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 90 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; 278 in more than one.
• Ricky Rudd leads the series in starts at Dover with 56. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 44 starts; followed by Matt Kenseth with 32.
• David Pearson won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Dover in 1969 with a speed of 130.430 mph.
• 39 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 17: Jimmie Johnson (nine), Jeff Gordon (five), Geoff Bodine (one), Ken Schrader (one) and Ricky Rudd (one).
• Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Dover; led by Chevrolet with 36 victories; followed by Ford with 25.
• 13 of the 90 (14.4%) 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 90 (31.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Dover have been won from the front row: 13 from the pole and 15 from second-place.
• 71 of the 90 (78.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Dover have been won from a top-10 starting position.
• Five of the 90 (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 18.
• 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 25.
• Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Dover with a 9.654.
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Dover with an 8.154.

• 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.
• Kevin Harvick leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Dover without visiting Victory Lane at 28.
• 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 90 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 26 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 – 3,744 laps led).
• Two female drivers have competed at Dover International Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.

Dover International Speedway highlight off-season projects

New catch fence and seating changes highlight off-season projects at Dover International Speedway

DOVER, Del. (May 29, 2015) – Race fans and competitors arriving in Dover for the May 29-31, 2015 race weekend may notice the addition, and subtraction, of a few things they saw when they last visited the Monster Mile.

The Speedway’s maintenance and operations departments, along with a bevy of outside contractors, have been busy preparing the property for the upcoming spring race weekend. The highlights include the installation of a $2.9 million safety catch fence that encircles the track’s outside retaining walls, and the elimination of 17,500 seats in Turn 2 and Turn 3.

Some of the least desirable seating from the areas furthest from the start-finish line were removed, paving the way for future improvements. The reduction of seating is part of a long-term process that will continue to allow the facility to evolve to meet the needs of fans.

In between the 2014 race weekends in Dover, contractors began the installation of support structures for the new fence. The day after the fall 2014 race weekend, on Sept. 29, work began to complete the project. Demolition of the old fence began as the construction of the new fence occurred simultaneously. The new fence was installed by Smith Fence, a Florida-based contractor that has performed similar installations at other facilities on the NASCAR circuit. The project incorporates the most up-to-date technologies and stands at 21-feet tall, up from the original fence which stood at 15-feet tall.

“Our original fence had served us well, but it was time for an update,” said Michael Tatoian, president and CEO of Dover International Speedway. “The safety of our fans and competitors is something we never want to compromise.”

Fans in Dover may also notice the elimination of grandstand seating in the upper and lower sections of Turn 2, and the lower section of Turn 3, bringing the new capacity around the one-mile oval to 95,500. The reduction follows a trend in all professional sports venues and race tracks, as the Speedway explores ways to utilize the new-found footprint in different ways. The removal of seats occurred soon after the end of the 2014 motorsports season in Dover and was completed in April 2015.

The area of the property outside of Turn 2, near the track’s Gate 12 and the entrance to the walkover bridge to the infield, has been improved with new pavement, permanent landscaping and signage.

The current plan is to remove the upper sections of Turn 3 after the fall 2015 NASCAR race weekend, which will bring the final seating capacity of the facility to approx. 85,000 seats.

“We have also engaged with ROSSETTI, an architectural design and planning firm based in Detroit, Michigan with a great deal of experience in the sports and entertainment realm. Our goal is to improve fan comfort and experience, and along with ROSSETTI, we are exploring all aspects of repurposing the mezzanine in Turn 3,” said Tatoian. “We are excited to see where our conversations will take us.

“Additionally, we continue to explore different short-term and long-term capital improvement projects to add more fan amenities and attractions that appeal to fans of all shapes, sizes, ages and preferences. From youngsters and millennials, to casual and hardcore, longtime fans, we want to provide each of them with the experience they are looking for when they set foot on the property. It’s not a process that happens overnight, but we are committed to getting there.”

