RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Doug Coby can be forgiven if he lost track of how many different ways wins at Riverhead Raceway slipped away.
Finally, Saturday night, the six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion would be denied no longer.
Coby wrestled the lead away from Justin Bonsignore with 25 laps to go and drove to the win in the Miller Lite 200. It was Coby’s 30th career win and the first in 20 starts at the quarter-mile billring on the eastern tip of Long Island.
Coby’s No. 10 Mayhew Tools Ford crossed the finish line 3.119 seconds in front of Patrick Emerling. Bongisnore, who was fastest in practice, won the Mayhew Tools Pole Award and led the first 175 laps in pursuit of his fifth straight win at his home track, finished third.
Emerling and Goodale are tied for the championship lead after three races with 125 points apiece. Coby is seven points back, while Justin Bonsignore is nine. Kyle Bonsignore is fifth, three points behind his cousin.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece, the last Connecticut driver to win a tour race at Riverhead, had a top-10 run end on lap 133 with a cut left front tire while battling with Hossfeld. Preece finished 23rd.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads west to Pennsylvania for the Jennerstown Salutes 150 presented by DGV at Jennerstown Speedway.
The Miller Lite 200 streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Gold, and will re-air on NBCSN on Friday, May 21, at 5 p.m. ET.
Doug Coby, driver of #10 Mayhew Tools Chevrolet takes a victory lap after winning the Miller Lite 200 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Riverhead Raceway in Riverhead, New York on May 15, 2021. (Kathryn Riley/NASCAR)
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Justin Bonsignore keeps putting challengers in the rear view at Riverhead Raceway.
After posting the fastest time in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour practice, the Holtsville, New York, driver backed it up by winning the Mayhew Tools Pole Award Saturday for the evening’s Miller Lite 200.
Bonsignore piloted the No. 51 NCoastal Fiber LLC Chevrolet around the quarter-mile bullring in 11.431 seconds for a speed of 78.733 mph.
Ron Silk qualified second at 11.438 (78.685), followed by Doug Coby at 11.443 (78.651).
Patrick Emerling and Timmy Solomito qualified fourth and fifth, respectively.
Eight of his 29 career wins have come at his home track, including his first career win in 2011 and the last four trips for the tour to the Long Island track.
It is Bonsignore’s 15th career pole, but remarkably just his second at Riverhead.
Kyle Bonsignore qualified sixth Saturday, followed by Anthony Nocella, Tommy Catalano, Craig Lutz and JB Fortin.
Championship points leader Eric Goodale qualified 17th, while NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece – another former multi-race winner at Riverhead – qualified 13th.
The Miller Lite 200 will run at 8 pm and stream live on TrackPass on NBC Gold.
Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway (⏰ 2 p.m. ET | 📺 FS1 | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s race, the 13th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season.
Where: Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile track located in Dover, Delaware Green flag: 2:11 p.m. ET TV/Radio: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Forecast: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9 p.m. ET. Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. Chance of precipitation is 30%, according to NOAA.gov Race Distance: 400 laps, 400 miles Stages: 120 | 240 | 400 Pit-road speed: 35 mph Caution car speed: 45 mph Dover 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: See the full lineup Pit-stall assignments: See who is pitting where| Expert breaks down pit selectionsSean Gardner | Getty Images
Five to watch
Here are five big story lines we’ll be following at Dover International Speedway.
1. It’s entirely possible Martin Truex Jr. wins out the rest of the month of May after his win at Darlington Raceway last Sunday. The only multi-winner at the Cup level this season — he has three victories — Truex enters the weekend as the race favorite at 7-2 odds. It’s for good reason, too, as the 2021 stalwart is also a three-time Dover winner and has finished in the top two in each of the last four races at the “Monster Mile.” He’ll also be among the favorites at the other two tracks in May (Charlotte Motor Speedway, three wins; Circuit of the Americas, four career road-course wins). The Summer of Marty is here.
2. If there’s a driver primed to put Truex’s show on hold, however, it’s Kyle Larson. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver is fresh off another runner-up finish at Darlington — the 24th of his 235-race career — and owns the best average finish all time at Dover with a keen 7.4. After a late-race contest last weekend, it could come down to these two drivers once again, and expect Larson to be a little more aggressive this time in search of win No. 2 on the season.
