Harvick outstanding in Dover practices, Johnson still No. 1

Jimmie Johnson shows Austin Dillon how to roll at Dover

Kevin Harvick has never won at Dover International Speedway during his Sprint Cup career, but based on the display he put on during Saturday's final FedEx 400 practices, he might be in line to grab his first trophy in his 27th Monster Mile start on Sunday.

Harvick had the second fastest lap in Saturday's early session and was fifth fastest in the final session, but what makes him stand out over all the others was having the fastest 10-consecutive lap average during both sessions. Translation: Harvick is going to be faster than most on the long runs. When others start to slow near the end of a fuel run, Harvick will still be running strong.

So, why isn't Harvick rated No. 1 on our ratings? How about reason No. 48.

If we didn't have history involved and were just going off pure speed, Harvick would be considered the driver to beat. But Jimmie Johnson's Dover history is too strong to ignore, and to top it off, Johnson was just a notch below Harvick in the average speeds department and had the fastest lap in the final practice.

Harvick gets a mulligan for his Dover history because he's with a new team. Nothing against Richard Childress Racing, but Harvick was never really a contender in any past Dover races. His new Stewart-Haas Racing team has put him in fast cars every week. But Johnson doesn't just have good Dover history – he's the best all-time on the high-banked concrete track.

In 24 career starts, he's won eight times. That's one win out of every three starts, an insane ratio for the competitive Cup series. He's led 2,704 laps over those 24 starts, another sick number.

Because of Johnson's dominance on the track, finally getting a win on the season last week, and being fast in practice, he is the easy choice to be listed as the driver to beat.

Read More Here.......Driver Ratings

Keselowski on Dover Pole

DOVER, Del. -- Brad Keselowski is getting used to racing out front, turning a track-record lap of 164.444 mph to win the pole at Dover International Speedway.

Keselowski won his second pole of the season Friday on the mile track and fifth of his career. He also has six starts from second this season, making him one of the top front-row performers in NASCAR.

"It's been a good year for qualifying," Keselowski said, "And I would say most years, that has not been the case."

Keselowski and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano have figured out fast qualifying in their Fords. Kyle Busch starts second, and Logano, eight-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson and rookie Kyle Larson round out the top five for Sunday's race.

Series points leader Jeff Gordon was sixth, followed by Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brian Vickers and Clint Bowyer. Bowyer turned 35 on Friday.

With only 43 cars entered, every driver qualified for the 400-mile race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was knocked out in the first round by less than a second by AJ Allmendinger as the session wound down. Other stars who failed to advance out of the first round included Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, and Tony Stewart. Danica Patrick also did not advance and starts 28th.

"We've got all kinds of time on Sunday," Patrick said.

Keselowski has a win and five top 10s this season. His previous pole at Phoenix netted him a third-place finish.

He credited Ford for helping the No. 2 find the speed it needed to boost its qualifying efforts.

"I don't think we were far off before, we just needed those little pieces that were outside of our control to be evened up," he said. "I feel like that is the case now and we are where we should be."

It was the eighth time this season a track record was set at qualifying.

Starting Lineup

Dover Driver Chassis Selections: 2014 FedEx 400

The Monster Mile at Dover: 1-mile concrete oval with high banking

#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis: PRS-914. Last Raced: New Chassis. Backup Chassis: PRS-853. Last Raced: Richmond backup (not raced)

#3-Austin Dillon: will pilot Chassis No. 431 in the FedEx 400 benefitting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway. This is the same Chevrolet SS that Dillon raced to an eighth-place finish in the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 16.

#4-Kevin Harvick: The No. 4 Budweiser team will utilize Chassis No. 846 in Sunday's race. Harvick last raced this car at Bristol (Tennessee) Motor Speedway in March. He led 28 laps during that event and was running in the top five when something cut an oil line on the car, ending the team's night. Harvick was credited with a 39th-place finish.

#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Kenny Francis has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-809 for Sunday's race at Dover. Kahne last drove this chassis to a third-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July 2013.

#10-Danica Patrick: Chassis No. 10-805 was used for the first time in July at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Patrick started 33rd and finished 30th. It was then used in September at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, where Patrick started 23rd and finished 20th, and in October at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, where Patrick started 35th and finished 20th. The last time it was used was in November at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, where she started 30th and finished 25th. Since then, it has served as a backup car in 2014 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and then was regulated to the primary car at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, where she started 36th and finished 18th. It was then a backup at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City and for the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-825: This car debuted in March at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, where Stewart qualified 37th and rallied to a fourth-place finish. It was tested at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway April 30-May 1 with Stewart and again May 6-7 with Scott Riggs. Chassis No. 14-825 will make its second career start Sunday at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Every lap this car has turned has come on a concrete racetrack.

