Dover International Speedway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "The Monster Mile" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Location | 1131 North Dupont Highway, Dover, Delaware, 19903 | |
| Time zone | GMT-5 | |
| Capacity | 135,000 | |
| Owner | Dover Motorsports | |
| Operator | Dover Motorsports | |
| Broke ground | 1966 | |
| Opened | 1969 | |
| Architect | Melvin Joseph (Melvin Joseph Construction) | |
| Former Names | Dover Downs Int'l Speedway (1969-2001) | |
| Major events | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dover 400 Dover 400
NASCAR Nationwide Series
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
NASCAR Busch East Series | |
| Oval | ||
| Surface | Concrete | |
| Circuit Length | 1 mi (1.6 km) | |
| Turns | 4 | |
| Banking | Turns: 24° Straights: 9° | |
Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned 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.
In February 2002, Dover Downs Entertainment changed its name to Dover Motorsports (NYSE: DVD) 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.
The racetrack is home to the second race in the "Sprint for the Cup" and will celebrate its 40th anniversary during the 2008 season.
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. The concrete surface is notoriously hard on cars, bringing about its nickname of The Monster Mile.
At one time the Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup Series) 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 Sprint Cup Series races here are 400-miles in distance. Dover also hosted Indy Racing League races in 1998 and 1999 won by Scott Sharp and Greg Ray.
Dover Motorsports (NYSE: DVD) 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 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] 2008 schedule
June 1, 2008 - Dover 400, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
May 31, 2008 - Dover 200, NASCAR Nationwide Series
May 30, 2008 - AAA Insurance 200, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Sept. 21, 2008 - Dover 400, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Sept. 20, 2008 - RoadLoans.com 200, NASCAR Nationwide Series
Sept. 19, 2008 - Sunoco 150, NASCAR Camping World Series
[edit] Miles the Monster
The speedway's mascot 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 he track's tickets, memorabilia, website, and more. A previous nickname that the track had was the "White Lightning."
[edit] Traditions
- The winner of each race is asked to sign the seat number that matches their respective car number in the Monster Bridge, located near Turn 3. Martin Truex Jr. most recently signed his seat during the Sept. 21-23, 2007 race weekend.
See also: List of NASCAR race tracks
[edit] Current Races
- Sprint Cup Series - Autism Speaks 400 presented by Visa[1]
- Sprint Cup Series - Dodge Dealers 400[2]
- Nationwide Series - Dover 200
- Nationwide Series - Dover 200
- Craftsman Truck Series - AAA Insurance 200
- Busch East Series - Sunoco 150
[edit] Records
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying: Jeremy Mayfield, 22.288 sec. (161.522 mph), 2004
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race: Mark Martin, 132.719 mph, September 21, 1997
- NASCAR Nationwide Series Qualifying: David Green, 22.797 sec. (157.915 mph), 2004
- NASCAR Nationwide 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 | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Art Pollard | Gerhardt | Plymouth |
[edit] Indy Racing League history
| Season | Date | Race Name | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | July 18 | Pep Boys 400K | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Scott Sharp | Dallara | Oldsmobile |
| 1999 | August 1 | MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 | Image:Flag of the United States.svg 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
- Dover International Speedway is at coordinates Coordinates:
Current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racetracks |
|---|
ISC Tracks SMI Tracks Other tracks |
Current NASCAR Nationwide Series racetracks |
|---|
| Atlanta, Bristol, Brooklyn, Michigan, Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Dover, Fontana, California, Fort Worth, Indianapolis (ORP), Joliet, Illinois, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Loudon, Madison, Illinois, Memphis, Mexico City, Miami, Milwaukee, Montreal, 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 (ORP), 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)
Road Courses
International |
Tracks of the Indy Racing League | |
|---|---|
| Ovals | Indianapolis Motor Speedway · Chicagoland · Homestead · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Milwaukee · Motegi · Nashville · Richmond · Texas |
| Road/Street Courses | Detroit · Mid-Ohio · Sonoma · St. Pete · Watkins Glen |
| Former Tracks | Atlanta · California · Charlotte · Dover · Gateway · Las Vegas · Loudon · Michigan · Nazareth · Phoenix · Pikes Peak · Walt Disney World |
fr:Dover International Speedway pt:Dover International Speedway
