After a last-lap pile-up at Talladega last week, the NASCAR Cup Series is heading to a track known as the “Monster Mile.”
Dover Motor Speedway is a one-mile, high-banked and concrete oval located in Delaware – characteristics that make it unlike any other track on the schedule.
It’s been a staple for the sport since 1969, when Dover hosted its first NASCAR race.
What’s in store for Sunday’s race? Who are the favorites? And what’s the schedule? Here’s everything you need to know for the 2024 Würth 400:
NASCAR at Dover entry list
Thirty-seven drivers will race at Dover – the 33 full-timers, plus four others.
Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is the headliner, making his third of nine starts this season for Legacy Motor Club. Elsewhere, Kaz Grala will pilot the No. 15 for Rick Ware Racing as he continues his part-time effort and veteran A.J. Allmendinger will make his fourth start for Kaulig Racing.
Then there’s Corey Heim, who will make his Cup debut in the No. 43 for Legacy Motor Club after Erik Jones suffered a compression fracture in a lower vertebra when he crashed at Talladega last week.
Here’s the full entry list for Dover:
| Car number | Driver | Team | Sponsor |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Moose Fraternity |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Menards |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Breztri |
| 4 | Josh Berry | Stewart-Haas Racing | Overstock |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | HendrickCars.com |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | BuildSubmarines.com |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Gainbridge |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | FICO |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | MillerTech |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Mavis Tire |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Würth |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mahindra Tractors |
| 15 | Kaz Grala | Rick Ware Racing | N29 Capital Partners |
| 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Action Industries |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Fastenal |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Bass Pro Shops |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Yahoo! |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | DEX Imaging |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Shell/Pennzoil |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | XFINITY/U.S. Air Force |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Liberty University |
| 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Poppy Bank |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | The Pete Store |
| 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | A&W All American Food |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Morton Buildings |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Acme |
| 43 | Corey Heim | Legacy Motor Club | Dollar Tree/STP |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | McDonald’s |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Hungry Jack |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Ally Financial |
| 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Walmart |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Monster Energy |
| 71 | Zane Smith | Spire Motorsports | Focused Health |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Premier Security |
| 84 | Jimmie Johnson | Legacy Motor Club | Dollar Tree/Family Dolar |
| 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Jockey |
When is the NASCAR race this weekend in Dover?
The Würth 400 at Dover is set for Sunday, April 28, at 2 p.m. ET.
Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. The 37-car field will be split into two groups (found here), with each group practicing for 20 minutes on Saturday.
Qualifying will start immediately after practice. Each car from the two groups will make two laps in the first round, with the five fastest cars on single-lap speed in each group advancing to the final round. In the final round, the remaining drivers each get two laps to set the top 10 starting order, with positions 11 through 37 are set based on first round times.
NASCAR TV schedule this weekend in Dover
Saturday, April 27 (FS1 and streaming online)
Sunday, April 28 (FS1 and streaming online)
NASCAR Dover past winners, race history
There are eight former Dover winners who will race on Sunday, including Jimmie Johnson – the winningest driver in Dover history with 11 victories. Martin Truex Jr. is the defending winner after taking home the checkered flag last May.
Truex (4), Kyle Busch (3) and Chase Elliott (2) join Johnson as the only other multi-time winners. The one-time winners include Brad Keselowski (2012), Kyle Larson (2019), Denny Hamlin (2020) and Alex Bowman (2021).
NASCAR playoff standings entering Dover
We’re 10 races into the 2024 season, which means there are still 16 races left in the regular season. But it’s never too soon to start thinking about the playoffs.
Seven different drivers have won a race this season, which leaves nine spots up for grabs in the 16-driver postseason field. Here’s how the top-25 of the playoff standings look entering Dover:
- William Byron, 3 wins
- Denny Hamlin, 2 wins
- Kyle Larson, 1 win
- Chase Elliott, 1 win
- Tyler Reddick, 1 win
- Christopher Bell, 1 win
- Daniel Suarez, 1 win
—
- Martin Truex Jr., 344 points
- Ryan Blaney, 302 points
- Ty Gibbs, 296 points
- Ross Chastain, 277 points
- Alex Bowman, 261 points
- Bubba Wallace, 257 points
- Chase Briscoe, 256 points
- Brad Keselowski, 254 points
- Joey Logano, 245 points
—
- Chris Buescher, 245 points
- Kyle Busch, 233 points
- Austin Cindric, 192 points
- Erik Jones, 181 points
- Carson Hocevar, 172 points
- John Hunter Nemechek, 164 points
- Ryan Preece, 162 points
- Todd Gilliland, 161 points
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 160 points
NASCAR at Dover favorites, drivers to watch
Dover isn’t a place for Cinderella stories.
Unlike last week’s wild-card track of Talladega, the traditional contenders dominate at the Monster Mile. Dating back to 2009, 25 of the last 27 races at Dover were won by a championship-winning driver. The only exceptions were Hamlin and Bowman – two perennial playoff contenders.
Johnson’s numbers at Dover are historic – 11 wins, 27 top-10s, 3,113 laps led and a 9.7 average finish in 38 career starts. But this Sunday will be his first start at the track since 2020 – and his part-time return to NASCAR hasn’t been smooth sailing so far.
Among the full-time drivers, there are three standouts: Truex, Elliott and Larson. MTJ is the defending winner at his home track. Elliott won the year prior and has nine top-fives in 13 career starts. Larson leads all drivers with an 8.6 average finish.
Looking at last year’s race, Byron led a race-high 193 laps while finishing fourth. Chastain led 98 laps and finished second behind Truex for his second straight Dover top-five. Both Chevy drivers are worth watching heading into the weekend.