#15-Clint Bowyer: Chassis No. 800 serves as the primary chassis. This chassis has never seen action on the race track but has served as the back-up for several races this season, including last weekend's Coca-Cola 600. Chassis No. 804 serves as the backup. This chassis finished 12th at Darlington and 15th at Bristol earlier this year.

#16-Greg Biffle: Primary Chassis: RK-903. Last ran Darlington - finished 5th. Backup Chassis: RK-879 Last ran Las Vegas - finished 22nd.

#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Primary Chassis: RK- 914 - New chassis. Backup Chassis: RK-888 - Last raced at Bristol - finished second.

#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis: PRS-913. Last Raced: New Chassis. Backup Chassis: PRS-858. Last Raced: Richmond backup (not raced)

#24-Jeff Gordon: No. 24 crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-819 for this Sunday's race. This chassis has been raced three times previously - all in 2013 - with finishes of 38th at Texas Motor Speedway, seventh at Charlotte Motor Speedway and sixth at Chicagoland Speedway.

#27-Paul Menard: will pilot chassis No. 466 in the 400-mile event at Dover International Speedway. This No. 27 Chevrolet SS was previously raced this year at Kansas Speedway, where Menard finished in the 17th position.

#31-Ryan Newman: will drive chassis No. 441 on Sunday at Dover International Speedway. Chassis No. 441 has competed in two Sprint Cup Series events so far in 2014, producing two top-10 finishes (Phoenix International Raceway - seventh and Darlington Raceway - 10th).

#41-Kurt Busch: will pilot Chassis No. 860 in Sunday's FedEx 400 benefitting Autism Speaks at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Built new for 2014, No. 860 qualified 11th and finished 39th in April at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth - it's only racing action to date.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: Crew chief Chad Knaus has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 48-879 for this weekend's 400-mile event. This is a brand new chassis that has never been raced before. The backup car is Chassis No. 48-728, which Johnson most recently raced in March at Bristol Motor Speedway.

#55-Brian Vickers: Primary: 812 Backup: 801 Neither have raced.

#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-745 this weekend at Dover. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to a second-place finish at Darlington Raceway in April.

#99-Carl Edwards: Primary chassis: RK-891 was last run in 2014 at Fontana, finishing 10th. Backup chassis: RK-904 was last run in 2014 at Darlington, finishing 13th.

- compiled by Jayski.com

Why not Carl Edwards to win FedEx 400 at Dover?

Carl Edwards is 15/1 to win Sunday at Dover

Carl Edwards – FEDEX 400
Team: No. 99 Subway Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Primary Chassis: RK- 891
Backup Chassis: RK- 904
Twitter: @99_RFRracing

ADVANCE NOTES 

Edwards at Dover International Speedway
o Edwards has one Sprint Cup win at the Monster Mile which came in September of 2007.
o Edwards has 19 Sprint Cup starts at Dover with an average start of 14.6 and an average finish of 10.
o Edwards has finished in the top five eight times and in the top ten 12 times.

The Car
o Primary chassis RK-891 was last run in 2014 at Fontana, finishing 10th.
o Backup chassis RK-904 was last run in 2014 at Darlington, finishing 13th.
Subway
o It’s Avocado Season at SUBWAY®! You could add avocado to any salad or Sub!
o The Subway June Featured $6 Footlong Special is Tuna AND the $3 Six-Inch Select for June is the Black Forest Ham!

Edwards on Dover:
“We have had a lot of fun in the No.99 Subway Ford Fusion this year. I love racing at Dover, it has been a great racetrack for me, and a great racetrack for Roush Fenway Racing. We had a great run last week in the Coke 600, Jimmy and the guys did a great job on pit road. We will go to Dover and the speeds are going to be higher than ever there with this new package. Qualifying will be very important, restarts will be very important and like always it will be a tough race for the drivers physically, and for the crews and the engine builders it’s just a really demanding racetrack. It is one of my favorites and hopefully we can get a victory.”

