Dover Facts

by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Services

At Dover International Speedway:
History
• The official opening of Dover International Speedway, then called Dover Downs International Speedway, was in 1969.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on July 6, 1969.
• The first two races at Dover were 300 miles. The race length was changed to 500 miles in 1971.
• The track surface was changed to concrete in 1995.
• The race length was changed to 400 miles beginning with the second race in 1997.
• The track name was changed to Dover International Speedway in 2002.

Notebook
• There have been 79 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Dover International Speedway since the track opened in 1969.
• There was one race in 1969 and 1970. There has been two-a-year since 1971.
• Richard Petty won the track’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
• There have been 34 different pole winners, led by David Pearson (six). David Reutimann won his first Dover pole in this season’s May race
• David Pearson won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole in July 1969.
• Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman lead all active drivers, each with four poles.
• 32 different drivers have posted victories led by Bobby Allison and Richard Petty, each with seven.
• Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson lead all active drivers, each with four victories.
• Hendrick Motorsports has 11 wins, more than any other car owner.
• 47 races at Dover have been won from a top-five starting position; 17 races have been won from a starting position outside the top 10.
• The furthest back in the field a race winner started was 37th, by Kyle Petty in 1995.
• In his Dover win earlier this season, Jimmie Johnson scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0. He led 298 laps in May.
• Several active drivers had their first start at Dover, including Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, David Ragan and Tony Raines.
• In addition, Matt Kenseth (2002) and Michael Waltrip (1991) earned their first pole at Dover. Martin Truex Jr. won his first race there (2007).
• Three of the last four races have ended with a margin of victory under one second.

NASCAR in Delaware
• There have been 79 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Delaware, all at Dover International Speedway.
• Eight drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Delaware, though none have posted victories.