Dover Betting Preview: 2017 Apache Warrior 400

The Monster Mile with it's high-banked concrete layout is awesome!

Alright, it's Playoff elimination time in NASCAR. We've got to say goodbye to four drivers after Sunday's Apache Warrior 400 at Dover International Speedway's one-mile, high-banked, concrete layout. It's the final race of the Round of 16 and only four drivers are assured of advancing leaving the other 12 drivers scrambling with different strategies to stay alive.

For Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne, they're going to have to run a great race this week while also having some luck go their way. They're the last four on the chopping block. They could take care of business by winning a race and automatically qualify for the next round, but with the way the balance of the series has shifted so dramatically to a few stout cars, that doesn't seem likely.

Four drivers have already qualified for the next by virtue of wins in the first two races of this round -- Martin Truex Jr. at Chicagoland and Kyle Busch at New Hampshire -- and two other drivers -- Kyle Larson (2,125 points) and Brad Keselowski (2,106) -- have clinched by accumulating enough points.

In the first Dover race of the season in early June, Larson finished second and Truex was third. They've been dominant like that almost everywhere. But a surprise top-five contender was Newman (2,043) in fourth-place and he could use another solid run like that and he's only two points behind the 12th-place transfer position. Chase Elliott finished fifth, his third straight top-five at Dover in his first three Cup starts there. He's sitting ninth in points (2,070).

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

Jimmie Johnson's third and last win of season was at Dover, June 4. 

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK
ODDS TO WIN APACHE WARRIOR 400
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2017 - 2:16 PM ET

Martin TRUEX JR 9/4
Kyle BUSCH 13/4
Kyle LARSON 13/4
Jimmie JOHNSON 6/1
Matt KENSETH 15/1
Denny HAMLIN 15/1
Kevin HARVICK 15/1
Chase ELLIOTT 20/1
Erik JONES 20/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 20/1
Ryan BLANEY 40/1
Joey LOGANO 40/1
Kurt BUSCH 40/1
Clint BOWYER 40/1
Jamie McMURRAY 100/1
Daniel SUAREZ 100/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 100/1
Ryan NEWMAN 300/1
Kasey KAHNE 300/1
Austin DILLON 300/1
Dale EARNHARDT JR 300/1
Trevor BAYNE 300/1
AJ ALLMENDINGER 300/1
Ty DILLON 500/1
Paul MENARD 500/1
Chris BUESCHER 1000/1
Aric ALMIROLA 1000/1
Danica PATRICK 1000/1
Michael McDOWELL 2000/1
FIELD (all others) 1000/1

Dover NASCAR Cup Series Notes: 2017 Apache Warrior 400

Jimmie Johnson has a Dover record 11 Cup wins. 

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: Apache Warrior 400 Presented by Lucas Oil

The Place: Dover International Speedway

The Date: Sunday, Oct. 1

The Time: 2 p.m. ET

TV: NBCSN, 1:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio                   

Distance: 400 miles (400 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 120),

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 240), Final Stage (Ends on lap 400)

NASCAR XFINITY Series

Next Race: Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200

The Place: Dover International Speedway

The Date: Saturday, Sept. 30

The Time: 2:45 p.m. ET

TV: NBCSN, 2:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 200 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 60),

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200)

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 

Next Race: Las Vegas 350 

The Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The Date: Saturday, Sept. 30

The Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 219 miles (146 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 55),

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 110), Final Stage (Ends on lap 175)

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Heads To Dover For Playoff Cutoff Race

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series travels to Dover International Speedway Sunday for the Round of 16 Playoffs cutoff race – the Apache Warrior 400 presented by Lucas Oil (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The lowest four drivers in points without a win in the Round of 16 will be eliminated following the race.

