Hendrick Motorsports Previews The Monster Mile

DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (ONE-MILE OVAL)

LOCATION: DOVER, DELAWARE
EVENT: NASCAR CUP SERIES (RACE 13 OF 36)
TUNE IN: 1 P.M. ET, SUNDAY, JUNE 4 (FS1/MRN/SIRIUSXM)

No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS / Kasey Kahne

KAHNE AT DOVER: The Enumclaw, Washington, native has started on the outside pole position three times at the “Monster Mile.” In his NASCAR Cup Series career, Kahne has started inside the top-10 eight times at the concrete track. In both of Kahne’s last two spring race starts he’s finished fourth. With the exception of last year’s fall race, the 37-year-old hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 in the last two years at the Dover, Delaware, track.

DOVER LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR’s loop data since 2005, Kahne is third in green-flag passes with 986 and sixth in fastest laps run with 363. He ranks eighth in quality passes with 483. Quality passes are the number of times a driver passes another car that is running in the top 15 while under green-flag conditions. He is ninth in laps spent in the top 15 at the one-mile oval.

TESTING AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: Before heading to Dover this weekend, Kahne and the No. 5 team are representing Hendrick Motorsports at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway test on Tuesday and Wednesday. The New Hampshire test marks the first of the season for Kahne and the No. 5 team.

No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS / Chase Elliott

NAPA AUTO PARTS: NAPA AUTO PARTS will grace the hood of the No. 24 Chevrolet SS again this weekend at Dover International Speedway. The Atlanta-based company will serve as majority sponsor for Chase Elliott and the No. 24 team for 24 NASCAR Cup Series races this year.

DOVER STATS: The Dawsonville, Georgia, native is set to make his third Cup start at Dover this weekend. Elliott has collected third-place finishes in both Cup Series starts at the one-mile concrete oval and averages a starting position of 11.0 and a finishing position of 3.0. Elliott also has four starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series at the Dover, Delaware, track. In those four starts, the 21-year-old driver has garnered two top-five finishes, four top-10s, led 19 laps and averages a starting position of 6.0 and finishing position of 5.2.

TESTING AT CHICAGOLAND: Elliott and the No. 24 team will represent Hendrick Motorsports at the Chicagoland Speedway Goodyear tire test on Tuesday, June 6, and Wednesday, June 7. The Cup Series will return to Chicago for the first race of the playoffs on September 17.

600 REWIND: Elliott started Sunday night’s 600-mile race in third. Despite losing a position while testing out the high line, Elliott maintained a top-five position running fifth as the race began to unfold. On Lap 19, Elliott struck a piece of debris dropped by another car, causing damage to the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS. As Elliott’s car slowed, a competitor made contact with the No. 24 machine, causing both cars to spin. The accident ended Elliott’s day early with a 38th-place finish.

CARS 3: In February, it was announced that Elliott would voice the character of “Chase Racelott” in the upcoming Disney Pixar movie “Cars 3” and would be among a few other familiar voices. To see the first image of Elliott’s “Cars 3” character, click here. Like Elliott, Racelott is a second-generation Piston Cup racer. “Cars 3” is set to premiere in theaters on June 16.

No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS / Jimmie Johnson

ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s team had a strong showing last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. They finished fourth and second in the first two 100-lap stages, respectively, and just outside the top-10 in the third stage. In the final stage, Johnson took the lead with 33 laps to go as he and crew chief Chad Knaus decided to utilize fuel strategy. Johnson saved as much fuel as he could, however the team ran out of gas with two laps to go on Lap 398. Johnson pitted for a few seconds of fuel and recovered to finish 17th.  

LOOKING BACK: Johnson won at Dover for the first time on June 2, 2002, in just his 16th start as a NASCAR Cup Series driver. He followed that up the same year by winning the fall event to sweep the season. Click here to see photos from Johnson’s first win at the “Monster Mile.”

SO MANY TROPHIES: Johnson’s most recent win at the one-mile concrete oval was in May 2015. He has a total of 10 NASCAR Cup Series wins at Dover, which ranks first all-time ahead of NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Richard Petty, who recorded seven wins apiece.

DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR’s loop data, Johnson has the series-best driver rating at Dover with a score of 118.3. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. He has spent 85.5 percent of all laps run inside the top 15 and has an average finish of 8.2.