- Roush Fenway Racing

Jimmie Johnson favored to notch his ninth Dover win this week

Johnson won his eighth career Dover race last fall in his 24th start -- a 3/1 ratio. He's 9/2 to win this week 

LAS VEGAS – Purely on the basis of eight career wins at Dover International Speedway, Jimmie Johnson might have been listed as the favorite this week, even though he didn’t have a single win through the first 11 races of the season. But after winning last week's Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, where he was strong during practices and then led a race-high 10 times for 164 laps, it's safe to say all is well for the No. 48 team.

The LVH SuperBook certainly thinks so, as Johnson opened as the 9-to-2 favorite to win Sunday's FedEx 400. He’s followed by the consistently fast Kevin Harvick at 5-to-1 odds.

Johnson won last fall’s Dover race and has won at least one of the two Dover races in four of the past five seasons, including a sweep in 2009. That type of success rate on the high-banked one-mile concrete oval almost makes 9-to-2 look generous.

Harvick has yet to win at Dover during his career while driving for Richard Childress Racing, but has finished 15th or better in his last nine starts there, including a career-best second place in spring 2012. With the power his new Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet has been producing all season, he could be in for a career day.

There is no other track quite like Dover on the circuit, but some comparisons can be made to Bristol's half-mile layout. Both are concrete and high-banked, and we've seen a few drivers over recent years (since the first Bristol repave) fare well on each during the same season. One of those drivers is Kyle Busch, who comes at 7-to-1 odds. Busch won at Dover in 2008 and 2010, and has a 12.8 career average finish over 18 starts. He's finished seventh or better in seven of his past nine starts.

Carl Edwards won the Bristol race in March, and his 10th-place average finish at Dover is second best among active drivers, behind Johnson. Edwards won at Dover in 2007, when he also won at Bristol. Because of his love for the concrete (some call him ‘Concrete Carl’), Edwards has lower odds than usual at 15-to-1 this week.

Jeff Gordon has four career wins at Dover, but none since 2001, the year he won his fourth and most recent Sprint Cup championship. His 2014 points-leading campaign has been his best overall performance since then, and it’s why his odds are so low at 8-to-1 despite his lengthy Dover drought.

With Johnson's win Sunday, there have now been 10 different drivers with wins this season, and Harvick and Joey Logano have each claimed two. The Dover race marks the halfway point of the regular season before the 16-driver Chase field is set, and there are six tickets still waiting to be punched.

The top candidate to join the party among the non-winners so far is Matt Kenseth, who currently sits second in points. Kenseth won a series-high seven races last season, but didn't look like a legitimate candidate to win a race this year until last week at Charlotte, where he finished third. He's fought hard for all of his quality finishes, and odds of 8-to-1 show him plenty of respect at Dover.

While with Roush Fenway Racing, not many were better than Kenseth at Dover. He won twice (2006, 2011), and over one stretch from 2008-12, he was fifth or better in eight of nine races.

The Roush Fenway Fords have traditionally done well at Dover, and while Edwards is a strong candidate to fare well this week, two-time winner Greg Biffle (30/1) and Ricky Stenhouse (100/1) might provide the best long-shot value. Biffle had similar numbers to Kenseth at Dover, while Stenhouse is driving the No. 17 car that Kenseth had so much success with at Dover.

Stenhouse also gets high consideration because of his career-best second-place finish at Bristol in March. Comparing Dover and Bristol is a stretch, but it's the closest thing we have to go off, and there has been a strong correlation between the two in recent years. We can also lump Brad Keselowski (8/1) in that group because he won on both tracks in 2012.

Read More Here.......LVH Dover odds to win

Mike Smith's Stockcartoon this week - Sporting News

Kenseth expects 'track position to be more important than ever at Dover'

Matt Kenseth is 8/1 to win at Dover Sunday

Matt Kenseth / No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Preview
FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway
No. 20 Dollar General Toyota News and Notes:

KENSETH BY THE NUMBERS AT DOVER: In 30 Sprint Cup Series career starts at Dover, Matt Kenseth has an average finish of 13.4, has completed 11,454 of 12,004 (95.4 percent) career laps, and has led for a total of 811 laps. Kenseth has earned two wins, 13 top-five, 19 top-10 finishes, and two poles at the Monster Mile.

JOE GIBBS RACING AT DOVER: Joe Gibbs Racing has 92 Sprint Cup Series starts at Dover and has earned five wins, 30 top-five, and 44 top-ten finishes. The organization has led for a total of 2,229 laps, has an average start of 15.2, an average finish of 16.9, and has completed 34,054 of 37,912 (89.8 percent) laps.

THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 20 DOLLAR GENERAL TOYOTA: Dollar General vendor partners Colgate, Hanes, Betty Crocker, Sparkle, Lay’s, Stacker2, Hefty Reynolds Wrap and Clorox will be featured on Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry this weekend at Dover International Speedway.

RACE INFO: The FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway (1.0-mile) begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 1st. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

Kenseth’s 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Earnings	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
12	0	4	9	1	304	$2,386,574	15.4	9.8

Kenseth’s Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Earnings	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
520	31	142	257	12	9,230	$101,928,838	18.5	14.1

From the Cockpit:
Matt Kenseth: “I think that things are definitely going to be different this weekend at Dover. We’ve see track records being set, the pace of the races has been extremely fast, and tires have been a concern since we’ve had them overloaded. It’s just going to be a lot different with the set-ups and the new aero package we have in place. I think that all the cars are going to be so incredibly fast that it’s going to be even harder to pass and track position will be even more important than ever at Dover. I think that keeping the right-front tires from blowing out is also going to be important this weekend, so we’ll see how all these new changes come into play, but Dover is my favorite track and I’m excited to get there.”

From the Pit Box:
Jason Ratcliff: “Dover is one of my favorite tracks. I think it’s going to be a lot different there this weekend with the new rules package we have this season. It’s one of the tracks that I know we circled on the calendar when the year started thinking about all the different things that 2014 brought to the sport. I think Dover is going to be a place where we’re going to need to tackle it a little bit different than we have in the past because I feel that this new rules package is going to change a lot. Speeds have been higher almost everywhere we’ve been this season and I think we’ll see a huge change as well this weekend. I feel like we had a good handle on things last year at Dover, but with everything new, we’ll need to start over and see how we stack up.”

About Dollar General:
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for 75 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. With more than 11,000 stores in 40 states, Dollar General has more retail locations than any retailer in America. In addition to high quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America’s most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg’s, General Mills, and Pepsico.

Find the Dollar General store nearest you or learn more about the company at www.dollargeneral.com or on Dollar General’s Facebook or Twitter pages.

- Joe Gibbs Racing

Kevin Harvick using impressive Bristol chassis this week at Dover

Kevin Harvick is 5/1 to win at Dover on Sunday

Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS team will compete in the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Dover (Delaware) International Speedway this weekend.

Testing… Harvick and the No. 4 Budweiser team are working on making both left and right turns at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, this week in preparation for the two summer road-course events on the NSCS schedule. The test session was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but when rain hampered on-track activity, they extended the test to Wednesday.

Golfing for a Cause… Before getting on track in Dover this weekend, Harvick will participate in the 13th Annual Drive for Autism Celebrity-Am Golf Outing on Thursday at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware. The event helps raise money and awareness for autism.

Autism Speaks… Harvick’s No. 4 Chevrolet will feature an Autism Speaks puzzle piece decal for Sunday’s race. Teams across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series will show their support for Autism Speaks this weekend by displaying the decal on their respective race vehicles at Dover.

Chassis Info…The No. 4 Budweiser team will utilize Chassis No. 846 in Sunday’s race. Harvick last raced this car at Bristol (Tennessee) Motor Speedway in March. He led 28 laps during that event and was running in the top five when something cut an oil line on the car, ending the team’s night. Harvick was credited with a 39th-place finish.

Dover Stats… Harvick has 26 prior NSCS starts at Dover. While he’s yet to visit Victory Lane at the track, he’s earned three top fives and 12 top 10s. He has an average start of 19.4 and an average finish of 15.2 at Dover.

Loop Data… Harvick owns a couple notable marks in NASCAR’s Loop Data scoring system at Dover heading into this weekend’s event, including: third in green flag passes (802 passes) and ninth in laps in top 15 (4,391 laps).

A Look Back… During last year’s FedEx 400, Harvick started 7th and finished 8th.

Salute… Now through August 15, beer drinkers can enter a code contained inside specially marked packages of Budweiser on Budweiser.com/donate to trigger a $1 donation to Folds of Honor, accounting for up to $1 million combined with wholesaler contributions for a more than $3 million total donation to Folds of Honor in 2014. Through scholarships and other assistance, Folds of Honor gives back to the families of soldiers killed or disabled in service to our country. Since first partnering with Folds of Honor Foundation in 2010, Budweiser and its wholesalers have raised nearly $10 million for military families, accounting for thousands of scholarships across the country.

