Jimmie Johnson favored for first time since last Dover race

Jimmie Johnson is the all-time best Dover has ever seen.

LAS VEGAS -- The last time Jimmie Johnson visited Dover International Speedway, he came in as the favorite and won on the 1-mile high-banked concrete layout for the 10th time in his career. That win on May 31 was his fourth of the season, which at the time was twice as many as anyone else had in the series. Johnson hasn't won or been favored since then – a span of 15 races – but the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has seen enough historical excellence to make him the favorite, at 4-to-1 odds, to win Sunday's AAA 400.

SuperBook manager Ed Salmons said that Kevin Harvick should probably be the favorite this week, but Johnson's dominance on the track combined with public demand forced the number.

"They (public) just fire on Johnson when he comes to Dover," Salmons said.

They usually win, too. One of the most amazing stats you'll see in NASCAR is Johnson's record at Dover, where he wins every 2.7 starts. That's 10 wins in 27 starts – absolutely incredible. And he started his mastery of the Monster Mile right out of the gate. NASCAR Nation saw how special Johnson was going to be when he swept the Dover season as a rookie in 2002. No one thought he'd win six Sprint Cups, though.

Johnson's recent Dover history has been even more amazing. He's won three of the past four races and seven of the last 13.

But how does Johnson's mastery translate to what we're currently seeing in the series? When Johnson last won a race, the four Toyotas in the Joe Gibbs Racing stable were just getting revved up to what we're witnessing right now – 10 wins in the past 13 races.

A Chevrolet hasn't won in the past 11 races, and the brand’s last win (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) came by the random nature of restrictor-plate racing at Daytona, where up to 38 drivers have a legitimate shot at finishing first. It's not so much that Chevrolet has completely fallen off the cliff, it's just that JGR and the Penske Racing Fords have gotten better – a lot better. The level these organizations have achieved is truly remarkable, especially considering how Chevy's Harvick started the year, when he had one of the highest driver ratings since Jeff Gordon during his magical 1998 season.

Read More Here....complete list of Dover odds from Westgate

Kyle Busch has 11 Dover wins in NASCAR's three touring series

Kyle Busch is 7/1 to win this week at Dover.

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 29, 2015) – As the NASCARSprint Cup Series season heads to the 28th race of the season this weekend, one thing is for certain: Kyle Busch, crew chief Adam Stevens and the entire Interstate Batteries team have been “Outrageously Dependable” in the face of adversity.

So it’s only appropriate as the Sprint Cup competitors head to the third race in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship playoffs – Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway – that Busch will have the Outrageously Dependable green-and-white-striped colors of Interstate Batteries along for the ride on his No. 18 Toyota.

There isn’t likely a team in the garage that has faced more adversity this season than the Interstate Batteries team. After losing Busch for the first 11 races after being injured on opening weekend at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the No. 18 team rallied back in several ways. First, it brought home four wins over the summer months, along with rallying to make it into the top-30 in the driver standings, solidifying Busch’s spot in the 2015 Chase field.

After a solid ninth-place finish in the Chase opener two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, the next bit of adversity struck last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. With Busch running in the top-10, a right-front-tire issue sent Busch into the outside SAFER barrier and eventually to the garage forrepairs. The team returned to the track as quickly as possible, but the result was a disappointing 37th-place finish.

There is some good news on the horizon as the Interstate Batteries team heads to the first cutoff race of this year’s Chase. Busch will head to Dover – statistically one of his better tracks – in hopes of scoring a win, and thus an automatic bid to the Contender Round as one of the final 12 drivers left in NASCAR’s playoffs. However, Busch sits only one point out of the 12th and final transfer spot, so even a solid finish could vault him into the Contender Round that begins next weekend at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

The Dover stats for Busch and his Interstate Batteries team are impressive – two Sprint Cup wins, five NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wins. Busch has led 1,018 laps in his previous 21 Sprint Cup starts at Dover, an average of almost 50 per race.

Busch will look to finish what he started in his first trip this season to the “Monster Mile” back in June, when he had a strong run in just his second event back from injury. He ran third with 30 laps to go before an unfortunate incident with a lapped car caused an accident that ended his race early.

So, as Busch and his Interstate Batteries team try to advance to the next round of the Chase, they look to build on recent strong runs at Dover in hopes of closing the deal with their green-and-white-striped Interstate Batteries Camry Sunday afternoon on the Delmarva Peninsula. Busch and the No. 18 team will need to continue to earn their stripes in order to be a “contender” in the 2015 Chase following Sunday’s grueling 400-miler.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

What will be the team’s goals this weekend at Dover?
“We just need to execute as a team. Dover has been a good place for me. We ran really well there in June until we got in an accident late. I know Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and all the Interstate Batteries guys are working hard to have a good car off the truck and get us off to a strong start this weekend and, hopefully, we can finish off a strong run there this time.”