OUT FRONT: Johnson has led 3,093 laps around Dover International Speedway throughout his career — the most all-time of any driver at the track. The amount of laps led is almost double the amount of any other current full-time driver. Johnson led 90 laps during the most recent race at Dover in October 2016 en route to a seventh-place finish. Out of 30 starts, Johnson has an impressive 21 top-10 finishes.

No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.

TAMING THE MONSTER: Earnhardt has one win at the “Monster Mile,” which came in the 2001 fall race, where he led the final 39 laps en route to victory. He’s earned five top-five and nine top-10 finishes at the concrete oval since his trip to Victory Lane in 2001 and had a notably good weekend in the fall of 2013, starting from the pole and finishing second.

MONSTER MILE STATS: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Earnhardt ranks seventh among active drivers since 2005 in the “closers” category, improving 15 positions over the last 10 percent of the race at Dover International Speedway. The driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS also ranks sixth for green-flag passes during that span at the one-mile oval, completing 956 green-flag passes.

DRIVEN TO GIVE GLOVES: The Dale Jr. Foundation’s successful Driven to Give Gloves program continues this month, starting this weekend at Dover. Earnhardt will wear gloves accented in red this month to represent National Safety Month, focusing on children. He will continue to wear the red gloves for the remainder of the month – at Pocono, Michigan and Sonoma. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native’s race-worn gloves will be auctioned off to raise funds for the Hospital’s clinical and research programs. Nationwide Children’s is America’s largest pediatric hospital and research center with all care provided regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

NATIONWIDE PATIENT CHAMPION: Earnhardt is paired up with a Patient Champion from Nationwide Children’s Hospital during each month of the Driven to Give Gloves program. At Dover, Patient Champion Ailee Gilliland will be honored with her name above the passenger door of Earnhardt’s No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS. Ailee has spent thousands of hours going to outpatient appointments and occupational therapy at NCH after suffering severe facial burns. She has undergone three plastic surgeries and now is a typical 5-year-old who loves princesses, gymnastics and school. She is a happy, fun-loving girl who can make anyone smile with her silly outgoing personality. Read her full story here.

WEEKEND WITH THE 88S: Two weeks ago, Earnhardt and Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen announced the continuation of the popular “Weekend with the 88s” charity raffle presented by Nationwide, which benefits The Heartest Yard and Levine Children’s Hospital. The “Weekend” will take place Oct. 12-15, 2017, and include two tickets to the Panthers vs. Eagles game on Thursday night and the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. The package also includes meet-and-greets with Olsen and Earnhardt, a behind-the-scenes tour of Bank of America Stadium, a tour of JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick’s exclusive Heritage Center, pre-game sideline passes for the Panthers game, garage passes for race weekend at Talladega, travel accommodations and more. Tickets are $18.88 individually or a pack of eight can be purchased for $88.88, and are available on www.WeekendWithThe88s.com. The raffle started May 19 and runs until Sept. 17, with the drawing on Sept. 20.

Hendrick Motorsports

FINDING VICTORY LANE: Hendrick Motorsports’ 18 wins at Dover are the organization’s third-most at a track. The Dover victories have come via five different drivers — Johnson (10), Gordon (5), Geoff Bodine, Ricky Rudd and Ken Schrader.

ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 12 championships, 247 race victories, 211 pole positions, 1,017 top-five finishes and 1,709 top-10 finishes in points-paying NASCAR Cup Series competition. Its teams have led 66,723 laps since 1984.

QUOTABLE / 

“Dover is a really challenging track. On the long runs there is a lot of rubber that builds up on top of the track and you have to watch for spinning your tires. It’s a very physically demanding track and we’ve run pretty good there the last few races, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Kasey Kahne on racing at Dover

“Just the sensation of speed I think is very real there. The way the racetrack is shaped, only being one mile it seems fast. Some places seem faster than others although you might be going the same speed, but it is definitely a place that seems like it’s pretty quick.”

Chase Elliott on what makes Dover unique

“Dover is my favorite track on the circuit. I get asked all the time why, and it really just suits my driving style and off-road racing background. It’s been a while since we’ve put the Lowe’s Chevy in Victory Lane there so it would be nice to make it win number 11 this weekend.”

Jimmie Johnson on why he enjoys racing at Dover

“I have always felt like we were a top-five team – so don’t think that we are super satisfied with a 10th-place finish (at Charlotte Motor Speedway) – but it’s good to see some gains, especially for my guys. We’ll go off to Dover and get back at it. I’m looking forward to just keeping the momentum going and see what we can do this weekend.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on taking momentum into Dover