3. Quickly becoming one of the most intriguing drivers to watch every week, William Byron‘s breakout season has been so strong he’s riding a streak that last saw him finish outside the top 10 in February. At Daytona International Speedway. Yes, you read that correctly. Dover is a track that can change a driver’s fortune in a hurry, but the fourth-year talent is well on his way to a career high in top 10s with 10 already (previous high is 14) and he placed fourth in the most recent “Monster Mile” race.
4. All three of its drivers have a victory in the first third of the season, but is Team Penske showing signs of a slump? It could certainly look that way after this weekend. Brad Keselowski has been up and down of late, fighting an ill-handling car to a 24th-place finish from the Darlington pole. Bristol Dirt Race winner Joey Logano has been shut out of the top 10 in three straight races. He has never won at Dover, either, and his 41 laps led in 24 starts there are the fewest he has at any track. And don’t expect much from Ryan Blaney this weekend — he has just one top 10 in the last nine Dover races, with just four lead-lap finishes in his career there.
5. While Penske might be on the downturn, Ford stablemate Stewart-Haas Racing could be on the rise finally. Kevin Harvick is the most recent Dover victor and a threat to win every weekend, so he could certainly hoist trophy No. 1 of the season this weekend. His young teammates could be top-10 threats this weekend as well, and Dover always marks a spot where Aric Almirola might turn things around. Cole Custer won at Dover in the Xfinity Series in 2019 and has averaged a 10.5 finish in two Cup starts, while Chase Briscoe tied his best career finish (11th) last week and won the Xfinity Dover race a year ago. Almirola was seventh at Dover last fall and notched a pair of top fives in 2015, so he could potentially improve on his 24.4 average finish in 2021.
Race-day staples
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
•Power Rankings: Larson heating up; Dover domination ahead? | Scope the ranks •Paint Scheme Preview: Check out the designs taking on Dover | See the schemes •Fantasy Fastlane: See which drivers to use, avoid | Full Fantasy advice |Set your roster •Preview Show: Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver preview the race | Watch the show
Get in on the action
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• Betting odds for Dover race | See the odds
• Dover betting: How bettors benefit from lack of practice, qualifying | Find out why • Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot
• Full guide to 2021 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
Track history
Every track has a story to tell. Here’s what we’ve seen go down at Dover in the past.
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
•Remember this?: Memorable moments from Dover | See the moments •Spring winners: All-time winners in Dover spring race | See the list
• Front of the field: See who has led the most “Monster Mile” laps | Dover lap leaders
Fast facts
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• The 2018 fall race winner, Chase Elliott‘s seven Dover top fives are his most at any track. • Aric Almirola has only one top-10 finish this season. He had four at this point last year and 18 at the end of 2020. • Daniel Suarez has finished in the top 10 in four of his eight Dover starts and won there in the Xfinity Series in 2016. • Alex Bowman is slumping lately but could rebound at Dover — he has finished in the top five in three of the last five races there. • Erik Jones is battling for top 20s at the moment and should have a good shot at one this weekend. He has finished top 20 in seven of his eight Dover starts.
Catch the pack
Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.
• Ready to retire: Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage to step down after All-Star Race | Track release
• Vote now, vote often: NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race Fan Vote open now | Cast your ballot
• Wolfe out: No. 22 crew chief suspended for lug violation | Read more
• Sense of normalcy: NASCAR no longer requiring masks in outside area | Read more • No. 2 crew chief out: Jeremy Bullins once again sidelined for Dover race | Read more
Say what?
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
“(Catching Denny Hamlin atop the standings is) doable for sure. It’s obviously going to take a little bit of rough luck on their part. We’ve had a couple bad races and that’s really the difference. Wrecked at Daytona, wrecked at Talladega and a flat tire on the last green-white-checkered at Bristol really hurt us. We’ve had a couple really bad finishes and that’s really the difference. They’re going to need to have a few of those I think for us to catch them. We’ll see how it plays out. Obviously, feeling great about where we are as a team and what we’re doing. If we can keep winning races, we’ll do what we need to do points-wise.” — Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
“There’s things (about Dover) that really separate it from the others; but to me, those features are things that weren’t, I guess, new to me coming from dirt racing and seeing a lot of different tracks. That sensation you have driving off of the banking down into the corner is a lot more than a lot of the tracks that we do go to. But I’ve raced a lot of different tracks at a lot of different places, so those sensations that you have at Dover, they never really jumped out at me when I first went there. Probably the biggest one is I feel like you have to be aggressive to make some good lap times, but you can burn your tires up. But at the same time, if you do make that mistake off of Turn 2 or Turn 4 and overcorrect it or bounce off the fence, it’s very easy once you’ve lost control to find yourself spun around backward or heading towards the inside wall.” — Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
“I thought we had a couple decent runs (at Dover) last year. I don’t think we’ve been in contention for a win, but I feel like this year we’ve learned a lot of stuff where we can go back and see what we’ve got, so I’m looking forward to this weekend, trying to get another Miles. That’s my Xfinity one (behind on the desk), so hopefully we can get a Cup one here.” — Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford
“First of all, I think everybody at Hendrick has given us a great race car to work with. So, our product, to start with, has been very good. So, we start with a good product and we tune on it and William has been very involved in all the set-ups and what wasn’t good before and going well and what we can do better. By bringing small pieces here and there, we’ve just made some really good decisions. We’ve had some good luck and we’ve capitalized.” — Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for William Byron, on the team’s top-10 finish streak
Josh Berry finished second for the second consecutive Saturday in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but this time a six-figure Dash 4 Cash prize that his race team has monopolized this year was waiting at the end.
Berry was the runner-up to race winner Austin Cindric in Saturday’s Drydene 200 at Dover International Speedway, but he was best among the four eligible drivers for the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus. Berry led 48 of the 200 laps and topped JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier (third place), 15th-place finisher Noah Gragson and early retiree Brandon Jones (35th).
Saturday marked the last of the four races in this year’s Dash 4 Cash program. Gragson won the previous three bonuses for JRM — cashing in at Martinsville, Talladega and Darlington — and Berry’s finish rounded out a 4-for-4 sweep for the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned organization. In the moments after the finish, Berry said he wasn’t sure what he’ll do with his share of the bonus check.
“No, not yet. It’s still amazing for JR Motorsports,” said the 30-year-old Berry. “I’ve learned throughout my opportunity this year how big of a deal that is, and we can’t thank Xfinity enough for putting that on and doing that. JR Motorsports won all four of them, so that’s amazing combined with Noah’s. I think we’re going to talk about what we want to do with it, but it’s still really cool to do.”
It was already a big weekend planned for Berry at the Monster Mile. The circumstances were unfortunate, but he was tapped to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut for Spire Motorsports in Sunday’s Drydene 400 (2 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) after Justin Haley was ruled out of the No. 77 ride by COVID protocols. Allgaier said he was also considered as a substitute for Spire, but with his wife, Ashley, close to her due date with the couple’s second child, he said he made a prudent choice to limit his time away from home.
Credit Berry’s work in a part-time role with JRM’s No. 8 Chevrolet team for being among the top fill-in candidates. Three of his last four races have produced finishes of first, second and second — including an emotional breakthrough triumph last month at Martinsville Speedway. Given his chance to perform on the national-series level, the reigning NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion is making the most of the spotlight.
“I think it was a huge confidence-booster for all of us, a huge weight off our shoulders,” said Berry, who now has 16 career Xfinity Series starts. “I think I made it pretty clear how bad I wanted to win and these guys did, too. Really, going into this opportunity, I felt like, man, if I won, that was like the epitome, the best possible scenario of winning a race. Really, we’ve had the chance to win several. These races are hard to win, the series is tough. I mean, there’s a lot of experience here, so just really thankful to be doing it. I think we’re attracting a lot of attention and that’s amazing.”
Allgaier led the most laps — 94 — but his No. 7 JRM Chevrolet faded after Cindric took command for keeps on Lap 150. Gragson dropped off the lead lap after a late pit stop to tighten lug nuts on his No. 9 Chevy. Jones exited during Stage 2 when his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota collided with the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet of Zane Smith, ending his race after 68 laps.
Next to Berry, Allgaier emerged as the strongest contender for both the race win and the Dash 4 Cash prize. Allgaier won Stage 1, and Berry iced Stage 2, and Allgaier had regained the top spot before Cindric’s late surge to the checkered flag.
“It’s hard to be disappointed when you run up front all day and you finish third,” said Allgaier, who won for the second time this season in last weekend’s race at Darlington. “It’s still a great day for us. Yeah, I would have loved to have won the race, I would have loved to have won the Dash 4 Cash, but we got beat by two cars and two drivers that were better at the end of the race there. I can’t be super-disappointed in that. I’ve got to take the positives and go on to next week.”