What does it take to be successful at Dover?
“Dover, being a concrete track, is challenging. They’re all a challenge, but Dover is especially so, just because of the way you have to run around that place. The way tires sometimes wear out. The way the rubber gets put down there. You’ve got to be fast through the corner. Two-thirds of your lap time is through the turns rather than down the straightaway, so you definitely have to make sure you have a good-handling racecar – one that’s good in the beginning of the run on low air pressures and one that’s good at the end of the run on high air pressures, and even through traffic, too. Some of the most challenging times are when you’re trying to get through traffic with guys.”

Do you enjoy racing at Dover?
“It’s definitely a fast racetrack. It’s a fun racetrack, too. It makes it interesting when you get to traffic, when you have to pass guys, when you’re kind of falling down into the hole and jumping back up out of the hole to the straightaways. It’s a good place to race. It’s a competitive racetrack and, when the rubber gets laid down, it definitely changes the whole atmosphere and the whole way you run around that place.”

Does going from concrete to asphalt change the way the car handles?
“We don’t run on an asphalt racetrack that’s banked like that or shaped like that. The mile tracks we go to that are asphalt are Phoenix and Loudon, and they are relatively flat. The concrete just changes the feel a little bit, of course, and changes the way you approach the racetrack, too.”

You have two Sprint Cup wins and a competitive history at Dover. What is your outlook with your history there?
“I love that place. It’s fun to race there and it’s a place I’m looking forward to going to with our Interstate Batteries Camry. I went there when I was 18 to race in the Xfinity Series for my first time. It will scare you the first time you race there. You carry so much speed at that racetrack and, for it to be a mile in length and for it to be concrete – concrete surfaces that we race on, anyway, are a little bit slick. It’s definitely a roller-coaster ride and you need to treat it like it’s fun and not to be scared of the place, I think, because you can get so much out of that place. There are two ways about it – you can probably be really, really good there, or really, really bad there. Some days you’re going to be better than others, obviously, with how you can get your car set up compared to the competition.”

KYLE BUSCH’S DOVER SPRINT CUP SERIES PERFORMANCE PROFILE

Year	Date	Event	Start	Finish	Status/Laps	Laps Led	Earnings
2015	5/31	FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks	10	36	Accident, 374/400	7	$133,201
2014	6/1	FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks	2	42	Accident, 125/400	81	$120,176
	9/28	AAA 400	2	10	Running, 400/400	0	$141,606
2013	6/2	FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks	3	4	Running, 400/400	150	$196,198
	9/29	AAA 400	14	5	Running, 400/400	30	$162,068
2012	6/3	FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks	8	29	Engine, 202/400	0	$129,563
	9/30	AAA 400	5	7	Running, 399/400	302	$148,068
2011	5/15	FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks	7	4	Running, 400/400	0	$180,341
	10/2	AAA 400	5	6	Running, 400/400	1	$142,266
2010	5/16	Autism Speaks 400	4	1	Running, 400/400	131	$327,706
	9/26	AAA 400	11	6	Running, 400/400	46	$144,831
2009	5/31	Autism Speaks 400	6	23	Running, 399/400	0	$131,248
	9/27	AAA 400	14	31	Running, 342/400	0	$119,023
2008	6/1	Best Buy 400	3	1	Running, 400/400	158	$302,550
	9/21	Camping World RV 400	11	43	Engine 172/400	0	$84,782
2007	6/4	Autism Speaks 400	19	17	Running, 398/400	0	$100,400
	9/23	Dodge Dealers 400	22	5	Running, 400/400	0	$117,225
2006	6/4	Neighborhood Excellence 400	30	5	Running, 400/400	22	$132,925
	9/24	Dover 400	27	40	Engine, 110/400	0	$81,800
2005	6/5	†MBNA RacePoints 400	22	2	Running, 400/400	90	$208,275
	9/25	×MBNA RacePoints 400 II	3	2	Running, 404/404	0	$164,275

× Race length extended due to green-white-checkered finish.         

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.   

- True Speed Communication for Interstate Batteries Racing

Jimmie Johnson makes 500th start at his 'favorite track' - Dover

Johnson knows his way around Dover; he's 4/1 favorite this week.

No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson

Driver Jimmie Johnson
Hometown El Cajon, California
Age 40
Resides Charlotte, North Carolina

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, is scheduled to visit the Dover International Speedway media center at 10:15 a.m. local time Friday.

