‘It was 100% real’: Jeff Gordon on his rivalry with Dale Earnhardt Sr.
NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon takes us inside his rivalry with Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Sports Seriously
NASCAR Cup Series drivers take on the Monster Mile on Sunday, July 20, in an afternoon race at Dover Motor Speedway.
The 1-mile track in Dover, Delaware, marks a return to ovals following a race on the streets of Chicago and road-course race in California wine country at Sonoma Raceway. Both races were won by Shane van Gisbergen – his third victory on a non-oval circuit this season.
The rest of the paddock will welcome the more familiar grind of ovals, although just six active drivers have won at Dover, with Kyle Busch leading with three victories. Denny Hamlin has conquered the Monster Mile twice in the last six years, including last season, while Chase Elliott has also taken the checkered flag twice. But the favorite on Sunday might be Kyle Larson, last year’s runner-up and the 2019 winner, who has eight top-five finishes in the past 14 races at Dover.
Sunday’s race also marks the penultimate round of the NASCAR in-season challenge, which is down to four drivers: No. 6 seed Ty Gibbs vs. No. 23 seed Tyler Reddick, and No. 12 seed John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 32 seed Ty Dillon. The two drivers that come out on top of the two head-to-head battles at Dover will compete in the final next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a $1 million prize on the line.
USA TODAY Sports will have full coverage of the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Follow along for updates and highlights:
NASCAR Cup race at Dover: Start time, TV, streamingDate: Sunday, July 20Location: Dover Motor SpeedwayStart time: 2 p.m. ETTV: TNT with an altcast on truTVLive stream: WatchTNT, Max and Sling TV
Watch the NASCAR Cup race at Dover on Sling
Who is on the pole for the NASCAR Cup race at Dover?
After Saturday’s qualifying was canceled because of inclement weather, Chase Elliott was awarded the pole position via NASCAR rules for setting the lineup without qualifying. NASCAR combines owners’ points, a driver’s finishing position in the preceding race and his fastest lap time in that race to rank the drivers and deterimine the lineup. This metric placed the Hendrick Motorsports driver in the top spot; Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe will also start on the front row.
Weather impacted qualifying and it could play a part in the race. Accuweather forecasts show temperatures in the high 80s with intermittent clouds and a chance of showers in the afternoon. That chance peaks at 49% at 1 p.m. ET and steadily drops as the afternoon continues.
(Car number in parentheses)
(9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet(19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota(20) Christopher Bell, Toyota(45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota(24) William Byron, Chevrolet(88) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet(71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet(22) Joey Logano, Ford(54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota(8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet(60) Ryan Preece, Ford(17) Chris Buescher, Ford(11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota(21) Josh Berry, Ford(6) Brad Keselowski, Ford(48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet(16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet(99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet(1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet(7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet(10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet(23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota(3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet(34) Todd Gilliland, Ford(5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet(2) Austin Cindric, Ford(43) Erik Jones, Toyota(42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota(41) Cole Custer, Ford(38) Zane Smith, Ford(12) Ryan Blaney, Ford(35) Riley Herbst, Toyota(77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet(47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet(51) Cody Ware, Ford(4) Noah Gragson, Ford(44) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet
The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 is 400 laps around the 1-mile track for a total of 400 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 120 laps; Stage 2: 130 laps; Stage 3: 150 laps.
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