Allgaier added that he was happy to see the Dash 4 Cash bonus stay within the JR Motorsports fold, tipping his cap to Berry, who had never competed on Dover’s rugged 1-mile layout until a runner-up finish Friday in the ARCA Menards Series East race.
“Yeah, super difficult,” Allgaier said of Berry making his first Dover start without the benefit of practice or qualifying. “Obviously, this was a big one for them. They came up yesterday and got to run the ARCA race and that’s been Josh’s biggest thing is just not having experience at these race tracks. I thought that was really good for them yesterday, but he’s done a great job. His preparation’s great. He’s obviously an incredible race car driver. Throughout the years watching him race Late Models, it’s obvious he’s a great race car driver but then to come and do what he’s doing is really, really cool.”
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Justin Bonsignore is looking to defend his home turf. He started strong with practice Saturday afternoon.
The two-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion topped the charts at Riverhead Raceway with a lap of 11.539 seconds (77.996 mph) in his No. 51 Coastal Fiber LLC Chevrolet around the quarter-mile bullring.
Bonsignore has won seven of the last 10 tour stops at his home track. Saturday night’s Miller Lite 200 is the third race of the 2021 season and the first of three tour races at Riverhead.
Doug Coby, who briefly topped the charts halfway through the one-hour session, wound up second quick. He had a lap of 11.547 – just .008 behind Bonsignore. The six-time tour champion is looking for his first win at Riverhead.
Ron Silk was third quick at 11.553, followed by Patrick Emerling and Jon McKennedy.
Championship poins leader Eric Goodale was sixth, followed by Craig Lutz, Tommy Catalano, Chuck Hossfeld and Timmy Solomito. Goodale (2014) and Solomito (2016 and twice in 2017) are the only drivers beside Bonsignore to win at Riverhead since 2014.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece, a three time Riverhead winner between 2012-13, was 14th fastest.
Qualifying for the Miller Lite 200 is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the race at 8 p.m. live on TrackPass on NBC Gold.
After steadily making his way forward for most of the race, reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric wrangled the lead from Justin Allgaier with 51 laps remaining and then checked out on the field to claim his third trophy of the season in Saturday’s Drydene 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
Josh Berry passed his JR Motorsports teammate Allgaier with 28 laps to go finishing runner-up and winning the prized Xfinity Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus check. Allgaier held onto third, followed by Kaulig Racing driver AJ Allmendinger and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs, who led all 125 laps en route to the ARCA Menards Series win at the Dover one-miler on Friday.
For much of the race it looked like the JR Motorsports teammates, Allgaier and Berry, would settle the trophy between themselves. Allgaier won the first stage and Berry the second stage – their first stage wins of the season. Allgaier, a two-time Dover winner and the only driver in Saturday’s field with a previous win at the track, led a race best 94 of the 200 laps. Berry led 48.
But it was the methodical work of Cindric, 22, who was eighth at the end of Stage 1 and third in Stage 2 – who ultimately rallied for his series’ best third victory. His 3.786-second margin of victory indicative of what the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was able to do once Cindric got out front.
“I’m fired up man, I love this race track more than anywhere else we go,” said a smiling Cindric, who now has 11 career Xfinity Series wins. “I love coming here.”
“It is hard to believe but starting 16th at this joint, it isn’t easy to pass,” Cindric continued. “We just kept at it the whole time. We made the right adjustments on pit stops and I feel like I have learned a lot about this race track, enough to get the Car Shop Ford Mustang into Victory Lane.”
Harrison Burton, Michael Annett, Ryan Sieg, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Brown rounded out the top-10 finishers.
There were eight caution periods on the afternoon – including a 10-minute red flag period to clean-up after a wreck involving Jesse Little, Matt Mills, Matt Jaskol and Josh Williams. But it was a caution-free affair once Cindric wrestled the lead from Allgaier in a tight door-to-door battle.
Allgaier, who won his second race of the season last week at Darlington and joins Cindric as the series only multi-time winners of 2021, told his team he had some tire rub in that close-quarter racing with Cindric for the lead. And Allgaier’s JR Motorsports teammate Berry was able to get by 22 laps later, settling the Dash 4 Cash prize.