Jimmie Johnson on making his 500th start at Dover
“I’m really excited to go to Dover, it’s my favorite racetrack out there. I’m glad this track is in the Chase and its really fitting to make my 500th start there. It seems like not too long ago I just got started in this sport. So much has happened since then, so many things I am very proud of – 500 is a big number. It’s crazy. Proud to represent Lowe’s and this team throughout the past 500 races and looking forward to the future and sharing much more success together.” 

ONE SPONSOR, ONE TEAM: Jimmie Johnson will be making his 500th career start this weekend at Dover. His first career start in the No. 48 was on Oct. 7, 2001, at Charlotte Motor Speedway at the age of 27. Johnson’s first win came at Fontana in 2002 in just his 13th career start. Throughout the years and the changes in the sport, Johnson has been lucky enough to have a few constants. Lowe’s has been Johnson’s sponsor since he began his career, Chad Knaus has been his crew chief and Ron Malec has been his car chief the since the beginning. Together they have won six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships.

DOVER IS SPECIAL FOR JOHNSON: Johnson won at Dover his first time at the track on June 2, 2002, in just his 16th start as a Sprint Cup driver. He followed that up the same year by winning the fall event to sweep the season. Johnson has won four times in the last seven races at Dover. Click here to see photos from Johnson’s first win at the "Monster Mile."

MORE DOVER ACCOLADES: Johnson has led 2,999 laps around Dover International Speedway in his career -- the most all-time of any driver. Since 2005, Johnson has led a series-high 2,604 laps – 1,586 more than second during that span. He has an average finish of 5.9 and average running position of 6.4 at the track in the same time period.

JOHNSON AND THE MONSTER: After his win in May at the one-mile concrete oval, Johnson has a total of 10 Sprint Cup wins at Dover International Speedway, which ranks first all-time ahead of NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Richard Petty, who recorded seven wins apiece.

PINK FOR OCTOBER: Johnson will sport a special Lowe’s hat and Mission towel in the month of October to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Both the hat and towel will have the color pink in an effort to bring awareness to the disease.

TWITTER CHAT WITH KNAUS: Knaus will do a fan question and answer session from Hendrick Motorsports’ Twitter handle, @TeamHendrick, on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. ET. Fans can use the hashtag #DashChat to submit questions for Knaus.

DECAL FOR 500TH START: A special decal will be placed on the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy SS this weekend to commemorate Johnson’s 500th start. The decal reads “Jimmie Johnson 500th start. One Driver. One Team. One Sponsor.”

DOVER DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Johnson has the series-best driver rating at Dover with a score of 122.3 during the past 10 years at the track. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.

KANSAS TICKET PACKAGE: Johnson is offering kids (ages 12 and younger) the chance to join him for an exclusive Q&A before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 18.The special offer includes an adult and youth admission to the exclusive Q&A with Johnson, one FanVision radio scanner and two special-edition Jimmie Johnson credentials. Call 866-817-7223 or click here to purchase.

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2015 Season 5th in standings 28 starts 4 wins 0 pole positions 11 top-five finishes 18 top-10 finishes 467 laps led     Career 499 starts 74 wins 33 pole positions 204 top-five finishes 310 top-10 finishes 17,618 laps led     Track Career  27 starts 10 wins 3 pole positions 15 top-five finishes 20 top-10 finishes 2,999 laps led

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Jeff Gordon tries for sixth Dover win; Vegas odds at 25/1

Jeff Gordon is 25/1 to win at Dover Sunday...nice value!

No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS / Jeff Gordon

Driver: Jeff Gordon 

Hometown: Pittsboro, Indiana
Age: 44 

Resides: Charlotte, North Carolina

Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS, is scheduled to visit the Dover International Speedway media center at 1:30 p.m. local time Friday.

Jeff Gordon on racing at Dover

“Dover is definitely a physical track. Once rubber starts getting laid down on this racetrack, it’s a little rough. Every time they do a patch (on the track), that piece of concrete is a different texture than the other pieces and you have different grip levels. You are constantly fighting between push-loose, push-loose and you are just working the steering wheel constantly. Not to mention the G-loads that you pull are pretty significant. These are big corners, high-banked with a lot of grip. You are working hard each lap.”

