Sprint Cup Series moves to Dover International Speedway for AAA 400 – NASCAR Preview
The Chase for the Sprint Cup heads into its third race as the drivers head to the Dover International Speedway for the AAA 400.
The race is still wide open and it is hard to indicate any clear favourites so far.
Tony Stewart has won the first 2 chase races and currently leads the series points table. Making it three in a row will make him firm favourite for this year’s championship but he does not have a very good recent record at Dover. He finished 29th here
earlier this season and will be looking to record a better finish to keep his lead intact.
Kevin Harvick was leading the championship before the last race but finished 12th in Loudon and lost his championship lead to Tony Stewart. He will be aiming to make amends for that at Dover, where he is yet to win a Sprint Cup race in his career.
Brad Keselowski is currently third in the standings and has had a fairytale run so far in the season. Down and out, he has come back into the Chase and has been consistent in his finishes so far. A 2nd place at Loudon catapulted
him up the ladder and he will be hoping for more of the same at Dover, where he won the Nationwide Series race in 2010.
Carl Edwards has also been performing consistently, with top 10 finishes in both Chase races so far. Edwards knows how important it is to remain consistent in the Chase and he will be looking at his victory here in 2007 for confidence.
Jeff Gordon was pitted as one of the favourites for the Sprint Cup before the Chase started. An early blip at Chicagoland saw him disregarded by some but made a strong comeback at Loudon and now finds himself 5th in the standings.
He has plenty of experience on his side and will be looking to use that to good effect at a track where he has 4 previous victories.
Kyle Busch started the Chase at the top but has slipped in the two Chase races. He needs a good result at Dover to bring him back into reckoning and with an impressive record of good finishes at Dover, Busch could be the one to watch in this race.
Matt Kenseth was named by Bobby Labonte as one of his favourites for the Cup this year and he will be hoping to live up to the tag at Dover. After a dreadful start at Chicagoland, Kenseth recovered in Loudon and will be aiming to make further way up the
table at Dover.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the only racer in the Chase who is yet to win a race all season. However, setting that statistic right will not be his priority at Dover as he looks to string a couple of strong performances together to bring his challenge back on track.
Kurt Busch has not been in the limelight this Chase, even though he finished 6th at Chicagoland before finishing a disappointing 22nd at Loudon. He has quietly gone about his work and will be looking to spring a surprise
on everyone at Dover.
By the time we get to the 10th driver in the standings, one would assume that the chances of that driver winning the Chase are very slim. However, not if that driver is Jimmie Johnson. The five-time defending champion has had a
horrid start to the chase but with an impeccable record of six wins at Dover, he is the odds-on favourite to take the chequered flag at Dover and put his stumbling title defence back on track.
If Ryan Newman does not win the Chase, he will look back at the race in Loudon as the turning point for him. Starting from pole, he was going strong before technical issues struck him and he finished in 25th place. He will not have
given up hope however, being only 34 points behind Tony Stewart.
The one driver that we can probably count out of the race is Denny Hamlin. He lies 66 points behind Tony Stewart and with the new points system, it is highly unlikely that he will be challenging the rest of the pack. He will however be looking to appease
his pride and show why he was in the Chase in the first place.
The race promises to be entertaining and a lot is on stake for the drivers. The qualifying for the AAA 400 will take place on Saturday while the race will be held on Sunday.
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