“It could have been one spot better, we were so good today,” Berry said. “That last run we just fired off too free. Me and Justin got racing each other and the 22 (Cindric) got away. We just weren’t quite as good in that last run as the run before. It’s tough. But when you’re in the top-two or three all day, there’s still a lot to be proud of.”
Berry was the top finisher in a field of four eligible drivers in the final race of the year for the Dash 4 Cash program. Berry topped JR Motorsports teammates Allgaier and Gragson (who placed 15th), plus Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones — the first retiree among the group. Jones completed just 68 laps after contact with Zane Smith’s No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet sent both cars into the outside retaining wall. Smith was a late fill-in for Justin Haley, who is sitting out Dover’s doubleheader weekend because of COVID-19 protocols.
This marks the first win at the notoriously tough Dover “Monster Mile” for Cindric and it’s his first win since a torrid streak to open the year including wins in the season-opener at Daytona and another at the Phoenix one-miler.
“Every win means so much and of everyone that is in this series – I have the unique opportunity to know what I’m doing in the future,” Cindric said. “I respect that the guys that I am racing around are trying to get to the top level. I know I have that for me down the road, but I have to bring that same energy that I am racing against.
“These wins are really hard to come by. It sucks that we have had some bad races recently, but that makes this one feel so much better.”
With the victory, Cindric increased his Xfinity Series championship lead to 62 points over Hemric in second and 74 over Harrison Burton in third.
Next Saturday, the series makes its debut at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. The Pit Boss 250 on the 3.4-mile road course starts at 4 p.m. ET (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Note: No issues were found in post-race inspection and Cindric was confirmed as the winner of the race.
The following article is brought to you by BetMGM.
Once again, it’s time to attempt to conquer the “Monster Mile.” NASCAR folks, it’s Dover time.
The NASCAR Cup Series invades the Delaware track this weekend and the expected favorites most likely won’t surprise anybody. Four drivers — Martin Truex, Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Newman — have won three career races apiece at Dover International Speedway, and they’ll be racers to keep an eye on for those who like to bet NASCAR online.
They are all expected to be factors Sunday in the Drydene 400. Another five drivers who are in this weekend’s field have won at least one career race at the 1-mile track. Harvick and Denny Hamlin captured the two races last year.
So who else figures prominently into the NASCAR odds this week at Dover? We give you an idea and also take a look at a few drivers who may not be on your radar yet.
In 2007, Truex won his first NASCAR Cup Series race, and it happened to be at Dover — a track that is very close to his New Jersey roots. While he has been a frequent series winner in recent seasons (30 career victories), he didn’t win a whole lot back in the early years — and it would take him six years to win again in the sport’s highest series (2013 at Sonoma Raceway).
So, Dover is a special place for Truex. He also won there in 2019 and 2016, and he owns an 11.5 average finish at the track, taking 18 top-10 finishes in 30 career starts. Couple that with his two wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series circuit, and it’s apparent he likes the place.
Along with his great record at Dover, he also has raced well in 2021. He has three wins this year at Phoenix Raceway, Martinsville Speedway and last week at Darlington Raceway, and he is currently second in the season’s standings behind Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin. Truex will start No. 1 in the race based on NASCAR’s 2021 start formula (the sport hasn’t done traditional pole qualifying this year).
OTHERS: While Truex is a solid choice to place a few dollars on, so is Kyle Larson (+450). Larson is right behind Truex in the NASCAR betting lines and is just ahead of Hamlin (+500). Larson is intriguing because he has nine top 10s in 12 career starts and a NASCAR-best 7.4 when it comes to average place/finish. Larson has won at Dover in both the Cup and Xfinity Series and is a viable threat. Hamlin will start No. 2 and Larson No. 4.
THE DARK-HORSE THREAT
Joey Logano (+1400)
While Logano may not perch atop the racing odds this week, he’s traditionally strong at Dover (14 top 10s in 24 starts). He’s more consistent at only one other track left on the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season schedule, and that’s Michigan International Speedway (17 career top 10s).
Logano also has four NASCAR Xfinity Series wins at the track. He’ll start in the No. 9 position and should be a factor. After a couple of tough outings the past few weeks (no top 10s the past three races), one can be sure he would like to start a new trend. He is currently fourth in the series standings, behind Hamlin, Truex and William Byron.