NASCAR returns this weekend to Dover International Speedway for an action-packed triple-header weekend. It all begins this Friday, May 29, with the “Lucas Oil 200” NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, followed by the Saturday, May 30 “Buckle Up 200” presented by Click it or Ticket NASCAR XFINITY Series race. Sunday, May 31 is the main event of the weekend, the “FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Tickets and more information can be obtained by calling 800-441-RACE or visiting DoverSpeedway.com. Fans can also keep up with the Monster Mile at Facebook.com/DoverInternationalSpeedway and on Twitter and Instagram at @MonsterMile.

Kansas Speedway: History

Kansas Speedway:
History

• Groundbreaking was held on May 25, 1999.
• The official opening of Kansas Speedway was in 2001, with the first events being an ARCA race and a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race on the same day – June 2.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was on Sept. 30, 2001 – won by Jeff Gordon.
• During the 2012 season, between the April and October events the 1.5-mile track underwent a repave adding variable banking in the corners.

Notebook

• There have been 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, one NSCS event from 2001 - 2010 and two races per year since 2011.
• 117 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas; 89 in more than one.
• Five drivers have started all 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway – Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.
• Jason Leffler won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Kansas Speedway in 2001 with a speed of 176.499 mph.
• 11 drivers have Coors Light poles at Kansas, led by Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne with three each.
• Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are the only two drivers to win consecutive Coors Light poles at Kansas Speedway (Johnson – 2007, 2008 and Harvick – fall 2013, spring 2014 and fall 2014).
• Youngest Kansas pole winner: Jason Leffler (09/30/2001 – 26 years, 0 months, 14 days).
• Oldest Kansas pole winner: Mark Martin (10/04/2009 – 50 years, 8 months, 25 days).
• 12 different drivers have won at Kansas Speedway, led by Jeff Gordon with three.
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Kansas with five: Jeff Gordon (three) and Jimmie Johnson (two).

• Four manufacturers have won at Kansas Speedway in the NSCS; led by Chevrolet with nine victories, Ford with four, Toyota and Dodge each have two.
• Four of the 18 (22.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway have been won from the Coors Light pole; Joe Nemechek (2004), Jimmie Johnson (2008), Matt Kenseth (spring 2013) and Kevin Harvick (fall 2013).
• Five of the 18 (27.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway have been won from the front row: four from the pole and one from second-place.
• 11 of the 18 (61.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.
• Two of the 18 (11.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Kansas Speedway was 25th, by Brad Keselowski in the spring of 2011.
• Youngest Kansas winner: Joey Logano (10/05/2014 – 24 years, 4 months, 11 days).
• Oldest Kansas winner: Mark Martin (10/09/2005 – 46 years, 9 months, 0 days).
• Martin Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman are tied for the series most runner-up finishes at Kansas Speedway with two each.  
• Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at Kansas Speedway with 10; followed by Greg Biffle with seven.
• Jimmie Johnson leads the series in top-10 finishes at Kansas Speedway with 14; followed by Jeff Gordon (12) and Carl Edwards (11).
• Joey Logano leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Kansas Speedway with an 10.818.
• Kyle Larson (7.000) leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Kansas Speedway – Jimmie Johnson (9.529) is the only other driver with an average finish inside the top 10.
• There has been one NSCS race resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Kansas Speedway: fall of 2011 (267/272).
• Only one of the 18 races at Kansas Speedway has been shortened due to weather conditions: fall of 2007.
• Qualifying has never been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kansas Speedway.
• Denny Hamlin has participated in the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway without posting a DNF (13).
• 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Austin Dillon (10/09/2011), Ryan Blaney (5/10/2014) and Denny Hamlin (10/09/2005) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Kansas Speedway.

• Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth are the only two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers that have posted consecutive wins at Kansas Speedway: Gordon (2001 and 2002 – the first two NSCS events at Kansas) and Kenseth (fall of 2012, spring of 2013).
• Nine of the 10 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Kansas Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Jeff Gordon won at Kansas in his first appearance.  
• Kevin Harvick competed at Kansas Speedway 15 times before winning last fall; the longest span of any the 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Kansas.
• Kevin Harvick (15) and Matt Kenseth (13) have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Kansas Speedway.
• Kurt Busch leads the series with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 18.
• Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kansas Speedway was the (10/10/2004) race won by Joe Nemechek with a MOV of 0.081 second.
• Jimmie Johnson leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Kansas Speedway with 586 laps led in 17 starts.
• Danica Patrick is the only female driver that has competed at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:

Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega Superspeedway: 4/27/15
History

• Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969 – won by Richard Brickhouse.
• The name changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.
• Fourth repaving completed on Sept. 19, 2006.

