12 stats for Dover playoff race: Hendrick Motorsports or the field?

Heading into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 opener at Dover International Speedway on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the stats favor Hendrick Motorsports drivers to find success. But can Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske or Stewart-Haas Racing rekindle their past Monster Mile magic? You can make the case for multiple drivers to find Victory Lane with these 12 interesting numbers. Scroll through to learn them all.

Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman are the only two drivers to finish in the top five in spring races at Talladega, Dover and Kansas earlier this year. Bowman finished second in all three events consecutively, while Elliott won at Talladega, finished fifth at Dover and fourth at Kansas.

Denny Hamlin is set to make his 500th start at Dover on Sunday. Only two drivers in NASCAR history have won making the milestone start – Richard Petty at Trenton in 1970 and Matt Kenseth at New Hampshire in 2013.

In the past 21 races at Dover, nine race winners are drivers who have won Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships. Those nine drivers have won a combined 20 total series titles, winning at least one championship in the past 18 seasons.

Team Penske drivers have won a combined eight races at Dover, but Brad Keselowski is the last driver in the organization to do so back in September 2012. The Penske squad have led a total of 403 laps and have finished second twice in the 13 races at the Delaware since Keselowski’s triumph, while Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are still searching for their first victory there.

Kyle Larson owns an eighth-place average finish at Dover, second next to Chase Elliott’s 4.43 average finish among the 12 remaining playoff drivers. Larson’s eight top 10s are also the most of any track on the circuit in his career.

Kevin Harvick has led 1,298 laps at Dover, the highest among all tracks on the circuit during his time at Stewart-Haas Racing. The No. 4 driver has led the most laps in five of the last 10 Dover events, including both races in 2018.

Jimmie Johnson’s last victory came at Dover on June 4, 2017. Since then, 19 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won the 88 races since the seven-time champion’s last win. Johnson holds a track record 11 career victories at the 1-mile concrete oval.

Joe Gibbs Racing is just three race wins away from tying Hendrick Motorsports for the most wins by an organization in a single season during NASCAR’s modern era. JGR has earned 15 victories so far this season with seven events remaining. Hendrick’s record of 18 wins came during the 2007 season.

There are only three times where an organization has won 20 races or more at a given track. Hendrick Motorsports holds two of those records with 20 total victories at Dover. The Chevrolet brigade also owns 24 wins at Martinsville.

Martin Truex Jr. has earned three victories at Dover, tied for his most wins among tracks on the circuit with Charlotte and Sonoma.

Dover is home to Chase Elliott’s highest top-five total by track, earning six results of fifth or better in seven career races.

Five drivers have earned stage wins at Dover since its implementation in 2017 – Kevin Harvick has four stage wins, Martin Truex Jr. has three, while Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson have one apiece.