OTHERS: It has been a while since Brad Keselowski’s lone career win at Dover (2012), but he has been pretty reliable at the track (10 top 10s in 22 starts) and also won at the Delaware track in the Xfinity series. Keselowski (+1400) starts No. 15 on the grid.
THE INTRIGUING LONG SHOT
Daniel Suarez (+12500)
Suarez was solid at Dover when he was with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2017 and 2018, finishing in the top 10 in all four races held those two seasons. He also won a race at the track in the Xfinity Series (2016). It is arguably his best track, as he has the most career top 10s there and one of his top average-finish marks (13.8). Can he recapture that success? It wasn’t that long ago he found success at Dover. He starts in the No. 24 spot.
Universal Technical Institute (NYSE: UTI), Team Penske, and Würth will recognize instructors who have worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to continue providing state-of-the-industry training to students, both in the classroom and remotely. UTI instructors and Würth Trainers will see their names racing around the track during the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway on May 16, 2021. Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Würth Ford Mustang will feature a unique paint scheme honoring these COVID-19 heroes.
As part of National Teacher Appreciation Week, the hood and roof of Keselowski’s car will carry the names of 480 instructors from UTI’s 12 campuses, alongside the names of 39 Würth Trainers.
The team effort offers these instructors much-deserved recognition for persevering through the challenges of teaching during a global pandemic. Like millions of educators across the country, UTI and Würth instructors created and utilized new digital platforms and introduced CDC guidelines to their classrooms so that students could continue learning in a safe environment.
“Würth and Team Penske are valued industry partners to UTI, and we truly appreciate the opportunity to partner in thanking our educators,” said Jerome Grant, CEO, Universal Technical Institute. “We are proud of UTI’s instructors, because their heroic efforts ensure student success. We’ve been able to continue providing industry-aligned training and graduate skilled technicians to help meet demand in the transportation industry. Our instructors deserve recognition for their tireless efforts on behalf of students.”
Würth has incredible trainers that keep the company’s employees up to date on its products, sales, and operations training.
“Last year, at the height of the pandemic, our team found an opportunity to recognize 2020 UTI graduates in this unique way,” said Thomas J. O’Neill, EVP, Würth Line Craft North America. “Technicians are the lifeblood of the repair and maintenance industry we are proud to serve, and many are our future customers. This year, we’re taking the program to the next level by honoring the connection between UTI Instructors and our Trainers, both of whom demonstrate a tremendous dedication to continued education and impacting students’ lives in a meaningful and positive way.”
For Team Penske and the Penske Corporation, the custom paint scheme is another way to thank UTI for training the skilled talent that helps them succeed on and off the track. They’ve employed more than 2,000 UTI graduates in the last decade, and currently have graduates of UTI’s NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C. working on the crews for Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney.
“We appreciate the partnership and the value that UTI graduates bring to our team and our organization,” said Roger Penske. “We thank all of the UTI instructors and Würth trainers that have worked so hard and found new ways to continue to provide elite training and education to their students during the pandemic. Team Penske is honored to recognize their efforts as they will be featured on the No. 2 Würth Ford Mustang during race weekend at Dover International Speedway.”
The race will be broadcast live on Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and The Motor Racing Network (MRN) radio.
While Martin Truex Jr. is the deserving favorite to win Sunday’s Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, NASCAR bettors can’t be blamed for looking for something more enticing than 7-2 odds for their money.
With his win last week, Truex has two more than any other driver in the Cup Series this season. Not only did he finish first at Darlington Raceway, a track many race handicappers use as a comparison to Dover, he won both stages and led 248 of 293 laps. He has also been victorious at Phoenix Raceway and Martinsville Speedway, tracks to which teams brought the 750-horsepower, low downforce package to be used again Sunday.
Truex’s 4.3 average finish over the 10 most recent races at Dover is best in the Cup Series, and he as two wins, eight top fives and nine top 10s during that span.
Still, there are factors beyond these stellar performances that have him priced so low this week, +350 (bet $100 to win $350) at multiple sportsbooks around the country. The action bookmakers anticipate from bettors, who tend to put too much emphasis on recent results, influences how drivers are priced.
And there will be plenty of money bet on the No. 19 Toyota at Dover.
