The NASCAR Cup Series travels to Dover Motor Speedway to take on the Monster Mile and Miles the Monster for the DuraMAS Drydene 400.
For over two decades, crew chief Larry McReynolds has been a part of the FOX broadcasting crew. Last week he climbed back on the pit box to serve as crew chief for Jeffrey Earnhardt and the black number three car in the Xfinity Series race at Talladega. This week, McReynolds returns to his broadcasting gig and joins Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the broadcast booth.
In the practice session prior to qualifying, a number of drivers have had trouble on the track, hitting the wall.
After practice sessions from both groups, AJ Allmendinger is the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run and posts a time of 22.68 seconds.
After issues during practice Josh Bilicki, Todd Gilliland, and William Byron did not make a qualifying run; but with just 36 teams at the track, they will make the race and start from the back of the field.
After two rounds of qualifying Chris Beuscher posts a time of 22.47 seconds to put his number 17 car on the pole for his first career pole. He is the fourth driver this season to earn their first career pole.
The starting lineup for the DuraMAX Drydene 400:
Chris Buescher
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman
Ross Chastain
Daniel Suarez
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Busch
Kevin Harvick
Austin Cindric
Ryan Preece
Justin Haley
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kurt Busch
Christopher Bell
Martin Truex Jr.
AJ Allmendinger
Brad Keselowski
Corey LaJoie
Joey Logano
Chase Briscoe
Austin Dillon
Erik Jones
Tyler Reddick
Aric Almirola
Cody Ware
Michael McDowell
Cole Custer
Ty Dillon
BJ McLeod
William Byron
Todd Gilliland
Harrison Burton
Josh Bilicki
William Byron and Josh Bilicki are starting the race from the back of the field after not making a qualifying run and moving to a backup car after crashes during practice. