Following a thrilling 188 lap-race at the Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR heads to Delaware for its next challenge. The upcoming event will be at the Dover Motor Speedway A.K.A the Monster Mile. This one-mile oval features a unique concrete surface that replaced the original asphalt in 1995. What’s coming is a triple-header weekend that will include the track’s 106th Cup Series race.
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The gates of Dover will open to the racing world on April 26, Friday at 12:40 p.m. (All Eastern Times) Following a practice and a qualifying session for the Arca Menards Series, the main race will go down at 5:00 p.m. The Xfinity Series grid will also complete its practice and qualifying on the same day at 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively. The pre-race rituals can be caught live on FS2.
When the sun rises on the Diamond State on Saturday, the Cup Series grid will be ready for practice and qualifying. Following practice at 10:30 a.m. and qualifying at 11:20 a.m, the drivers will sit down for media availability. Post the mic session, the Xfinity grid will once again occupy the short track for its main race at 1:30 p.m. FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM will cover Saturday’s events.
The biggest purpose of the weekend will dawn on Sunday when the Cup Series drivers drive their cars to the start/finish line at 2:00 p.m. 400 laps of short track racing to decide who the master is will follow at the speedway. Post the race’s completion, drivers will once again sit down for their final interviews of the weekend before the haulers exit the Dover gates.
What makes the Dover Motor Speedway an interesting race track?
It was in 1969 that the first NASCAR race was held at the Dover Motor Speedway. Not surprisingly, Richard Petty won the event. In 1971, the track decided to do away with all events that weren’t sanctioned by NASCAR. Apart from a brief cameo from the IndyCar Series in 1998, the speedway has remained exclusive to NASCAR throughout its lifetime.
One of the most important changes that came was in 1995 when the track’s asphalt was torn up and replaced with concrete earning it the name “White Lightning”. It also features some of the most extreme banks in a NASCAR track with 24 degree angles. Even the straights are banked at 9 degrees. It is also unique in that the track is on a complex that has a harness racing track, a hotel, and a casino.
