| "The Monster Mile" | |
|---|---|
| Location | 1131 North Dupont Highway, Dover, Delaware, 19901 |
| Time zone | GMT-5 |
| Capacity | 140,000 |
| Owner | Dover Motorsports |
| Operator | Dover Motorsports |
| Broke ground | 1967 |
| Opened | 1969 |
| Architect | Melvin Joseph (Melvin Joseph Construction) |
| Former names | Dover Downs Int'l Speedway (1969-2001) |
| Major events |
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series NASCAR Nationwide Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NASCAR Camping World East Series |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Concrete |
| Length | 1 mi (1.6 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Turns: 24° Straights: 9° |
| Lap record | (Jeremy Mayfield, {{{Record_team}}}, {{{Record_year}}}, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) |
Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned 1 mile (1.6 km) race track located in Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports, Inc. It is co-located with a harness racing track, Dover Downs, and shares the complex with Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. At one time both the entertainment complex and the speedway were owned by the publicly traded Dover Downs Entertainment, but they have since been split into two separate companies. Among NASCAR enthusiasts, the track has earned the nickname of "The Monster Mile".
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.
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Dover is unique in many ways. It is exactly one mile long; technically this means that it is neither a superspeedway nor a short track. The speedway surface is concrete; most NASCAR track surfaces are asphalt (Dover was at one time an asphalt track, however; it wasn't until the mid-1990s that the asphalt surface was replaced with concrete). Dover is one of three concrete ovals used in NASCAR's three major series; Bristol Motor Speedway and Dover's sister track Nashville Superspeedway are the others (Dover and Bristol are the only two of the concrete tracks used by the Sprint Cup Series as Nashville has yet to receive a premier series date since its 2001 opening, despite hosting Nationwide, Truck, and IndyCar races).
The racetrack is home to the third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and celebrated its 40th anniversary during the 2008 season.
At one time the Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup Series) races held here were 500 miles (800 km) long until a NASCAR rules change limited 500-mile (800 km) races to being held only at tracks over a mile in length; the current Sprint Cup Series races here are 400 miles (640 km) in distance. Dover also hosted Indy Racing League races in 1998 and 1999 won by Scott Sharp and Greg Ray.
Dover Motorsports owns Dover International Speedway and several other motorsports facilities, including Nashville Superspeedway, Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis and Memphis Motorsports Park. The Dover Motorsports 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, which owns Charlotte 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.
In May 2006, Dover International Speedway announced plans for the “Monster Makeover", a multi-year capital improvement project that will continue to bring new fan amenities and renovations to the 135,000-seat motorsports facility.
The first phase of construction included a new skybox complex, a revamped and expanded media center, and several other capital improvement projects around the facility. Phase I of construction was completed in June 2007.
The second phase of construction which started in 2008, improvements included the addition of the 46-foot (14 m) Monster Monument at Victory Plaza, presented by American Automobile Association – a larger-than-life sculpture of Dover’s signature icon Miles the Monster – an expanded FanZone display area, and continued beautification of the entire facility. [1]
The Monster Monument at Victory Plaza, presented by AAA, is one of the largest fiberglass structures in the country. The monument stands 46 feet (14 m) tall, and depicts Dover’s signature icon Miles the Monster.[2] Over 200 granite plaques circle the base of the structure and are dedicated to legendary drivers who have made their mark on the Dover International Speedway record books.
The new, 7.8 acres (32,000 m2), FanZone display area features fan experiences, sampling, interactive attractions, driver appearances and more. It’s free and open to the public every day of race weekend.[2]
The third phase of construction began in mid-December 2008 in which crews removed the existing 1160 ft. inside steel retaining wall that separated pit road from the apron and concrete racing surface. The demolition makes way for a new 1592 ft. concrete wall that will be fully equipped with a SAFER barrier.
The new inside retaining wall will be 432 ft. longer than the previous configuration and will be extended further into Turn 4, allowing the track to add a 43rd pit stall for competitors. The wall will also be set nearly five feet closer to the track apron, eliminating all grass on the frontstretch, while providing more space in the drive lane of pit road. A large plot of grass was also removed in Turn 4 to make way for the new entrance to pit road. [3]
The first and second races with this format saw Jimmie Johnson lead 569 out of the 800 total laps that year. The second race also saw Joey Logano flip 7 times in turns three and four.
On December 30, 2011 Dover Motorsports announced that they will replace the 18 inch wide seats in the grandstands with 22 inch wide ones, reducing the capacity from 140,000 to 113,000 over the next two years.[4]
The speedway's signature icon is called "Miles the Monster" which is a concrete monster spawned from the track's nickname, "The Monster Mile." The monster is featured on the winner's trophy, the track's tickets, memorabilia, website, and of course, the 46-foot (14 m) Monster Monument. A previous nickname that the track had was the "White Lightning."
(As of 9/26/10)
| Most Wins | 7 | Bobby Allison, Richard Petty |
| Most Top 5s | 22 | Mark Martin |
| Most Top 10s | 30 | Mark Martin |
| Starts | 56 | Ricky Rudd |
| Poles | 6 | David Pearson |
| Most Laps Completed | 23387 | Ricky Rudd |
| Most Laps Led | 2800 | Bobby Allison |
| Avg. Start* | 2.7 | David Pearson |
| Avg. Finish* | 7.7 | Carl Edwards |
* from minimum 10 starts.
| Season | Date | Race Name | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | August 24 | Delaware 200 | Art Pollard | Gerhardt | Plymouth |
| Season | Date | Race Name | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | July 18 | Pep Boys 400K | Scott Sharp | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Kelley Racing |
| 1999 | August 1 | MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 | Greg Ray | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Team Menard |