Harvick on Racing at Dover International Speedway

Take us on a lap around Dover.
“For me, Dover is one of those tracks where you feel the speed the most. You carry a lot of speed through the corners and as you go from the straightaways the elevation change as you go down in the corners is pretty drastic and then you’re right back in the throttle and it kind of throws you back out of that hole and up the hill on the exit of the corner. Laps seem to happen very fast there and you want to try and have the best handling race car you can have there, because if you’re off even a little bit you’ll go multiple laps down in a hurry. It’s a fun, very fast race track that’s really hard to get everything right.”

Talk a little bit about the physical demands on a driver at Dover. You always hear about how intense a lap around the track is, but 400 laps around there must really be taxing on a driver?
“Dover is definitely one of the most taxing places that we go to for sure. There are just a lot of g-forces as you go off into the corner and it kind of throws you down into a hole. There’s a lot of banking with a lot of speed and it’s hard on your body. I usually leave out of there with sore heels from where my feet have beat on the floorboard through the day. It’s definitely a very taxing race track for a driver.”

What do you expect we’ll see with the new qualifying format at Dover? With it being such a narrow track, do you feel that this could be one of the hairier qualifying sessions?
“I think at Dover every lap is fast, but for qualifying it’s one of those places where you have to put it right on the edge. I don’t know that you’ll see too many people go back out and run faster the second time, but it’ll definitely create some extra opportunities because in the past it’s been one of those hit or miss laps that you get with only one opportunity, but with the way the format is I think it will definitely open it up to having a second opportunity.”

Dover is one of only seven tracks the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits that you’re winless at. Talk about what it would mean to score a win there, and where that win would rank on your list.
“I think in the past we have been either hit or miss at Dover and it’s just been one of those places I haven’t been able to get to Victory Lane in any series. I’ve been close a couple times in the different series, but to go there and finally conquer that particular track would definitely be a feather in the cap.”

- Elevation Group of Companies for Budweiser Racing

Brian Vickers on Dover: 'it's like a high speed Bristol'

Brian Vickers is 40/1 to win at Dover on Sunday

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver Brian Vickers’ return to fulltime NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing has gone well, but the best may be yet to come.

The Michael Waltrip Racing driver and crew have scored the eighth most points of all teams in 2014 and seem to be running better each week. Vickers has the fifth best average finish of all drivers in the last 10 races.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Dover Downs International Speedway this weekend for Sunday’s race—the 13th of the season. The No. 55 team spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Pocono testing on the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania track. Last week the team tested at Kentucky Speedway.

BRIAN VICKERS ON DOVER: “I enjoy Dover a lot — it’s a great race track. It’s really fun — it’s like a high speed Bristol — one-mile, high-banked and just a lot of fun. It’s so fast though — everything happens fast there. The way the cars react, the way the speeds are — even though we go faster on mile-and-a-half tracks, it just seems to happen faster there for some reason. It’s always a lot of fun and it’s a challenge. It’s such a completely different type of race track and I think we will have a good car there.”

VICKERS ON SEASON SO FAR: “We are pleased but not satisfied. Billy (Scott, crew chief) has done a fantastic job in his first season as crew chief. We’ve come close to winning a few times with top-five finishes, but we still have some work to do. Seems like our cars are really good on long runs. I’m really optimistic about Michael Waltrip Racing. We’re working hard with Toyota, testing, and doing all the right things we need to do.”

NOTES:

