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Kyle Busch
A pair of second-place finishes at Dover has Kyle Busch hoping things will look up this weekend. Credit: Autostock

By the Numbers: Dover

Where you start determines where you finish at the Monster Mile

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
June 2, 2006
09:39 AM EDT (13:39 GMT)

Kyle Busch may have created some headlines this year, but none of them have been the type of headlines he's wanted.

Dover could be the medicine to change that.

Busch, who won two races during his rookie campaign last year, found the Monster Mile to be a good runner-up among favorite tracks. Literally.

In this race last year, Busch led 90 laps on his way to finishing second to Greg Biffle. In the fall, he was second again, to Jimmie Johnson.

But to get his No. 5 Chevy into Victory Lane in Sunday's Neighborhood Excellence 400 (1:30 p.m. ET, FX), Busch will need a top-10 starting position because his 12.5 average won't cut it. At least the numbers say so.

What you didn't know

6.15 -- Average starting position for winners at Dover. Eleven races have been won from the pole position. Tony Stewart (27th, fall 2000) and Kyle Petty (37th, spring 1995) are the only drivers who have won from a starting position worse than 20th.

Driver Rating: Neighborhood Excellence 400

124.5 -- Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Johnson led 24 laps and finished fourth last spring at Dover, then followed it up with 134 laps led in the fall and his third victory at the Monster Mile.

NASCAR's driver rating combines the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15s, average lead-lap running position, average speed under green, fastest lap, led most laps and lead-lap finish. Statistics based on current and past year at track. Maximum rating: 150 points.

Numerology

Sunday will be the 73rd race at Dover International Speedway, where a good starting position translates to a good finish. The first 12 races at the track were won by a driver who started inside the top five -- a tradition that has rarely been broken.

0 -- DNFs for Tony Stewart and Elliott Sadler in their 14 races at Dover.
1 -- Lead-lap finish for Michael Waltrip in 40 starts at Dover (1996). His average finish at the track is 20.8, with two top-fives.
1 -- Lap that Greg Biffle was not inside the top 15 in last spring's Dover race. His worst running position was 16th.
2 -- Polesitters in the last six Dover races. Jeremy Mayfield and Ryan Newman have two apiece, while qualifying was canceled for the other two races.
3 -- Laps recorded last spring that ranked among the fastest 25 laps last year at Dover.
4 -- Victories each by Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, the most among full-time drivers.
6 -- Active drivers who made their Nextel Cup debut at Dover: Carl Long (fall 2001), Kurt Busch (fall 2000), Matt Kenseth (fall 1998), Hermie Sadler (spring 1996), Bobby Labonte (spring 1991) and Tony Raines (spring 2002).
6.0 -- Average starting position for Tony Stewart at Dover, the best among full-time drivers with more than two starts. He has 11 top-10s at the track and has never finished worse than 18th (fall 2005).
6.50 -- Average finish for Ryan Newman at Dover, one of only three tracks where his average finish is better than his average starting position (7.13).
8 -- Drivers who had an average running position inside the top 10 last year at Dover: Jimmie Johnson (4.580), Kyle Busch (4.729), Kurt Busch (5.295), Mark Martin (5.321), Greg Biffle (6.475), Elliott Sadler (6.672), Ryan Newman (8.066) and Jeremy Mayfield (9.267).
9 -- Winners in the last 10 Dover races who started inside the top 10, seven of which started fifth or better. In the track's history, 82 percent of winners started in the top 10. Just 13 winners have come from a spot outside the top 10.
12 -- Former Dover winners who will attempt to qualify for Sunday's race.
16 -- Drivers who were within 400 points of the leader after 12 races last season. Just six drivers are within the 400-point range this year.
24 -- Top-10 finishes by Mark Martin at Dover in his 39 career starts.
25.44 -- Percent of passes made in Turn 4 last year at Dover, the most popular place to pass. Going into that side of the track, however, was not as successful, as just 8.61 percent of passes were made in Turn 3.
26 -- Victories by Chevrolet, the most among the three manufacturers. Ford has 21 wins, and Dodge has five. A Dodge has won three of the last six races at Dover, all by Ryan Newman.
30.914 -- Average running position for Jeff Gordon last year at Dover, just slightly better than Bobby Labonte's 35.576 average.
103 -- Passes made by Kyle Petty last year at Dover. Petty finished 19th last spring (started 30th) and eighth last fall (started 34th).
128 -- Laps led by Elliott Sadler in last spring's Dover race, second only to winner Greg Biffle. Sadler was the leader at the race's halfway point.
150.700 -- Average speed, in miles per hour, Greg Biffle recorded on the backstretch at Dover last year, the fastest among drivers. He also had the fastest speed on the frontstretch (149.993 mph), indicating his spring victory was likely won on the straightaways.
205 -- Laps led by Kurt Busch in his 11 races at Dover, the most among drivers who have not won at the track.
450 -- Consecutive starts for Jeff Gordon once the green flag flies at Dover on Sunday.
1990 -- Year Derrike Cope won the June race at Dover. Cope's only other career victory was the Daytona 500 that same season.
2,117 -- Laps led by Jeff Gordon at Dover, more than any other active driver and fourth-most all-time.

Dover is nicknamed the Monster Mile. But is it really a monster?

Rookies don't seem to think so, at least as of late. For the last eight years, at least one rookie finished in the top 10. There'll be six rookies in the field this weekend, and only J.J. Yeley (fall 2005) has raced there before.

Slaying the Monster
Recent rookie success at Dover
Year Rookie Notes
2005 Kyle Busch Finished second in both of his races
2004 Scott Riggs Had his first career top-five
2003 Jamie McMurray Posted a top-10 in the fall
  Greg Biffle Posted a top-10 in the fall
2002 Jimmie Johnson Won in his first race at Dover
2001 Kevin Harvick Had top-10s in both races
2000 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Finished 10th in his first Dover race
1999 Tony Stewart Finished fourth and second
1998 Matt Kenseth Finished 10th in his first Cup start
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