Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Drydene 400

Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware going into the Drydene 400 on Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Dover International Speedway
Season Race #: 13 of 36 (05-16-21)
Track Size: 1-mile
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 24 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 24 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 9 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
Frontstretch Length:  1,076 feet
Backstretch Length:  1,076 feet
Race Length: 400 laps / 400 miles
Stage 1 and 2 Length: 120 laps each
Final Stage Length: 160 laps

Top 12 Dover Driver Ratings
Kyle Busch…………………………. 103.5
Kyle Larson…………………………. 103.3
Martin Truex Jr…………………….. 101.2
Kevin Harvick………………………… 98.6
Brad Keselowski……………………. 93.2
Chase Elliott…………………………. 91.5
Cole Custer………………………….. 89.2
Denny Hamlin……………………….. 88.9
Kurt Busch……………………………. 87.2
Joey Logano…………………………. 86.8
Ryan Blaney…………………………. 84.1
Erik Jones……………………………. 83.3
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (32 total) among active drivers at Dover International Speedway.

Dover Qualifying / Race Data

Track qualifying record:                                              2020 Dover pole winner:

Denny Hamlin, Toyota                                                   Qualifying was cancelled due to pandemic

166.984 mph, 21.559 secs. Oct. 5, 2019                         Chase Elliott – Started on pole – Metric Qualifying

Track race record:                                                       2020 Dover race winner:

Kyle Larson, Chevrolet                                                   Denny Hamlin, Toyota

135.734 mph, (02:56:49), Oct. 6, 2019                            124.359 mph, (02:30:03), Aug. 22, 2020

Dover International Speedway:

HISTORY

• The official opening of Dover International Speedway, then called Dover Downs International Speedway, was in 1969.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway was held on July 6, 1969 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (Ford).
• 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.
• There have been 102 NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway, one race per year in 1969 and 1970, two races per year since 1971.

STARTS

• A total of 414 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway; 309 drivers have competed in more than one.
• Ricky Rudd leads the series in starts at Dover International Speedway with 56; followed by NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin with 55.
• Kurt Busch leads all active series drivers in starts at Dover with 41 starts.
• A total of 66 different drivers have made their first NASCAR Cup Series career start at Dover International Speedway; two of the 66 are currently active in the series: Kurt Busch – Sept. 24, 2000 and Ross Chastain – June 4, 2017.
• Bobby Isaac (five starts) leads the series in average starting position at Dover with a 2.2.
• Kyle Larson (13 starts) leads all active drivers in the series in average starting position at Dover with a 7.8.

Top 10 in Average Starting Position at Dover (All-Time & Active)

POLES

• A total of 42 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won the pole at Dover International Speedway.
• Eight of the 42 NASCAR Cup Series Dover pole winners are active this weekend.

• NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Dover with six poles (1969, 1973 sweep, 1974, 1975, 1981).
• Ryan Newman (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007) and Denny Hamlin (2012, 2013, 2015, 2019) lead all active series drivers in poles at Dover with four poles each.
• David Pearson (Ford) won the inaugural pole at Dover in 1969 with a speed of 130.430 mph.
• Youngest series Dover pole winner: Chase Elliott (May 3, 2019 – 23 years, 5 months, 8 days).
• Oldest series Dover pole winner: Mark Martin (June 1, 2012 – 53 years, 4 months, 23 days).
• 10 drivers have won consecutive poles at Dover; only two active drivers have accomplished the feat: Ryan Newman (fall 2005, spring 2006), and Denny Hamlin (fall 2012, spring 2013).
• Five drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series pole at Dover International Speedway:

WINS

• A total of 38 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Dover International Speedway.
• Nine of the 38 NASCAR Cup Series Dover winners are active this weekend.

• Jimmie Johnson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Dover International Speedway with 11 victories (2002 sweep, 2005 Playoffs, 2009 sweep, 2010 Playoffs, Spring of 2012, 2013 Playoffs, Spring of 2014, Spring of 2015 and Spring of 2017).
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway was held on July 6, 1969 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (Ford).
• 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 race winner: Chase Elliott (October 7, 2018 – 22 years, 10 months, 0 days).
• Oldest Dover race winner: Harry Gant (May 31, 1992 – 52 years, 4 months, 21 days).
• Two NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Dover International Speedway: Martin Truex Jr. (06/04/07) and Jody Ridley (5/17/81).
• 13 of the 102 (12.7%) NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway have been won from the pole or first starting position.
• Jimmie Johnson in 2009 and 2010 is the most recent driver to win from the first starting position in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover.
• Ryan Newman is the only active driver entered this weekend that has won from the pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover International Speedway – June 1, 2003.
• The second place starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Dover International Speedway – the most recent was Denny Hamlin’s win on August 22, 2020.

