Dover Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Zane Smith survived a restart with two laps left in Friday’s KDI Office Technology 200 at Dover International Speedway and pulled away to claim his second NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory of the season. The 21-year-old Sunoco rookie held off Matt Crafton and GMS Racing teammate Brett Moffitt in the final two-lap dash to earn his second victory in three races and reinforce his status as a formidable contender for the series championship. Smith held a comfortable lead of more thanRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It appeared that Denny Hamlin’s 500th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start was going to be a picture perfect afternoon. Instead, he settles for a rather underwhelming fifth-place in Sunday’s Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway after leading 218 of 400 laps. The pole sitter owned the competition that included a Stage 1 victory and having a commanding lead over his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex, Jr. Then a dream day turned awry in the closing laps of Stage 2. It began when Hamlin struggledRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer There won’t be a repeat victory for Chase Elliott at Dover International Speedway as a Lap 7 engine problem knocked him out of Sunday’s Drydene 400. An early exit has caused tremendous implications as all three Round of 12 races (Dover, Talladega and Kansas) are tracks Elliott has won. Due to his success, he was viewed as one of the heavy favorites to punch his ticket into the next round. Instead, a last-place result means he’ll be heading into both Talladega and Kansas in a must-winRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Pit road proved to be the monstrous difference for the playoff fates of John Hunter Nemechek and Justin Haley in Saturday’s Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway. Neither driver advanced into the Round of 8 and will now have to focus on being best of the rest, which is fifth in points with four races remaining. Nemechek appeared to be the only man on the outside looking in who could stop Michel Annett, who held the eighth and final playoff spot byRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A mild manner day by Michael Annett was solid enough to escape Saturday’s User Your Melon. Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway with the eighth and final playoff spot. Annett, who entered Dover 11 points ahead of the cutoff line, only had one objective to focus and that’s beating John Hunter Nemechek, who was the only threat of possibly knocking him out of the championship hunt. In the first two stages, Annett finished 10th and ninth respectively. Nemechek on the other hand, took ninth andRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The “Monster Mile” didn’t waste time to snake bit drivers in Saturday’s Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway and playoff drivers weren’t exempted from the typical madness. On the opening lap of the 200-lap race, Tyler Reddick’s No. 2 Freightliner Chevrolet Camaro slid heading into the treacherous backstretch and slapped the wall, causing a massive ripple effect in NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs. Fellow playoff contender Justin Allgaier also got loose and nearly hit the wall, but the main focus was on HarrisonRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Rotten luck has been the dreaded theme for Kyle Larson’s 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. In just the last four races alone, three of his days ended due to crashes, including a violent Talladega tumble that knocked him out of the top-20 in points. Whether it’s his Fox Sports segment with Jeff Gordon that aired during the race or simply having his best performance since leading 142 of 325 laps at Atlanta in late February, Larson’s luck was in his favor and scoredRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Two weeks ago, Alex Bowman was 21st in points with only two 11th place finishes to his name in the first nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Fast forward to Monday’s Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway, Bowman scored his second straight runner-up finish, career-highs for the 26-year-old and is now 13th in points. A wore out Bowman credited his entire No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 squad on their sudden improvements made during the break three weeks ago. “I’m worn out. This isRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For 155 laps in Saturday’s Allied Steel Buildings 200 at Dover International Speedway, it was Cole Custer’s race to lose as he led the field wire-to-wire to that point. Then a caution and a slower pit stop proved costly for the driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang and ultimately settled for a respectable, but agonizing fourth-place finish. After a poor finish due to a multi-car crash at Talladega last Saturday, Custer came into the “Monster Mile” with a lot to prove, sittingRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer For the third time in his young NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series career, Harrison Burton equaled his best career finish of third in Friday’s JEGS 200 at Dover International Speedway in Delaware. The 18-year-old rookie only led a single lap, but the way he put his No. 18 Safelite Auto Glass Toyota Tundra showcased his on-track competitive spirit. After the caution for Korbin Forrister’s crash on the backstretch, Burton would restart third behind fellow rookie Sheldon Creed and race leader Brett Moffit with just 84Read More