NASCAR At Dover: Matt Kenseth Wins With Two-Tire Pit Strategy

Matt Kenseth’s victory in the FedEx 400 at Dover on Sunday helped him feel much more confident about a potential spot in NASCAR’s Chase.

That’s not just because Kenseth jumped four spots to sixth in the Sprint Cup Series point standings; but also, Kenseth’s victory was his second of the season – which probably assures him of at least a wild-card position if he needs it.

During Sunday’s NASCAR race at Dover, the Sprint Cup Series drivers repeatedly struggled with an excess amount of rubber on the 1-mile concrete surface.

But at the end, the winning teams showed that the tires weren’t wearing out very much – Mark Martin didn’t even take tires for the last 70 laps.

Earnhardt Jr.‘s crew chief, Steve Letarte, walked up to the driver just as a reporter was asking about the team’s strategy – two tires on the last pit stop.

“He wants to know if that was the right call,” Earnhardt Jr. told Letarte, motioning toward the reporter.

Sunday’s FedEx400 Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway showed why crew chiefs get paid the big bucks.

With an excess of rubber buildup on the bottom groove that made it difficult for drivers to pass all day, Matt Kenseth’s crew chief Jimmy Fennig called for just two tires on the final pit stop with 34 laps remaining.

This could be a lonnnng chat, as weather is forecasted to interrupt today’s FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Either way, we’ll have plenty to talk about. So pull up your laptop, flip on your TV and get ready to watch the Dover race along with us.

Wow. Have you caught your breath yet following Saturday afternoon’s crazy NASCAR Nationwide Series race finish at Dover International Speedway?

If you missed it, check out the video below. Carl Edwards and Joey Logano were racing hard on the second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, and Edwards came up the track and took the air off Logano’s left rear.

Dover favorites Jimmie Johnson and AJ Allmendinger will start in an appropriate position for Sunday’s FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway: Up front.

NASCAR’s new rainout qualifying procedure was put to use for the first time ever on Saturday, after persistent rains washed out the Sprint Cup Series qualifying session. The lineup was set based on practice speeds from Friday’s two sessions (in the past, rained-out qualifying meant a field set by points).

Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon isn’t clear on exactly how the trend got started. But he doesn’t like it.

“That whole ‘calling’ thing is strange to me,” he said Friday at Dover International Speedway. “Let’s say somebody wrecks me and they call me on Tuesday. They’re calling me so I don’t wreck them the next week! They’re not calling me because they really believe we should have a conversation.

Kyle Busch offered answers for Kevin Harvick’s comments during his turn in the Dover International Speedway media center on Friday morning. First, make sure to check out what Harvick said about his Darlington altercation with Busch. Then read Busch’s responses below.

Here are some of the highlights from Busch’s media availability:

The world is filled with deep questions to which there may be no answer: What is the meaning of life? Are we alone in the universe? If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?

On Friday at Dover International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. presented another great question: Why does NASCAR have a commitment cone under the green flag?

The Dover NASCAR race weekend has already begun – the Camping World Truck Series held two practices on Thursday – and there’s plenty more to come over the next three days.

Here’s a look at the schedule for the rest of the weekend (all times Eastern):

There are plenty of storylines heading into NASCAR’s weekend at Dover International Speedway, but none looms larger at the start than the feud between Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.

The drivers met in the NASCAR hauler before Camping World Truck Series practice on Thursday – likely warned by NASCAR to take their four-race probation seriously – but they’ll be on track together beginning with Friday afternoon’s Sprint Cup Series practices and Truck race.