NEW NASCAR IRON MAN: Last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Jeff Gordon set the record for most consecutive starts in NASCAR history with 789. Gordon also holds the longest consecutive starts streak from the beginning of a career – he has never missed a race since his Nov. 15, 1992, debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
DEFENDING RACE WINNER AT DOVER: On Sept. 28, 2014, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion led 94 laps on the one-mile track en route to his 92nd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.
LAST SIX IN ‘FIRST STATE’: In the last six NASCAR Sprint Cup events on the concrete track, Gordon has six top-15 finishes including finishes of first, second, third and fourth.
ACTIVE LEADER: Gordon’s 18 top-five finishes and 26 top-10s are tops among active drivers at the concrete track while he is tied with Ryan Newman for most pole positions among active drivers with four.
NEARING 25K: Gordon is 128 shy of 25,000 career laps led.
UP FRONT AT DOVER: Gordon, driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS, has led 200 or more laps on five occasions at Dover. In September of 1995, he led 400 of 500 laps en route to his first victory at the high-banked track, and he paced the field for 381 of 400 laps in June 2001 to capture his fourth victory. In May 1998, Gordon led 375 of 400 laps but finished third after a late-race pit stop for fuel.
MEMBER ADVANTAGES AT DOVER: AARP Member Advantages will sponsor four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet SS to spread awareness about the many benefits available to AARP members. The special AARP Member Advantages paint scheme – which debuted at Sonoma Raceway on June 28 – will be featured in six Sprint Cup Series events in 2015 and is part of Hendrick Motorsports’ existing partnership with Drive to End Hunger, which is AARP and AARP Foundation’s multi-year effort to raise awareness of and support for the fight against older adult hunger. AARP Member Advantages is a collection of discounts, products, services and insurance programs available to AARP’s millions of members through third party providers. The provider offers include a variety of health products, financial products, travel and leisure products, and life event services.

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2015 Season 10th in standings 28 starts 0 wins 3 pole positions 3 top-five finishes 14 top-10 finishes 208 laps led     Career 789 starts 92 wins 80 pole positions 323 top-five finishes 468 top-10 finishes 24,872 laps led     Track Career  45 starts 5 wins 4 pole positions 18 top-five finishes 26 top-10 finishes 2,389 laps led

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Martin Truex Jr. hoping for similar Dover run from May

Martin Truex Jr. is 12/1 to win at Dover this week.

As a Furniture Row Racing driver Dover has been best-finishing track

DENVER, Colo. (Sept. 29 2015) – The next three Sprint Cup races – Dover, Charlotte and Kansas City — carry a positive statistic for Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet.

He led the most laps earlier in the year at each of those three venues – 131 at Dover, also 131 at Charlotte and 95 at Kansas City.

“We had great cars but let those races slip away – that’s the bad news,” said Truex, who finished sixth at Dover, fifth at Charlotte and ninth at Kansas City. “The good news is that we have a pretty good handle on each of those tracks. But right now, our only concern is Dover and making sure we advance into the next round of the Chase.”

Heading into Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover’s Monster Mile, Truex is positioned ninth in the 16-driver Chase point standings. Following Dover, four drivers will be eliminated and the remaining 12 will advance to the next round of three races with a clean slate of points.

“We’re still in it, but it’s tight and everyone is playing hardball, which is the way it should be in the Chase playoffs,” said Truex, who scored his first Sprint Cup victory at Dover on June 4, 2007. “We just need to duplicate what we did in New Hampshire, race smart, make no errors and avoid bad breaks.”

Though Dover has been the best-finishing track for Truex as a Furniture Row driver (6.33 average finish in three races – 6th, 7th, 6th), he is very well aware of the challenges that the all-concrete 1-mile oval presents.

“Dover’s a tough racetrack — high bank, high speed,” said the Mayetta, N.J. native, who calls Dover his home track. “The concrete surface there makes it a huge challenge. The key, as hard as it sounds, is to get the car somewhat comfortable. That place is so treacherous you have to really drive on the edge all day long.

“But Dover has been good for me during my career. It’s a place I have really enjoyed. My first time there was back in 2000 in the Busch North Series and I feel like I have a good understanding of the track. We had a great run there in June, led most of the first half of the race. We feel like we know a couple of things that we need to do a little bit better to try to finish the deal off. Right now it’s all about trying to beat the 48 at Dover (Jimmie Johnson). It’s a good place for us to close out the first round of the Chase.”

In 19 career Cup starts at Dover, Truex has one win, one top-five, nine top-10s and has led 358 laps. His average start is 13.6 and average finish is 15.3.