CHASSIS: Primary: 812 Backup: 801 Neither have raced.
AARON’S: Aaron’s joined MWR in 2000 serving as a primary sponsor in Sprint Cup and Nationwide races. The Atlanta-based company has grown from 500 to 2,100 stores in that time. Aaron’s carries only the best brand names in furniture, electronics, appliances and computers and offers a variety of flexible payment options. It’s really easy to get started owning at Aaron’s – you are pre-approved for up to $2,500 in merchandise without needing credit. Visit Aarons.com for more information.
FANTERN: Each week MWR offers fans a chance to become an official MWR Fantern. This person will get the opportunity to be an “intern” on race day helping the pit crews with set-up activities, attending driver appearances and getting full access to the pit and garage areas. Fans can write in a submission towebmaster@michaelwaltrip.com or share a video on our social channels explaining why they should be the Fantern at the race of their choosing during the 2014 season.
#ASKMWR: Throughout race weekends in 2014 MWR will collect questions hash-tagged #AskMWR on its @MWRteam Twitter handle. No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Jackman Wes Evans will host a 3-minute video each Wednesday on www.michaelwaltripracing.com featuring MWR experts answering the best fan questions from the weekend.
2014 POINTS:
MWR SPEED ROUND: Watch Brian Vickers and Crew Chief Billy Scott answer some off-beat questions during MWR’s Video Speed Round at www.michaelwaltrip.com. Click here to watch.
AARON’S NEW COMMERCIAL: Watch Aaron’s new “Own It” commercial featuring Brian Vickers and Michael Waltrip that began airing nationally in April: . Click here to watch.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:
@brianlvickers
@mw55
@mwrteam
@aaronssports
@aaronsinc
@toyotaracing

• VICKERS’ DOVER RECORD:

Race	St	Fin	Laps	Status	Led
2004-13	3	23	380/400	crash	7
2004-28	3	38	46/400	crash	0
2005-13	27	6	400/400	running	0
2005-28	26	14	403/404	running	0
2006-13	24	23	399/400	running	0
2006-28	15	29	395/400	running	0
2007-13	24	19	398/400	running	0
2007-28	23	16	397/400	running	0
2008-13	6	13	398/400	running	0
2008-28	18	31	395/400	running	0
2009-13	9	25	399/400	running	0
2009-28	12	18	400/400	running	0
2011-11	15	5	400/400	running	0
2011-29	30	14	400/400	running	0
2013-29	22	12	400/400	running	0

• VICKERS’ CAREER RECORD:

Year	Races	Win	T5	T10	Pole	Led
2003	5 of 36	0	0	0	0	11
2004	36 of 36	0	0	4	2	87
2005	36 of 36	0	5	10	1	315
2006	36 of 36	1	5	9	1	126
2007	23 of 36	0	1	5	0	106
2008	36 of 36	0	3	6	1	232
2009	36 of 36	1	4	13	6	101
2010	11 of 36	0	0	3	0	27
2011	36 of 36	0	3	7	0	7
2012	8 of 36	0	3	5	0	158
2013	17 of 36	1	2	6	0	19
2014	12 of 12	0	2	5	0	37
11 years	292	3	28	73	11	1,226

- Michael Waltrip Racing

Greg Biffle looks for third Dover win this week

Greg Biffle is 30/1 to win Sunday at Dover

Greg Biffle – Dover Advance
Team: No. 16 3M Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Matt Puccia
Primary Chassis: RK-903 Last ran Darlington – finished 5th
Backup Chassis: RK-879 Last ran Las Vegas – finished 22nd

ADVANCE NOTES

Biffle at Dover
o In his 23 Sprint Cup career starts at Dover, Biffle has earned two wins, six top-five and 11 top-10 finishes.
o Biffle has an average starting and finishing position of 12.3 at Dover.

The Car
o Chassis RK-903 was brand new earlier this season at Darlington.

Spring Race at Dover 2013
o Biffle started 19th and struggled with handling, he even went two laps down to the field over green flag runs. With the help of multiple adjustments and taking the “wave around” he was able to earn a 15th-place lead lap finish.

Biffle on Dover:
“Dover is a track the Roush Fenway cars have run well at and a place I’ve had some success at. Hopefully we can turn things around. As a driver, you have to be on your toes at Dover. I think we are going to be really good at Dover this weekend.”

Puccia on Dover:
“Typically we run well at Dover and as a company we look forward to going there. It’s a unique, high-banked race track and keeping up with the race track as it changes throughout a race is always a challenge. The No. 99 tested there a few weeks ago, so we’ve got some good notes to use for this weekend. Hopefully we can get things back on track and leave Dover with a solid finish.”

- Roush Fenway Racing

2014 Dover FedEx 400 Preview: Johnson's Charlotte win could spark more, beginning this week

Jimmie Johnson has eight wins on the Dover concrete

This Sunday’s racer at Dover Downs International Speedway marks the half-way point of the regular season before the 10-race Chase for the Championship starts. Ten drivers have already punched their ticket for NASCAR’s version of the playoffs by virtue of winning a race with six other spots still available. Jimmie Johnson joined the club last week with his first win of the season has great shot this week of joining Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano as two-time race winners.

