Local Look: Dover

Event: MBNA America 400

Local papers covering: Delaware State News, Willmington News-Journal

The deal: Mike Lewis of the Delaware State News says Jeff Gordon's motto for the rest of the Nextel Cup Series season is simple,

Jeff Gordon

Drive for five.

The four-time series champion is one of the favorites to win the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship, with the next stop coming Sunday at the MBNA America 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Why we care: Following Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Gordon sits third with 5,201 points in the Nextel Cup standings after a seventh-place finish. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch are tied for the lead at 5,210.

"I think it's great to see 10 guys in this thing," said Gordon during a testing session last week at Dover.

"Any one of these 10 (drivers) can do it. We'll probably be flip-flopping constantly over the next few weeks."

For more news about Gordon, click here.

The deal: Mike Finney of the Wilmington News-Journal says after winning last week at Loudon, Kurt Busch is hoping for a similar result when the bell rings for Round Two in Sunday's MBNA America 400 Nextel Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway, but he knows it will not be easy.

Kurt Busch

"We've got one week down," Busch told the paper. "It's a nice breath of fresh air to come out on top and to know that we're the points leader and we executed our job to no end - with calls on pit road, with adjustments to the car.

"We still have to approach Dover the same way. It's just bing-bang-boom, on to the next race with the same focus. We go and challenge ourselves to win each race and the points will lay out where they do."

Why we care: Busch has had little success at Dover. He's finished among the top 10 just once in eight starts at the high-banked, one-mile oval.

That is why he came to Dover for a test session back in May. He was tired of being eaten alive by a track known as "The Monster Mile."

"This is a track that we've run well on. We've led laps, we just haven't had that car that can continuously do it," Busch said. "We kind of stumble across a good car every now and then, and that's where we want to change that."

For more NASCAR news on Busch, click here.

The deal: Pete Schnatz of the Philadelphia Inquirer says few, if any, NASCAR fans would recognize John Dunlap.

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He doesn't race cars, doesn't cash huge winners' checks, and doesn't sign lucrative endorsement deals. Yet millions in the stock-car-racing nation would love to trade places with him.

They just don't know it.

A dashing and energetic 51-year-old bachelor, Dunlap has a job that allows him so much access to countless behind-the-scenes activities that he could star in a NASCAR version of "Where's Waldo?"

In his first year as senior public-relations manager for Nextel's motor-sports program, Dunlap has traveled to all but three of NASCAR's race weekends since the season began in mid-February.

Why we care: Last week, when NASCAR went on a media blitz of New York City, Dunlap accompanied the 10 drivers in the inaugural "Chase for the Nextel Cup" for their appearances on several national television programs, including Live! With Regis and Kelly, where the drivers were asked to model men's clothing in an impromptu fashion show.

"Let's just say there are a few drivers who don't fancy themselves as the modeling kind," Dunlap told the paper with a laugh. "Of course, Tony [Stewart] led that list."

When the gang moved on to Loudon, N.H., for Sunday's beginning of the 10-race playoff, Dunlap assumed another role: temporary custodian of the brand-new NASCAR Nextel Cup, a $50,000 sterling-silver piece of hardware from Tiffany's.

"I am now officially Trophy Boy," he said with a mock sigh.

For more NASCAR news from around the nation, click here.

The deal: Mike Finney of the Wilmington News-Journal says that Kenny Wallace is doing more these days than just racing cars, he's teaching kids how to drive them safely, as well.

Kenny Wallace

"High school students have a lot going on, with football games and proms and such," he told the paper. "It is during those events that it seems like all the bad wrecks happen.

"So if we can help the students make better driving decisions, we'll really feel like we made a difference."

Why we care: Milford High School in Dover is the 10th of 16 high schools that Wallace will visit this year.

"It's a lot of fun going into the schools and talking to these students," said Wallace, a nine-time winner on the Busch Series. "We try to keep it fun and entertaining, but we really want students to walk away realizing how important it is for them to drive carefully."

In the program, students and parents are asked to sign a safe driving promise.

Students participating in the program can also take part in an essay contest that will award up to $20,000 in scholarship money at the end of the year.

For more NASCAR news on Wallace, click here.