Truex’s Career Record at Dover

Year	Start	Finish	Status/Laps	Laps Led	Earnings
2006	21	22	Running, 399/400	0	107,783
	33	6	Running, 400/400	0	123,283
2007	26	1	Running, 400/400	216	295,045
	5	13	Running, 399/400	0	103,170
2008	20	6	Running, 400/400	0	145,433
	16	20	Running, 399/400	0	105,308
2009	15	21	Running, 399/400	0	122,165
	32	33	Crash, 251/400	0	105,790
2010	1	12	Running, 400/400	2	98,675
	3	34	Running, 383/400	4	67,700
2011	8	8	Running, 400/400	1	109,425
	1	30	Running, 396/400	2	93,100
2012	18	7	Running, 400/400	0	140,204
	3	6	Running, 400/400	0	132,674
2013	2	38	Engine, 279/400	2	113,405
	10	15	Running, 399/400	0	116,835
2014	16	6	Running, 400/400	0	144,878
	26	7	Running, 400/400	0	125,573
2015	2	6	Running, 405/405	131	148,815

Dover International Speedway Totals

Races	Win	T5	T10	Pole	Laps Led	Laps Completed	AvgSt	AvgFn	DNF	Money
19	1	1	9	2	358	7309 of 7605 96.1%	13.6	15.3	2	2,399,261

Truex’s 2015 Sprint Cup Series Results

No.	Date	Event	St	Fn	Laps	Led	Status	Money	Points	Standing
1	2/22	Daytona 500	10	8	203/203	1	Running	489,772	37	8
2	3/1	Atlanta	14	6	325/325	0	Running	150,615	38/75	5
3	3/8	Las Vegas	8	2	267/267	3	Running	268,950	43/118	4
4	3/15	Phoenix	15	7	312/312	0	Running	121,025	37/155	3
5	3/22	Fontana	12	8	209/209	5	Running	136,240	37/192	3
6	3/29	Martinsville	3	6	500/500	23	Running	118,665	39/231	3
7	4/11	Fort Worth	15	9	334/334	0	Running	163,380	35/266	3
8	4/19	Bristol	16	29	504/511	0	Running	120,120	15/281	3
9	4/26	Richmond	6	10	400/400	0	Running	114,710	34/315	3
10	5/3	Talladega	36	5	188/188	0	Running	169,600	39/354	2
11	5/9	Kansas	4	9	267/267	95	Running	122,060	37/391	2
12	5/24	Charlotte	9	5	600/00	131	Running	187,350	41/432	2
13	5/31	Dover	2	6	405/405	131	Running	148,815	40/472	2
14	6/7	Pocono	3	1	160/160	97	Running	201,810	48/520	2
15	6/14	Michigan	9	3	138/138	0	Running	137,580	41/561	2
16	6/28	Sonoma	12	42	31/110	0	Crash	88,195	2/563	2
17	7/5	Daytona	19	38	105/110	0	Crash	115,648	6/569	5
18	7/11	Kentucky	5	17	267/267	0	Running	111,035	27/596	5
19	7/19	Loudon	15	12	301/301	0	Running	117,485	32/628	5
20	7/26	Indianapolis	13	4	164/164	0	Running	283,170	40/668	5
21	8/2	Pocono	13	19	160/160	6	Running	106,015	26/694	5
22	8/9	Watkins Glen	2	25	90/90	5	Running	102,335	20/714	6
23	8/16	Michigan	22	3	200/200	0	Running	137,130	41/755	4
24	8/22	Bristol	23	28	495/500	0	Running	127,175	16/771	6
25	9/6	Darlington	7	9	367/367	0	Running	129,660	35/806	6
26	9/12	Richmond	16	32	394/400	0	Running	102,835	12/818	7
27	9/20	Chicagoland	4	13	267/267	39	Running	131,670	32/2035	11
28	9/27	Loudon	21	8	300/300	0	Running	121,210	36/271	9

Top 5s: 7   Top 10s: 18   Laps Led: 536  Avg. St: 12.0  Avg. Fn: 13.0  Money: $4,324,255

- DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing

Matt Kenseth on a roll heading into Dover

Matt Kenseth is 7/1 to win at Dover.

Matt Kenseth / No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Preview
AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway
No. 20 Dollar General Toyota News and Notes:

KENSETH BY THE NUMBERS AT DOVER: In 33 Sprint Cup Series career starts at Dover, Matt Kenseth has an average finish of 13.6, has completed 12,600 of 13,209 (95.4 percent) career laps, and has led for a total of 830 laps. Kenseth has earned two wins, 15 top-five, 21 top-10 finishes, and two poles at the Monster Mile.

JOE GIBBS RACING AT DOVER: Joe Gibbs Racing has 102 Sprint Cup Series starts at Dover and has earned five wins, 33 top-five, and 48 top-ten finishes. The organization has led for a total of 2,457 laps, has an average start of 14.4, an average finish of 17.1, and has completed 37,703 of 41,932 (89.9 percent) laps.

