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Martin Truex Jr. won last spring's Dover race.By the Numbers: Dover
Two teams emerge, but finding a favorite difficult
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Call it a battle of the big hitters. Hendrick vs. Roush. The four-car power vs. the five-car company.
Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 races at Dover International Speedway, more than any other organization. Roush Fenway Racing has won seven at the 1-mile concrete oval. Yet Roush drivers have the advantage when it comes to big-picture racing: A Roush driver has scored more points than anyone in the track's last 10 races. The two teams have combined to win seven of the last 12 races held at Dover.
But by no means does that give either an advantage heading into Sunday's Best Buy 400 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX). In fact, two of the last three races there have been won by other teams: Jeff Burton won for Richard Childress Racing in the fall 2006 event, and Martin Truex Jr. put Dale Earnhardt Inc. in Victory Lane in this race one year ago.
Hendrick and Roush have flexed at the Monster Mile in the past, but no one driver can claim to be king of Dover. At least not recently.
9Different winners in the last nine Dover races. The last driver to repeat at Dover was Ryan Newman when he swept the 2003 races in a Dodge.
Dover International Speedway
Last nine Cup Series winners
| Year | Race | Winner | Start | Make | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Fall | Ryan Newman | 5 | Dodge | Penske Racing |
| 2004 | Spring | Mark Martin | 7 | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 2004 | Fall | Ryan Newman | 2 | Dodge | Penske Racing |
| 2005 | Spring | Greg Biffle | 2 | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 2005 | Fall | Jimmie Johnson | 5 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2006 | Spring | Matt Kenseth | 19 | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 2006 | Fall | Jeff Burton | 19 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing |
| 2007 | Spring | Martin Truex Jr. | 26 | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt Inc. |
| 2007 | Fall | Carl Edwards | 15 | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing |
Back in Time
Sept. 20, 1998Matt Kenseth finished sixth in his Cup Series debut while substituting in the No. 94 Ford for Bill Elliott, who skipped the race to attend his father's funeral. Kenseth ran five races the next season, including Dover (fourth-place finish). His rookie year of 2000 he finished second at Dover.
10 Key Facts
3Active Sprint Cup champions made their series debuts at Dover: Bobby Labonte (1991), Matt Kenseth (1998) and Kurt Busch (2000).
4Top-five finishes for Kyle Busch in six Dover starts, including a pair of runner-up finishes in 2005. Busch finished 40th in the fall 2006 race and 17th in the spring 2007 event.
5DNFs for Kasey Kahne in his eight starts at Dover. Kahne has just one top-10 finish (seventh in the spring 2006 race) and four finishes of 30th or worse.
7Victories for Bobby Allison at Dover, part of his 25 top-10s in 35 career starts. Allison will be the first driver honored Saturday with a marquee plaque on the Monster Monument.
9.1Average finish for Carl Edwards at Dover, the best among the top 12 drivers in the standings. Only Kasey Kahne has an average finish of worse than 20th (25.3).
10Top-10 starting positions for Ryan Newman in his 12 races at Dover. Newman has four poles at the track, and he's won there three times.
57.9Percent of races at Dover that have been won from a top-five starting position, or 44 of 76. The last four races, 17 total, have been won by a driver starting outside the top 10.
190Points that Matt Kenseth trails 12th-place Kasey Kahne in the standings, the equivalent of one full race. Kenseth has made the Chase in all four seasons of its existence.
216Laps led by Martin Truex Jr. at Dover, all of which came in this event one year ago when he won his first Cup Series race. His average finish at Dover in four starts is 10.5.
225Laps led by Kurt Busch at Dover, the most among drivers who have not won at the track. Busch has four top-10 finishes and five DNFs in his 15 starts there.
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Dover International Speedway
Active drivers, based on victories
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-5 | Top-10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Elliott | 42 | 4 | 12 | 19 |
| Jeff Gordon | 30 | 4 | 13 | 18 |
| Mark Martin | 43 | 4 | 20 | 27 |
| Ryan Newman | 12 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 12 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Tony Stewart | 18 | 2 | 9 | 12 |
| Bobby Labonte | 31 | 1 | 11 | 14 |
| Matt Kenseth | 18 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Carl Edwards | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 16 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Greg Biffle | 11 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Jeff Burton | 28 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Active drivers, based on average finish
| Driver | Starts | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Edwards | 7 | 15.1 | 9.1 |
| Ryan Newman | 12 | 7.2 | 10.0 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 4 | 21.2 | 10.5 |
| Tony Stewart | 18 | 17.6 | 10.6 |
| Clint Bowyer | 4 | 23.8 | 11.2 |
Cup Series News
- Hendrick indicates deal in the works to secure Knaus
- Wingo named crew chief for Ragan, No. 6 team
- Hendrick turning attention to getting Junior on track
- NASCAR files motion to keep France docs private
- Victory has Hamlin ready to fight for Cup title in 2010
- Martin can't mount charge needed to push Johnson
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