“When you have a driver who’s so dominant, especially like last week’s race at Darlington, you have a little bit of recency bias with the betting public, and the books know they’re going to get a lot of action on it, too. So there’s no reason not to make Truex a huge favorite,” said Blake Phillips, a sharp NASCAR bettor.
Seamus Magee, who posts NASCAR odds at BetMGM, added of Truex, “He’s running really well the past few weeks. He’s a Jersey kid, so (Dover) is as close to a home track for him as you can get. It’s a really short price, but this is where the money across the market has been coming.”
The “overzealous” pricing on Truex creates value elsewhere on the betting board, Phillips believes, and Denny Hamlin, Truex’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, might be an interesting play at 6-1, odds available at Barstool Sportsbook as of Friday morning.
“I see Denny Hamlin as being a little bit under-represented here, which is crazy to say,” Phillips said of the Cup Series points leader.
While Hamlin has yet to win a race this season, Phillips said “looking at all the other statistics, he’s been absolutely fantastic. You can see some scenarios where a guy like that may not be getting enough attention.”
In Las Vegas, SuperBook USA is dealing Truex as a rather sizeable -150 favorite (bet $150 to win $100) in a matchup prop over Hamlin in similar Gibbs equipment, the No. 11 offered as a tempting +130 underdog.
“I would be taking that bet personally,” said Phillips. “…. If you look at the speed rankings and the lap times, Hamlin’s been a little bit faster than Truex at these (750 hp) tracks.”
Much of the early action at BetMGM has been on Kyle Larson, according to Magee. The No. 5 Chevrolet, the 9-2 (+450) second betting choice, has been running near the front much of the season and finished second to Truex last week at Darlington.
“That seems to be where the early handle is going. Looks like it’s all Larson right now,” Magee said Thursday. “… Larson’s been running hot, too, so I imagine we’ll keep seeing Larson money coming in.”
Joey Logano was running fourth at Darlington before a pit-road speeding penalty late in the race took him out of contention. His fat price at Dover has to get some bettors’ attention.
“Logano has been great at the 750-horsepower package but has had a little bit of trouble lately,” Phillips said. “The penalty at Darlington didn’t help him at all. I see him out there at +1600 — might be a little bit of value there.”
With Truex and Hamlin as dominant as they’ve been, plus Kyle Busch winning two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway, the Gibbs garage has started separating itself from the pack. Even Christopher Bell deserves a look.
“He’s not quite there yet, he’s still pretty green, he’s new with the team, but his stats are looking pretty great,” Phillips said. “I don’t necessarily see him as a major candidate for a top-three finish, but he’s a guy I would certainly keep an eye on. He’s a good passer. I think that’s going to come into play a lot in this race.”
Magee said he has heard Cole Custer’s name mentioned as a live long shot this week. Custer steered his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Ford to 10th- and 11th-place finishes at the Dover doubleheader last fall.
While Bell can be had at 25-1 odds in the outright market and Custer for a hopeful 200-1, here are some props offered at Barstool that give bettors a more realistic, albeit less lucrative, shot at cashing a ticket on these drivers.
• Custer (+450) to finish in top 10
• Custer (+325) to finish first in a group that also includes Aric Almirola (+155), Chris Buescher (+265) and Ryan Newman (+325)
• Bell (-118) to finish top 10
• Bell (+350) in group matchup against Brad Keselowski (+175), Alex Bowman (+250) and Ryan Blaney (+275)
Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.
Haley, currently sixth in Xfinity Series points with six top 10s on the season, will miss Saturday’s Drydene 200 Xfinity Series race (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). As the team noted, Camping World Truck Series driver Zane Smith will sub in for Haley.
Per a NASCAR spokesperson, a waiver has been approved for Haley that will allow him to remain postseason eligible in the Xfinity Series.
The No. 11 Chevrolet driver was also on the entry list for Sunday’s Cup Series Drydene 400 (2 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to pilot the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. The team announced Josh Berry will make his Cup debut and will replace Haley. The veteran driver picked up his first career national series win earlier this season in the NXS race at Martinsville Speedway.
Smith tweeted about the news as well, offering thoughts to Haley and expressing his excitement for his first NXS start since 2019.
Bummed for Justin & hoping for a quick return but Excited for this opportunity, can’t wait to be back in a Xfinity car at one of my favorite places. Last time we were there it went pretty good! Hope to represent @KauligRacing the best I can and give my miles the monster a friend! https://t.co/CmvvjCOyJ4
