTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).  Busch is the defending pole-winner.

Playoff Pressure Mounts: Xfinity Stars Face Monster Test at Dover

With only seven races remaining to set the 12-driver NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff field, Saturday’s BetRivers 200 (4:30 p.m. ET on CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Dover Motor Speedway could play a big role in the championship outlook

Four teams are represented among the top-five drivers in the championship standings with reigning series champion, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier holding a 59-point advantage over Haas Factory Team driver Sam Mayer atop the current rankings. Allgaier (2018 and 2020) joins two-time defending race winner Ryan Truex as the only multi-time race winners at the Dover mile.

But Mayer, who boasts an impressive 11 top-10 and eight top-five finishes through the first 19 races – his 15 top-15 showings is a season best – is hoping Dover’s Monster Mile will be where he celebrates his first victory of the season. The 21-year-old Mayer was third in last year’s race and is a perfect three-for-three in top-10 finishes there.

A victory for the Ford driver Mayer Saturday afternoon would halt a record 11-race winning streak for Chevrolet this season. The bowtie has won 17 of 19 races.

It’s Joe Gibbs Racing, however, boasts the most wins at Dover – 15 – its lineup of Xfinity Series championship hopefuls includes a pair of talented rookies in William Sawalich and Taylor Gray and along with veteran Brandon Jones and this week, former NASCAR Cup Series star Aric Almirola in the No. 19 JGR Toyota.

The three fulltime drivers have all turned in standout summers with the rookie Sawalich coming off a career best third-place showing on the Sonoma, Calif. road course last week. Jones just scored his best two stage efforts on the season at Sonoma. Gray arrives fresh off his 11th top-10 finish of the season in California and is a former ARCA Menards Series winner at Dover – leading 116 of 125 laps to win from pole position in 2022.

Interestingly, it’s cousins Jeb and Harrison Burton, who are straddling the Playoff line. Jeb Burton, driver of the No. 27 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet holds a 16-point advantage over Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 25 AM Racing Ford for that 12th and final Playoff position.

Jeb Burton has finished 13th or better in five of his seven Dover starts with a best finish of seventh in 2020. Harrison Burton has similar encouraging statistics with three top-10s in four starts and a top effort of fifth place – also in 2020.

The entire series, however, must find a way to best the mighty JR Motorsports team, which has won 10 races this season with six different drivers. It is coming off a phenomenal showing at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway where five drivers finished among the top-10 and 18-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch claimed his third win of the season.

Zilisch now ties his teammate Allgaier, and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill for most wins on the season. They are the only competitors with multiple trophies.

NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain will steer the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend and two-time defending Dover race winner Truex will drive the No. 24 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing. NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standout Rajah Caruth is hoping to make his first Xfinity Series start of the season. He’s entered in the Jordan Anderson Racing No. 32 Chevrolet. In addition, ARCA Menards Series rising star Lavar Scott will also be attempting to make his Xfinity Series career debut this weekend in the No. 45 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet.

Practice is at 11 a.m. Saturday followed immediately by Kennametal Pole Qualifying at 12:05 p.m. – both sessions available on the CW App. Brandon Jones is the defending Xfinity pole-winner.