NASCAR Cup Series Wins by Starting Positions at Dover International Speedway

• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Dover is 37th, by Kyle Petty in the spring of 1995.
• The deepest in the field that an active race winner has started at Dover is 26th, by Martin Truex Jr. in the spring of 2007.
• Joey Logano (24 starts), Michael McDowell (20 starts), Aric Almirola (17 starts) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17 starts) lead the series among active drivers with the most starts at Dover without visiting Victory Lane.
• A total of 27 different organizations have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover International Speedway; eight active organizations entered this weekend have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover International Speedway:

• Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Dover in the NASCAR Cup Series with 20 victories among six drivers: Jimmie Johnson (11), Jeff Gordon (five), Geoff Bodine (one), Ken Schrader (one), Ricky Rudd (one) and Chase Elliott (one).
• Nine different manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover; led by Chevrolet with 41 victories; followed by Ford with 27, Dodge (seven), Mercury (seven), Toyota (seven), Pontiac (six), Buick (three), Oldsmobile (two) and Plymouth (two).

ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS

Runner-Up Finishes:

• A total of 54 different drivers have finished runner-up in the series at Dover International Speedway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin leads the series in runner-up finishes at Dover with eight second-place finishes.
• Kyle Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in runner-up finishes at Dover with four.

Top Five in Runner-Up Finishes at Dover (All-Time & Active)

Top-Five Finishes:

• A total of 96 different drivers have finished in the top-five in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover International Speedway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin leads the series in top-five finishes with 24 top fives.
• Kyle Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in top-five finishes at Dover with 13 top fives.

Top Five in Top-Five Finishes at Dover International Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Top-10 Finishes:

• A total of 159 different drivers have finished in the top-10 in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover International Speedway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin leads the series in top-10 finishes at Dover with 33 top 10s.
• Kevin Harvick leads all active series drivers in top-10 finishes at Dover with 21.

Top Five in Top-10 Finishes at Dover International Speedway (All-Time & Active)

Average Finish:

• Charlie Glotzbach (two starts) leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Dover International Speedway with a 2.5.
• Kyle Larson (13 starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Dover with a 7.4.

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at Dover (All-Time & Active)

LAP LEADERS

• A total of 119 different drivers have led at least one lap in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover International Speedway.
• Jimmie Johnson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Dover with 3,113 laps led in 38 starts.
• Kevin Harvick leads all active series drivers in laps led at Dover International Speedway with 1,666 in 41 races.

Top 10 in Laps Led at Dover International Speedway (All-Time & Active)

• The most laps led by the race winner in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway was 491 of the scheduled 500 laps (98.2%) on Sept. 15, 1974 by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. He started from the second position.
• The most laps led by a driver that did not win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway was 404 of the scheduled 459 laps (88%) on May 17, 1981 by Neil Bonnett. He started from the third position and finished 13th.
• The fewest laps led by a race winner in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway were just three laps of the scheduled 400 on June 2, 2013 by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart. He started from the 22nd position.

TRACK/EVENT SPECIFIC STATS

• Since the advent of electronic scoring, the closest Margin of Victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover International Speedway was the September 25, 2005 race, won by Jimmie Johnson over Kyle Busch with a margin of victory of 0.080 second.

Top Five Closest Margin of Victories at Dover International Speedway (NCS):

• There have been four NASCAR Cup Series races resulting in NASCAR Overtime at Dover International Speedway:

• None of the 102 NASCAR 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 Cup Series at Dover International Speedway nine times: Fall 1984, Spring 2001, Fall 2003, Spring 2005, Spring 2011, Fall 2015, Spring and Fall of 2016, Spring 2018
• Last season qualifying was cancelled for both races due to the pandemic. The first event’s (8/22) starting lineup was determined by Metric Qualifying and the second race’s (8/23) was determined by inverting the field.
• In the last 10 races at Dover, three times the final caution came out within 25 laps to go.

FEMALE COMPETITORS

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

NASCAR IN DELAWARE

• A total of 197 NASCAR national series races have been held in the state of Delaware – all at Dover International Speedway.

DELAWARE DRIVERS IN NASCAR

• Ten drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Delaware; none of the 10 have recorded a victory in NASCAR national series competition.

— NASCAR —