Notebook

• There have been 91 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, one NSCS event in 1969 and two races per year since 1970.
• Talladega Superspeedway is tied with Michigan International Speedway for holding the ninth most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points paying races (90).  
• 439 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega; 302 in more than one.
• Dave Marcis and Terry Labonte lead the series in starts at Talladega with 61 each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 44 starts; followed by Tony Stewart with 31.
• Bobby Isaac won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Talladega in 1969 with a speed of 199.466 mph. Isaac won the first three poles at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
• 38 drivers have Coors Light poles at Talladega, led by Bill Elliott with eight. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with three.
• 10 drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Talladega. Bill Elliott holds the record for most consecutive poles at Talladega with six (1985 - 1987).
• Youngest Talladega pole winner: Brian Scott (05/04/2014 – 26 years, 3 months, 22 days).
• Oldest Talladega pole winner: Mark Martin (10/23/2011 – 52 years, 9 months, 14 days).
• 44 different drivers have won at Talladega Superspeedway, led by Dale Earnhardt with 10. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

• Richard Childress Racing has the most wins at Talladega in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 12; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 11.
• Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Talladega; led by Chevrolet with 39 victories; followed by Ford with 21 and Toyota with three.
• 13 of the 91 (14.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega have been won from the Coors Light pole. Jeff Gordon (2007) is the only active driver to be able to accomplish the feat.
• The outside front row (second-place) starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Talladega.
• 33 of the 91 (36.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega have been won from the front row: 13 from the pole and 20 from second-place.
• 63 of the 91 (69.2%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega have been won from a top-10 starting position.
• 8 of the 91 (8.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Talladega was 36th, by Jeff Gordon in the spring of 2000.
• Youngest Talladega winner: Bobby Hillin Jr. (07/27/1986 – 22 years, 1 month, 22 days).
• Oldest Talladega winner: Harry Gant (05/06/1991 – 51 years, 3 months, 26 days).
• Buddy Baker and Tony Stewart are tied for the series’ most runner-up finishes at Talladega with six each.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-five finishes at Talladega with 23. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 15.
• Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-10 finishes at Talladega with 27. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 19.
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Talladega with a 10.192.
• Clint Bowyer leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Talladega with a 14.444.
• There have been eight NSCS races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Talladega Superspeedway: spring of 2005 (188/194), fall of 2005 (188/190), spring of 2007 (188/192), fall of 2008 (188/190) spring of 2010 (188/200), fall of 2012 (188/189), spring of 2013 (188/192) and fall of 2014 (188/194).
• Only two of the 91 races at Talladega Superspeedway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1987 and fall of 1996.
• Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway five times; most recently fall of 2013.

• Jamie McMurray (10/06/2002) made his series debut at Talladega Superspeedway.
• Brian Scott (05/04/2014), David Gilliland (10/08/2006) and Travis Kvapil (10/05/2008) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Talladega.  
• 2012 series champion Brad Keselowski (04/26/2009) and Brian Vickers (10/08/2006) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Talladega.  
• Nine drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Talladega; Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the series in consecutive wins at Talladega after posting four straight from the fall of 2001 – 2003.  
• Brad Keselowski is the only active series driver to win at Talladega in his first appearance.  
• Matt Kenseth competed at Talladega Superspeedway 25 times before winning the fall of 2012; the longest span of any the 12 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.
• Matt Kenseth (25), Tony Stewart (19), Kevin Harvick (18), and David Ragan (12) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Talladega.
• Kurt Busch leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Talladega without visiting Victory Lane at 28; followed by Ryan Newman with 26.
• Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway was the (04/17/2011) race won by Jimmie Johnson with a MOV of 0.002 second – the MOV is tied with the 2003 Darlington race as the closest finishes in the NSCS using electronic scoring.
• Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Talladega with 847 laps led in 44 starts.
• Three female drivers have competed at Talladega in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie, Patty Moise and Danica Patrick.