Here’s how the leaderboard looks entering the race:

Rank	Driver	Points	Race Wins	Playoff Points	Pts from Cutoff
1	Martin Truex Jr.	2149	1	59	-
2	Kyle Larson	2125	-	33	-
3	Kyle Busch	2119	1	36	-
4	Brad Keselowski	2106	-	19	-
5	Denny Hamlin	2088	-	13	-
6	Matt Kenseth	2087	-	5	-
7	Jimmie Johnson	2076	-	17	-
8	Ryan Blaney	2070	-	8	-
9	Chase Elliott	2070	-	6	-
10	Kevin Harvick	2069	-	15	-
11	Jamie McMurray	2053	-	3	-
12	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	2044	-	10	-
13	Austin Dillon	2044	-	5	0
14	Ryan Newman	2043	-	5	1
15	Kurt Busch	2027	-	5	17
16	Kasey Kahne	2023	-	5	21

Four drivers have clinched a spot in the Round of 12: Martin Truex Jr. (clinched with Chicagoland win), Kyle Larson (clinched on points at New Hampshire), Kyle Busch (clinched with win at New Hampshire, and Brad Keselowski (clinched with points at New Hampshire).

Truex is the defending race winner at Dover, while Jimmie Johnson won the June race at the Monster Mile.

No non-Playoff driver has ever won a postseason race at Dover.

Jimmie Johnson Attempts To Add To Dover Track Record With 12th Win

Jimmie Johnson will attempt to defend his June Dover victory and add to his track victories record with a 12th checkered flag on Sunday. But more importantly, a win will advance Johnson to the Round of 12 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as he chases another record – eight championships.

If Johnson wins this weekend, he will join NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip as the only three Monster Energy Series drivers to win 12 or more races at a single track. Petty did it three times (Martinsville – 15 wins, North Wilkesboro – 15 and Richmond – 13), while Waltrip did it once (Bristol – 12 wins).

In 31 starts at Dover, Johnson boasts 11 wins, 16 top fives, 22 top 10s and a 9.3 average finish. His 7.7 average running position and 118.3 driver rating rank at the top of the Monster Mile statistical lists among active drivers.

The No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet driver sits seventh on the Playoff Grid, 32 points ahead of Austin Dillon on the cutoff line for a spot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Playoffs Round of 12.

Johnson finished 14th at New Hampshire last weekend.

Martin Truex Jr. Tries To Defend Playoff Victory At Home Track

Martin Truex Jr. has already clinched a spot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 via his win at Chicagoland. Still, he’d like to defend his Dover Playoff victory from last season. Truex, from nearby Mayetta, New Jersey, would like to win again in front of his hometown fans and add five more playoff points to his series-leading total of 59.

The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing driver won his first career race at Dover in 2007. In 23 career starts at the Monster Mile, he has two wins, three top fives, 12 top 10s and a 13.7 average finish. He placed third at the one-mile track in June after leading 102 laps.

Truex leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in wins (5), top 10s (19), stage wins (19), playoff points (59), average finish (10.5), average running position (7.7), fastest laps (1,169, 17.3%), laps led (2,068, 25.4%) and driver rating (112.4).

Austin Dillon vs. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. vs. Ryan Newman

With the lowest four winless drivers in points falling out of the playoffs following Sunday’s Apache Warrior 400, one of the biggest parts of the event will be the races within the race.

Right now, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. owns the final transfer spot. He’s tied with Austin Dillon in points, but holds the tiebreaker right now with a better high Round of 16 finish – 15th at New Hampshire compared to Dillon’s 16th at Chicagoland.

Ryan Newman trails Stenhouse and Dillon by a mere one point. We’ve seen what Newman can do when it comes to tight points racing. In 2014, he bumped Kyle Larson on the final lap at Phoenix to gain an extra point to make the Championship 4. Newman finished second in the final championship standings that season without winning a race.

Both Dillon and Stenhouse have career-high finishes of eighth at Dover. Otherwise, neither driver has a top 10 there.

Newman might be in the best position of the three drivers. In 31 starts at Dover, he owns three wins, seven top fives, 14 top 10s and a 13.6 average finish. He placed fourth at the Monster Mile in June.

With points at a premium, plan on all three drivers to push the envelope during every stage instead of sitting back to try to get a strong final finish.

Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne Could Use A Win At Dover

Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne, 17 and 21 points below the cutoff line, respectively, for advancement to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16, can still advance on points, but likely need a win at Dover to advance in the postseason.

Busch won at Dover in 2011, but has only one top-10 finish at the Monster Mile since then.

Kahne has never won at Dover, but has three top fives and eight top 10s in 27 starts there. He has finished sixth or better in three of his last five races at the one-mile track.