Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Würth 400

Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware going into the Würth 400 on Sunday, April 30 at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Dover Motor Speedway – Qualifying / Race Record Data

Track qualifying record:
Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 166.984 mph, 21.559 secs. Oct. 5, 2019

Track race record:
Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 135.734 mph, (02:56:49), Oct. 6, 2019

2022 Pole Winner:
Chris Buescher, Ford, 160.149 mph, 22.479 secs. April 30, 2022

2022 Race Winner
Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 104.507 mph, (03:49:39), May 2, 2022

Dover Motor Speedway Stats & Tidbits:
Season Race #: 11 of 36 (04-30-22)
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 Length: 120 laps
Stage 2 Length: 130 laps
Final Stage Length: 150 laps

HISTORY

• The official opening of Dover Motor Speedway, then called Dover Downs International Speedway, was in 1969.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway was held on July 6, 1969 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty driving a Ford for Petty Enterprises. The average speed of the race was 115.772 mph.
• 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.
• The track was purchased by Speedway Motorsports Inc. in 2021 and the name of the track was changed to Dover Motor Speedway.
• There have been 104 NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover Motor Speedway, one race per year in 1969 and 1970, two races per year from 1971 to 2020. Starting in 2021, the track has hosted just one NASCAR Cup Series race per year.

STARTS

• A total of 423 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway; 311 drivers have competed in more than one.
• Ricky Rudd leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Dover Motor Speedway with 56; followed by NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin with 55 starts.
• Kevin Harvick leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in starts at Dover Motor Speedway with 42 starts; followed by Kyle Busch with 34 starts.
• A total of 67 different drivers have made their first NASCAR Cup Series career start at Dover Motor Speedway; the most recent was Josh Berry on May 16, 2021.

• The best finish by a driver making his series career debut at Dover Motor Speedway was sixth by Matt Kenseth on September 20, 1998; he started 16th and finished sixth.
• Bobby Isaac leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Dover Motor Speedway with a 2.2 in five career starts at Dover.
• Kyle Larson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Dover Motor Speedway with a 7.143 in 14 career starts.

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

 POLES

• A total of 43 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won the pole at Dover Motor Speedway.
• Eight of the 43 NASCAR Cup Series Dover Motor Speedway pole winners are active this weekend.

• NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Dover Motor Speedway with six poles (1969, 1973 sweep, 1974, 1975, 1981) at the 1-mile track.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Dover Motor Speedway with four poles (2012, 2013, 2015, 2019).
• David Pearson (Ford) won the inaugural pole at Dover Motor Speedway 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 Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series; led by NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson with three straight from 1973 (sweep) – 1974.
• Denny Hamlin (fall 2012, spring 2013) is the only active driver to accomplish the feat of wining consecutive poles at Dover Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Six drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series pole at Dover Motor Speedway:

•  A total of 35 different organizations have won a pole at Dover Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Team Penske leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Dover with 11 poles among four drivers: Rusty Wallace (1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002), Jeremy Mayfield (2000), Ryan Newman (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007), Brad Keselowski (2014).
• A total of nine different manufacturers have won a pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover Motor Speedway; led by Ford with 30 poles, and followed by Chevrolet (25), Dodge (12), Toyota (10), Pontiac (six), Mercury (five), Buick (2), Oldsmobile (one) and Plymouth (one).

WINS

• A total of 39 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Dover Motor Speedway; 23 of 39 drivers have won multiple times in the series at the 1-mile track.
• Eight of the 39 NASCAR Cup Series Dover Motor Speedway race winners are active this weekend.

• Jimmie Johnson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Dover Motor 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).
• Kevin Harvick (2015, 2018, 2020), Martin Truex Jr. (2007, 2016, 2019) and Kyle Busch (2008, 2010, 2017) lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in victories at Dover Motor Speedway with three each.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway was held on July 6, 1969 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (Petty Enterprises, Ford).
• 12 drivers have posted consecutive wins at Dover Motor 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 Cup race winner: Chase Elliott (October 7, 2018 – 22 years, 10 months, 0 days).
• Oldest Dover Cup 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 Motor Speedway:
  • Martin Truex Jr. (June 6, 2007)
  • Jody Ridley (May 17, 1981).
• A total of 22 different starting positions have led to wins in the 104 NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover Motor Speedway.
• 13 of the 104 (12.5%) NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover Motor Speedway have been won from the pole or first starting position. The most recent was Jimmie Johnson in 2010. The list of wins from the pole at Dover is below:

• 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 Motor Speedway (19.23%) – the most recent was Denny Hamlin’s win on August 22, 2020.

NASCAR Cup Series Wins by Starting Positions at Dover Motor Speedway

• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Dover Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series 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.
• A total of 27 different organizations have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover Motor Speedway; including seven active organizations entered this weekend:

• Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Dover Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series with 22 victories among seven drivers: Jimmie Johnson (11), Jeff Gordon (five), Chase Elliott (two), Geoff Bodine (one), Ken Schrader (one), Ricky Rudd (one), and Alex Bowman (one).
• Nine different manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover Motor Speedway; led by Chevrolet with 43 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 55 different drivers have finished runner-up in the series at Dover Motor 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 99 different drivers have finished in the top-five in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover Motor 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 (All-Time & Active)

Top-10 Finishes:

• A total of 164 different drivers have finished in the top-10 in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover Motor 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 NASCAR Cup Series drivers in top-10 finishes at Dover with 23.

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

Average Finish:

• Charlie Glotzbach (two starts) leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Dover Motor 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 6.9.

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

LAP LEADERS

• A total of 122 different drivers have led at least one lap in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover Motor 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 Motor Speedway with 1,666 in 42 races.

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

• The most laps led by the race winner in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway was 491 of the scheduled 500 laps (98.2%) on September 15, 1974 by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty. Petty started from the second position.
• The most laps led by a driver that did not win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor 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 Motor 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 Motor 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 Motor Speedway (NCS):

Top Five Largest Margin of Victories at Dover Motor Speedway (NCS):

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

•  None of the 104 NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions.
• Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover Motor Speedway nine times: Fall 1984, Spring 2001, Fall 2003, Spring 2005, Spring 2011, Fall 2015, Spring and Fall of 2016, Spring 2018
• In 2020, 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 2021, qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series was cancelled due to the pandemic and the starting lineups were set by Metric Qualifying. Martin Truex Jr. started from the first position.

FEMALE COMPETITORS

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

NASCAR IN DELAWARE

• A total of 199 NASCAR national series races have been held in the state of Delaware – all at Dover Motor 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 —