THIS WEEK ON THE NO. 20 DOLLAR GENERAL TOYOTA: Dollar General vendor partners First Quality, Reese’s, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Glad, Zyrtec, TruMoo, Armour, Bounty and Pringles will be featured on Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Camry this weekend at Dover International Speedway.

RACE INFO: The AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway (1.0-mile) begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 4th. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

Kenseth’s 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Earnings	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
28	5	12	18	3	673	$4,860,793	12.1	12.6

Kenseth’s Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Earnings	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
572	36	163	288	16	10,128	$112,025,041	17.9	14.0

From the Cockpit:
Matt Kenseth: “Dover is just really unique since it’s a high-banked one-mile race track and we don’t really have any more of those around. It’s a really fast track and is really edgy, even when you’re out there by yourself, but it can get tough to pass when you get everyone out there during a race. It’s a track that you can really attack but you need to pay a lot of attention to the track changing as well as your competitors. Dover isn’t very forgiving and the elevation changes there can be challenging as well since everything can happen pretty quickly there. Dover gives me the sensation of more speed than any other track we go to and I’ve always loved that race track. We don’t have all the results there that I wish we had, but I love that track and it’s very challenging to get around there fast. I always look forward to heading to Dover.”

From the Pit Box:
Jason Ratcliff: “For our JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) organization as we whole, Dover has been a really good track for us. It stands out as one of the top tracks for us overall that we seem to have gotten a bit of a handle on since we generally run well there. I like our chances going back there this weekend. I thought we had a good race going in our first race there this year. We had a few things that I felt that we needed to work on, and we were able to work on those items worked out, so I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s one of our better tracks and eventually we’re going to get one there for our DG team.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing

Ryan Newman calls Dover a 'physical track'

Ryan Newman is 100/1 to win Sunday Dover.

Ryan Newman
No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS
Race Notes and Quotes

This Week’s Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS at Dover International Speedway … Ryan Newman will drive chassis No. 504 on Sunday at the Monster Mile. This Chevrolet was utilized earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway (Start: 9/Finish: 5), Texas Motor Speedway (Start: 7/Finish: 12), Dover International Speedway (Start: 17 /Finish: 18), Kentucky Speedway (Start: 26 /Finish: 20) and fall Bristol Motor Speedway (Start: 18/Finish: 10).

Career Stats at the Monster Mile … Newman will make his 505th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start when the series competes at the high-banked, one-mile oval. In 27 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, Newman has three victories to his credit including a Dover sweep in 2003 and a win in the fall of 2004. The “Rocket Man” also owns three pole awards. In total, he owns six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. Also, he has led 848 laps in competition. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of 9.6 and average finish of 13.6.

Engineered to Amaze … Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation’s second largest retail home mortgage lender. The company closed $140 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states in 2013-2014. Quicken Loans generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Scottsdale, Arizona. The company also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Primary Mortgage Origination” in the United States by J.D. Power for the past five consecutive years, 2010 – 2014, and highest in customer satisfaction among all mortgage servicers in 2014.

Quicken Loans was named among the top-30 companies on FORTUNE magazine’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the last 12 consecutive years, ranking No. 12 in 2015. It has been recognized as one of Computerworld magazine’s ‘100 Best Places to Work in IT’ the past ten years, ranking No. 1 in 2014, 2013, 2007, 2006 and 2005. The company moved its headquarters to downtown Detroit in 2010, and now more than 10,000 of its nearly 12,000 team members work in the city’s urban core. For more information about Quicken Loans, please visit QuickenLoans.com, on Twitter at @QLnews, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/QuickenLoans.

Cut to the Chase … Newman enters the final event in the Challenger 16 Round sixth in points. He is just 25 points out of the top spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Last Time at Dover … Earlier this season, Newman started 17th and had plenty of speed for a top-10 effort. An unscheduled stop under green-flag conditions on lap 247 dropped the No. 31 Chevrolet to the 26th position. As the laps wound down, the Caterpillar driver found himself battling for a top-20 finish. A late-race caution set the field up for a green-white-checkered finish. Newman restarted 22nd and passed four cars on his way to an 18th-place finish.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:

What is the key to running well at Dover International Speedway?
“Dover is manhandling a racecar for 400 times for 400 laps. The high-banked concrete is entirely different in comparison to the surfaces we raced in the first two events in the Challenger 16 Round. It’s always such a physical track. It is challenging because of that. But during my entire career, if you get Dover right from the very first lap, you can keep it right. It doesn’t change a whole lot so just being able to be repetitive enough … if you are good in qualifying, and good on the quick lap, it typically stays with you.”

