Dover International Speedway: History

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.

Notebook

• There have been 89 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway, one race in 1969 and 1970, two races per year since 1971.
• 381 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway; 274 in more than one.
• Ricky Rudd leads the series in starts at Dover with 56. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 43 starts; followed by Joe Nemechek with 39.
• David Pearson won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Dover in 1969 with a speed of 130.430 mph. 
• 38 drivers have Coors Light poles at Dover, led by David Pearson with six. Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman lead all active drivers in poles with four each.
• 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).
• 34 different drivers have won at Dover International Speedway, led by Jimmie Johnson with nine wins (2002 sweep, fall 2005, 2009 sweep, 2010 fall, spring 2012, fall 2013 and spring 2014). 
• 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 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 16: Jimmie Johnson (nine), Jeff Gordon (four), Geoff Bodine (one), Ken Schrader (one) and Ricky Rudd (one). 
• Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Dover; led by Chevrolet with 35 victories; followed by Ford with 25.
• 13 of the 89 (14.6%) 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 89 (31.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover have been won from the front row: 13 from the pole and 15 from second-place.
• 70 of the 89 (78.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Dover have been won from a top-10 starting position.
• Five of the 89 (5.6%) 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)
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Dover was 37th, by Kyle Petty in the spring of 1995.
• 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 17. 
• Mark Martin leads the series in top-10 finishes at Dover with 33; followed by Richard Petty and Ricky Rudd with 26 each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 24.
• Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Dover with a 9.240.
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Dover with an 8.360.
• 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.
• Joe Nemechek leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Dover without visiting Victory Lane at 39; followed by Kevin Harvick with 27.
• 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 Busch with a MOV of 0.08 second.
• There has been one 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).
• Not one of the 89 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.  
• 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).
• 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).     
• One active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver has posted his first career win at Dover International Speedway: Martin Truex Jr. (06/04/07).
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Dover with 2,976 laps led in 25 starts.
• If Jimmie Johnson leads 24 laps 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 – 3,593 laps led). 
• Two female drivers have competed at Dover International Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.