For the first 11 races of the season, Johnson didn’t look like the six-time champion we have all respected because he didn’t have speed on the down force tracks, but during practices at Charlotte, you could tell that crew chief Chad Knaus found some speed for the No. 48 car. They led a race high 164 laps in NASCAR’s longest race of the season, and the hopes of every other competitor in the series that Johnson might not be as good this year were quickly put to rest. Heee’s back!

Dover’s 1-mile high banked concrete layout is unique to itself, with maybe some comparison to be made with Bristol’s half-mile track. Over the years, no one has been better at Dover than Johnson. The last time the series rolled through Dover, Johnson took the checkers there for the eighth time. He has won at least one of the two races in four of the past five seasons, and in 2009, he swept the season. Based on how he looked last week, don’t expect to get any number higher than 5/1 on him. And if you do find 5/1, grab it because it’s great value based on his Dover resume. You could argue that even 4/1 betting odds is decent value -- that‘s how good Johnson is at Dover.

Jeff Gordon is a four-time winner at Dover, but hasn’t won there since 2001. However, he’s currently on a great run on the season has finished fourth or better in his past three Dover starts, including runner up to Brad Keselowski in 2012. Last week at Charlotte, despite painful back spasms that forced him to miss final practice, Gordon ran an outstanding race, finishing seventh and was leading with 17 laps to go.

Read More Here.....Top-5 Finish Prediction

LVH odds to win 2014 Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit - Race #1

CHEVROLET INDY DUAL IN DETROIT--RACE #1
THE RACEWAY AT BELLE ISLE PARK
SATURDAY, MAY 31, 2014

WILL POWER 7-2
SCOTT DIXON 5
RYAN HUNTER-REAY 6
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA 10
HELIO CASTRONEVES 8
SIMON PAGENAUD 7
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE 12
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS 12
JOSEF NEWGARDEN 18
TAKUMA SATO 25
JUSTIN WILSON 25
MIKE CONWAY 20
CARLOS MUNOZ 30
CHARLIE KIMBALL 30
RYAN BRISCOE 40
MARCO ANDRETTI 30
TONY KANAAN 40
GRAHAM RAHAL 40
JACK HAWKSWORTH 30
FIELD 25

Dover International Speedway Track Facts: 2014 FedEx 400

Dover International Speedway Data Season Race #: 13 of 36 (06-01-14) Track Size: 1-mile Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 24 degrees Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 24 degrees Banking/Frontstretch: 9 degree Banking/Backstretch: 9 degree Frontstretch Length: 1,076 feet Backstretch Length: 1,076 feet Race Length: 400 laps / 400 miles Top 10 Driver Ratings at Dover Jimmie Johnson........................ 121.1 Matt Kenseth............................. 107.9 Kyle Busch............................... 106.0 Carl Edwards............................ 101.3 Greg Biffle................................ 101.0 Jeff Gordon................................ 93.7 Kurt Busch.................................. 92.5 Clint Bowyer............................... 91.6 Martin Truex Jr............................ 89.4 Ryan Newman............................. 89.4 Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2013 races (18 total) among active drivers at Dover Motor Speedway. Qualifying/Race Data 2013 pole winner: Denny Hamlin, Toyota 157.978 mph, 22.788 secs. 05-31-13 2013 race winner: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet 123.172 mph, (03:14:51), 06-02-13 Coors Light Pole qualifying record: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet 161.849 mph, 22.243 secs. 09-27-13 Track race record: Mark Martin, Ford 132.719 mph, (03:00:50), 09-21-97

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 – won by Richard Petty.

·         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 88 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway, one race in 1969 and 1970, two races per year since 1971.

·         375 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway; 271 in more than one.

·         Ricky Rudd leads the series in starts at Dover with 56. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 42 starts; followed by Joe Nemechek with 39.

·         David Pearson won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Dover in 1969 with a speed of 130.430 mph. 

·         37 drivers have Coors Light poles at Dover, led by David Pearson with six. Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newmanlead all active drivers in poles with four each.

·         Nine drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Dover. David Pearson holds the record for most consecutive poles at Dover with three; from 1973 to the spring race of 1974.

·         Two active drivers have posted consecutive Coors Light poles at Dover: Ryan Newman (fall 2005 and spring 2006), and Denny Hamlin (fall 2012 and spring 2013).

