After what seemed like a month at Lowe's Motor Speedway, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Dover this weekend for what usually constitutes the beginning of the stretch run to the Chase.

It also is a much better track for the new car, according to Tony Eury Jr., crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports.

“

We've found a setup that is consistent and we can tune small things around. We still haven't found that one thing that you need that's a big advantage so we can win these races. We'll just keep doing it and see what happens.

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-- TONY EURY JR.

"Dover is usually a pretty good race for the COT," Eury said. "The last two events have been really competitive. We've had a tire situation the last couple of times up there, because the track didn't take rubber like it should. I think that's just a temperature deal. I'm looking forward to getting up there because we have a lot of good notes on that track and Dale Jr. really likes it and we run well there."

Why is it a better track for the COT than Lowe's? The answer is in the air ... or rather, aero.

"It's not as much aero up there so the car doesn't need as much clean air," he said. "You have multiple grooves, so a guy can run the top and run the bottom. I think that's the advantage, and that's where this car has shown a lot more potential, is on the shorter tracks. That's why we look forward to going to places like Dover, where there's not as much aero as there is at a place like Charlotte."

Getting the taller, wider new car to turn has been the Achilles' heel for nearly every team -- Kyle Busch being the lone exception. Since Dover has long, sweeping corners, handling is at a premium, Eury said.

"The key there is just to keep the car turning real good there," he said. "Your car can get extremely tight real quick, and that can cost you a lot of time. The guy that can keep the balance of the car on the free side all day long is the guy that's going to be there at the end. That's the biggest thing, to keep up with the track. If the track takes a lot of rubber and tightens up, you have to be able to keep up with it."

As for finding a setup that maximizes what the COT likes to do -- which is plow like a tractor -- Eury said few of the teams have been able to do so.

"I don't think anybody has found the sweet spot," Eury said with a grin. "Kyle has done pretty well with it, but we've been real consistent. We've found a setup that is consistent and we can tune small things around. We still haven't found that one thing that you need that's a big advantage so we can win these races. We'll just keep doing it and see what happens."

Since the handling is such a big thing, it makes qualifying more important. Track position giveth, and it certainly taketh away.

"That's one reason why you concentrate on qualifying at Dover," Eury stated. "That's how you pick your pits, and you really want to get down toward Turn 1. It gets really cramped. A guy can pull out in front of you, smash your fenders up and cram you into the inside wall. You want to get down as far into Turn 1 as you can, and that's why you'll see a lot of people put a lot of initiative into qualifying."

Though Dover is a bowl, there are multiple grooves on the track, and Eury said that makes a crew chief's job a whole lot easier.

"It is easier," he said. "We'll try to run the bottom, and if it gets tight, he can move up to the high line and still get the run off the corner that he needs. It kind of makes it where the driver has some ability to change the characteristics of the car and not beat up one particular tire. That helps out a lot. Any time you have multiple grooves, it's a big benefit to the crew chief."

Fuel mileage also plays a role at Dover, but it's a moot point, Eury said, because of caution laps.

"It's no different than any other track," he said. "You just can't account for how many caution laps you're going to have, and what we've seen over the last year or so with this new car is that you have a lot less caution laps than you used to. There will be some guys who will gamble and try to calculate how many caution laps we're going to have, but it's really no different at Dover than it is anywhere else."

Since Dover is usually right after the two Charlotte weekends, it signifies a change in emphasis for the teams who are chasing the Chase.

"It is a sign of getting into the summer," Eury said. "You have Indy, Pocono and Michigan, some great tracks coming up, so it's like a third of the way or halfway to the Chase kind of race. You go to a lot of hot tracks, and you can get on a roll there, set yourself up for a good run to the Chase."