What is your goal for the remainder of The Chase?
“We are here to win and it’s been awhile for me, but regardless of the 70-plus race dry spell, we are here to win each and every race we compete in. We are here to do the best job we possibly can. If we do the best job we possibly can, we still might get beat, but we also might be victorious.”

- Richard Childress Racing

Dover Betting Preview: 2015 AAA 400

Jimmie Johnson is a Dover master.

LAS VEGAS -- The greatest thing about the current Chase format unveiled last season, where we have three different elimination stages, is the drama it creates. We have storylines like we've never seen before in NASCAR at such an early stage before the championship is decided. For the first 26 races, we get to witness who might be the best equipped to handle these situations, but there's nothing quite like added pressure to create an intriguing storyline.

We've got eight races to go until a champion is crowned, but an early October race at Dover has so many title implications such as last year’s champ Kevin Harvick being on the brink of elimination. Kyle Busch wowed us all in late June and early July by winning four of five races, but he's outside looking in -- only one point outside of 12th-place. Can Harvick duplicate his feat at Phoenix last fall in a win or go-home situation and can Busch shed his trend of being a complete zero in the Chase over his career?

In Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover, we'll find out a lot of those answers as four of the 16 Chase drivers will be eliminated. Two drivers, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth, are locked in to advance on the basis of each winning the first two races of the Chase and another will advance if winning Sunday's race.

We've got a lot of things to consider before selecting a winner for Sunday based on several circumstances. Do you go with the hot driver or team that has been running well lately? Do you go with the driver who has had the most all-time success at Dover's high banked 1-mile concrete layout? Or do you go with a few of the drivers that are in desperation mode, who have to win to advance to the next round?

Read More Here...Top-5 Finish Prediction on VegasInsider.com

Dover International Speedway Track Facts: 2015 AAA 400

The concrete Monster Mile has been very nice to Jimmie Johnson, who wins every 2.7 starts there. 

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 16 at Dover International Speedway

	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Matt Kenseth	33	1	2	15	21	6	13.6	107.5
2	Denny Hamlin	19	3	0	3	6	3	19.3	85.2
3	Carl Edwards	22	0	1	8	12	0	10.6	98.4
4	Joey Logano	13	0	0	3	8	1	13.6	83.6
5	Jimmie Johnson	27	3	10	15	20	2	7.9	122.3
6	Ryan Newman	27	4	3	6	13	2	13.6	87.6
7	Kurt Busch	30	0	1	6	8	6	18.6	90.6
8	Brad Keselowski	11	1	1	4	4	0	13.1	91.1
9	Martin Truex Jr	19	2	1	1	9	2	15.3	91.3
10	Jeff Gordon	45	4	5	18	26	5	11.4	96.1
11	Jamie McMurray	25	0	0	1	6	0	17.8	78.6
12	Dale Earnhardt Jr	31	1	1	6	11	1	16.1	81.7
13	Kyle Busch	21	0	2	9	13	5	15.2	105.0
14	Paul Menard	16	0	0	0	3	0	18.4	68.8
15	Kevin Harvick	29	1	0	4	13	1	14.7	88.5
16	Clint Bowyer	19	0	0	2	12	0	11.7	92.7

* – Based on last 21 races at Dover International Speedway (2005 – 2015).

Dover International Speedway Data Season Race #: 29 of 36 (10-04-15) 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........................ 122.3 Matt Kenseth............................. 107.5 Kyle Busch............................... 105.0 Carl Edwards.............................. 98.4 Kyle Larson................................ 97.6 Greg Biffle.................................. 96.2 Jeff Gordon................................ 96.1 Clint Bowyer............................... 92.7 Martin Truex Jr............................ 91.3 Brad Keselowski......................... 91.1 Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races (21 total) among active drivers at Dover Motor Speedway. Qualifying/Race Data 2014 pole winner: Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet 162.933 mph, 22.095 secs. 09-26-14 2014 race winner: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet 130.541 mph, (03:03:51), 09-28-14 Track qualifying record: Brad Keselowski, Ford 164.444 mph, 21.892 secs. 05-30-14 Track race record: Mark Martin, Ford 132.719 mph, (03:00:50), 09-21-97

STATISTICAL ADVANCE

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.

Starts

·         There have been 91 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway, one race in 1969 and 1970, two races per year since 1971.

·         385 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway; 279 in more than one.

·         Ricky Rudd leads the series in starts at Dover with 56. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 45 starts; followed by Matt Kenseth with 33.

·         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).

·         Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Dover with a 9.926.

Poles

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

·         39 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.

Poles

·         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).

·         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).      