·         Youngest Dover pole winner: Jeff Gordon (06/04/1995 – 23 years, 10 months, 0 days).

·         Oldest Dover pole winner: Mark Martin (06/01/2012 – 53 years, 4 months, 23 days).

·         34 different drivers have won at Dover International Speedway, led by Jimmie Johnson with eight wins (2002 sweep, fall 2005, 2009 sweep, 2010 fall, spring 2012 and fall 2013). 

·         12 drivers have posted consecutive wins at Dover International Speedway, including three consecutive by David Pearson (fall 1972 and 1973 sweep), Rusty Wallace (fall 1993 and 1994 sweep) and Jeff Gordon (fall 1995 and 1996 sweep).

·         Youngest Dover winner: Kyle Busch (06/01/2008 – 23 years, 0 months, 30 days).

·         Oldest Dover winner: Harry Gant (05/31/1992 – 52 years, 4 months, 21 days).

·         Hendrick Motorsportshas the most wins at Dover in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 15: Jimmie Johnson(eight), Jeff Gordon (four), Geoff Bodine (one), Ken Schrader (one) and Ricky Rudd (one). 

·         Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Dover; led by Chevrolet with 34 victories; followed by Fordwith 25.

·         13 of the 88 (14.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover have been won from the Coors Light pole; the two most recent were Jimmie Johnson in 2009 and 2010.

·         The second-place starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (15) than any other starting position at Dover International Speedway.   

·         28 of the 88 (31.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover have been won from the front row: 13 from the pole and 15 from second-place.

·         69 of the 88 (78.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Dover have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         Five of the 88 (5.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover have been won from a starting position outside the top 20 – most recently: Tony Stewart, spring2013(22nd-place starting position)

·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Dover was 37th, by Kyle Petty in the spring of 1995.

·         Mark Martin leads the series in runner-up finishes at Dover with eight; followed by Dale Earnhardt with five. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with four.

·         Mark Martin leads the series in top-five finishes at Dover with 24; followed by Dale Earnhardt with 19. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 17. 

·         Mark Martin leads the series in top-10 finishes at Dover with 33; followed by Richard Petty and Ricky Ruddwith 26 each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 24.

·         Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Dover with a 9.042.

·         Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Dover with an 8.667; Carl Edwards (10.000) is the only other active driver with an average finish in the top 10.

·         11 of the 12 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Dover International Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Jimmie Johnson won at Dover in his first two appearances.     

·         Jeff Burton competed at Dover International Speedway 25 times before winning in the fall of 2006; the longest span of any the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

·         Among the 16 active NSCS Dover winners Kurt Busch (22) and Matt Kenseth (14) made 10 or more attempts before their first win.

·         Joe Nemechek leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Dover without visiting Victory Lane at 39; followed by Kevin Harvick with 26.

·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Dover International Speedway was the September 25, 2005 race won by Jimmie Johnson over Kyle Busch with a MOV of 0.08 second.

·         There has been one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Dover International Speedway (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): fall of 2005 (400/404).

·         Not one of the 87 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway has been shortened due to weather conditions.   

·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Dover International Speedway five times: fall of 1984, spring of 2001, fall of 2003, spring of 2005 and spring of 2011.  

·         Three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series active drivers have made their first career start at Dover International Speedway: Matt Kenseth (9/20/98), Kurt Busch (9/24/00) and David Ragan (9/24/06).

·         Two active drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Dover International Speedway: Matt Kenseth (06/02/02) and Michael Waltrip (06/03/1991).     

·         One active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver has posted his first career win at Dover International Speedway:Martin Truex Jr. (06/04/07).

·         Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Dover with 2,704 laps led in 24 starts.

·         If Jimmie Johnson leads 296 laps or more this weekend he will surpass the 3,000 laps led mark at Dover International Speedway, becoming the seventh driver in series history to lead 3,000 or more laps at a single track. Jeff Gordon is the only other active driver to accomplish the feat (Martinsville – 3,593 laps led). 

·         Two female drivers have competed at Dover International Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date
Janet Guthrie	11	33	9/19/1976
Janet Guthrie	15	11	9/18/1977
Danica Patrick	38	28	9/30/2012
Danica Patrick	39	24	6/2/2013
Danica Patrick	31	29	9/29/2013

·         There have been 88 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Delaware all at Dover International Speedway.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Dover International Speedway	Dover	88

·         Eight drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Delaware; none of the eight have recorded a victory in NASCAR national series competition.