Dover International Speedway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dover International Speedway | |
| The Monster Mile | |
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| Facility statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | 1131 North Dupont Highway, Dover, Delaware, 19903 |
| Broke ground | 1966 |
| Opened | 1969 |
| Owner | Dover Motorsports |
| Operator | Dover Motorsports |
| Construction cost | |
| Architect | Melvin Joseph (Melvin Joseph Construction) |
| Former names | |
| Dover Downs International Speedway (1969-2001) | |
| Major events | |
| NASCAR Nextel Cup Neighborhood Excellence 400 presented by Bank of America Dover 400 2007 NASCAR Busch Series 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series |
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| Seating capacity | |
| 140,000 (NASCAR) | |
| Current dimensions | |
| Track shape | Oval |
| Track length | 1 mile |
| Track banking | Turns - 24° Straights - 9° |
Dover International Speedway (nickname: The Monster Mile) is a NASCAR race track located in Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports. It is unusual in several respects. It is a concrete track while most NASCAR tracks are asphalt. It is co-located with a horse racing track, Dover Downs, and in fact is sometimes also referred to by this name. It is also exactly one mile long; technically this means that it is neither a superspeedway nor a short track. The speedway is also notoriously hard on cars bring about its nickname of The Monster Mile. The horse track is part of an extensive entertainment complex including other forms of gambling; at one time both it and the speedway were owned by the publicly traded Dover Downs Entertainment, but they have since been split into two separate enterprises, partly at the encouragement of NASCAR. At one time the Winston Cup races held here were 500 miles long until a NASCAR rules change limited 500 mile races to being held only at tracks over a mile in length; the current Nextel Cup races here are 400 miles long. Dover also hosted Indy Racing League races in 1998 and 1999 won by Scott Sharp and Greg Ray.
In February 2002, Dover Downs Entertainment changed its name to Dover Motorsports following the spin-off of its gaming operations to its existing shareholders. As a result, the name of the track was changed from Dover Downs International Speedway to Dover International Speedway. Dover Motorsports, Inc. continues to maintain its corporate headquarters at the racetrack.
Dover Motorsports (formerly Dover Downs Entertainment) which owns Dover International Speedway also owns several other racing facilities, including Nashville Superspeedway. It has been suggested that one of the two current Cup races held there could be shifted to Nashville but this seems unlikely as both current Cup races at Dover are easily sold out. The Dover ownership is one of only three publicly held ownership groups of NASCAR tracks, the other two being International Speedway Corporation, controlled by NASCAR's founding France family and owners of the Talladega and Daytona tracks, among others, and Speedway Motorsports, Inc., led by Bruton Smith and H. A. "Humpy" Wheeler, which owns Lowe's Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, among others. Aside from these three ownership groups, NASCAR tracks are privately held by one or a few individuals.
Contents |
[edit] The Dover Monster
The speedway has a brand new mascot called Miles the Monster in 2004 hence the track's nickname, "The Monster Mile." Many people refer to Dover International Speedway as the Dover Monster or "Miles". It is featured on the winner's trophy and the track tickets and memorabilia.
See also: List of NASCAR race tracks
[edit] Current Races
- Nextel Cup - Neighborhood Excellence 400 presented by Bank of America
- Nextel Cup - Dover 400
- Busch Series - StonebridgeRacing.com 200
- Busch Series - Dover 200
- Craftsman Truck Series - AAA Insurance 200
- Busch East Series - Sunoco 150
[edit] Records
- NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying: Jeremy Mayfield, 22.288 sec. (161.522 mph), 2004
- NASCAR Nextel Cup Race: Mark Martin, 132.719 mph, September 21, 1997
- NASCAR Busch Series Qualifying: David Green, 22.797 sec. (157.915 mph), 2004
- NASCAR Busch Series Race: Brian Vickers, 133.154 mph, September 20, 2003
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: David Starr, 22.846 sec. (157.577 mph), 2005
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race: Ted Musgrave, 104.545 mph, May 31, 2002
[edit] USAC Championship Car history
| Season | Date | Race Name | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | August 24 | Delaware 200 |  Art Pollard |
Gerhardt | Plymouth |
[edit] Indy Racing League history
| Season | Date | Race Name | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | July 18 | Pep Boys 400K | Scott Sharp |
Dallara | Oldsmobile |
| 1999 | August 1 | MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 | Greg Ray |
Dallara | Oldsmobile |
[edit] External links
- Dover International Speedway Official Site
- Dover International Speedway Page on NASCAR.com
- High Resolution image from Google Maps
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps or MapQuest
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, or WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| Current NASCAR Nextel Cup Series racetracks |
|---|
|
Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Darlington - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Joliet, Illinois - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Martinsville - Miami - Pocono - Phoenix - Richmond - Sonoma, California - Talladega - Watkins Glen |
| Current NASCAR Busch Series racetracks |
|---|
| Atlanta, Bristol, Brooklyn, Michigan, Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Dover, Fontana, California, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Joliet, Illinois, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Loudon, Madison, Illinois, Martinsville (1982–1994, 2006), Memphis, Mexico City, Miami, Milwaukee, Montreal (2007), Nashville, Phoenix, Richmond, Sparta, Kentucky, Talladega, Watkins Glen |
| Current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racetracks |
|---|
|
Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Madison, Illinois - Mansfield - Martinsville - Memphis - Miami - Milwaukee - Nashville - Phoenix - Talladega - Sparta, Kentucky |
| Tracks of the USAC Championship Series |
|---|
| Former Tracks (1956-1981) Arizona Fairgrounds • Atlanta • Darlington • Dayton • Daytona • Detroit • Dover • DuQuion • Hanford • Indianapolis • Lakewood • Langhorne • Michigan • Milwaukee • Nazareth • Ontario • Phoenix • Pocono • Sacramento • Sedalia • Springfield • Syracuse • Texas World • Trenton • Williams Grove Road Courses International |
| Tracks of the Indy Racing League |
|---|
| Ovals Indianapolis Motor Speedway Chicagoland • Homestead • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Michigan • Milwaukee • Motegi • Nashville • Richmond • Texas Road/Street Courses Former Tracks |