Wins

·         34 different drivers have won at Dover International Speedway, led by Jimmie Johnson with 10 wins (2002 sweep, fall 2005, 2009 sweep, 2010 fall, spring 2012, fall 2013, spring of 2014 and spring of 2015). 

·         12 drivers have posted consecutive wins at Dover International Speedway, including three consecutive byDavid 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 Motorsports has the most wins at Dover in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 18: Jimmie Johnson(10), Jeff Gordon (five), Geoff Bodine (one), Ken Schrader (one) and Ricky Rudd (one). 

·         Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Dover; led by Chevrolet with 37 victories; followed byFord with 25.

·         13 of the 91 (14.2%) 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 91 (30.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover have been won from the front row: 13 from the pole and 15 from second-place.

·         71 of the 91 (78%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Dover have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·         Five of the 91 (5.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover have been won from a starting position outside the top 20 – most recently: Tony Stewart, spring 2013 (22nd-place starting position)

Wins

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

·         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.     

·         Among the 12 active NSCS Dover winners Kurt Busch (22) and Matt Kenseth (14) made 10 or more attempts before their first win.

·         Kevin Harvick leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Dover without visiting Victory Lane at 29.

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

Additional Finishing Positions

·         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 18.  

·         Mark Martin leads the series in top-10 finishes at Dover with 33; followed by Richard Petty, Ricky Rudd andJeff Gordon with 26 each.

·         Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Dover with a 7.889.

Track / Event Specific

·         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 Buschwith a MOV of 0.08 second.

·         There has been two 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) and spring of 2015 (400/405).

·         Not one of the 91 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway have 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.  

·         Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Dover with 2,999 laps led in 27 starts.

Track / Event Specific

·         If Jimmie Johnson leads one lap 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 – 3,744 laps led). 

Female Competitors

·         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	Driver Rating	Date
Danica Patrick	33	15	69.9	5/31/2015
Danica Patrick	13	25	59.6	9/28/2014
Danica Patrick	28	23	56.7	6/1/2014
Danica Patrick	31	29	42.8	9/29/2013
Danica Patrick	39	24	44.0	6/2/2013
Danica Patrick	38	28	42.0	9/30/2012
Averages	30.3	24.0	52.5
Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Driver Rating	Date
Janet Guthrie	15	11	N/A	9/18/1977
Janet Guthrie	11	33	N/A	9/19/1976
Averages	13.0	22.0

NASCAR in Delaware

·         There have been 91 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Delaware, all at Dover International Speedway.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Dover International Speedway	Dover	91

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

Milestones – Dover

DRIVER	HAS	NEEDS	MILESTONE	DESCRIPTION
Kasey Kahne	424	1	425th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Consecutive Start	Kahne will attempt to post his 425th consecutive NSCS start this weekend. Kahne is eighth on the active consecutive NSCS starts list, 33 consecutive starts behind Greg Biffle (457) in seventh.
Jimmie Johnson	499	1	500th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Start	Johnson will attempt to post his 500th NSCS start this weekend. Johnson is 37th on the all-time NSCS starts list, five starts behind Ryan Newman in 36th.
Jimmie Johnson	74	2	76th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win	Jimmie Johnson is eighth on the all-time NSCS wins list, two wins behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt in seventh (76 wins).
Tony Stewart	48	2	50th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win	Stewart is 12th on the all-time NSCS wins list, two wins behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett in 10th (50 wins).
Kyle Busch	124	1	125th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top-Five Finish	Busch will attempt to post his 125th NSCS top-five finish this weekend. Busch is 28th on the all-time list; eight top fives behind Kevin Harvick (132) in 27th.
Tony Stewart	299	1	300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top-10 Finish	Stewart is 17th on the all-time NSCS top-10 finishes list, two top 10s behind James Hylton in 16th (301 top 10s).
Jimmie Johnson	2,999	1	3,000 Laps Led Or More At A Single Track	Johnson will attempt to post his 3,000th lap led at Dover International Speedway this weekend, he needs one lap led to accomplish the feat. Johnson would become the seventh driver in series history to lead 3,000 laps or more at a track, joining Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip.
Jeff Gordon	24,872	128	25,000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Laps Led	Gordon can become the sixth driver in NSCS history to lead 25,000 laps; joining Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson and Bobby Allison.
#43 car	199	1	200 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wins	The No. 43 car is second on the all-time NSCS wins list, five wins behind the No. 11 car in first (205). The last win for the No. 43 car came at Daytona last season.
Chevrolet	749	1	750th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win	Chevrolet will attempt to post the manufacturer's 750th win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this weekend. Chevrolet leads the series in wins.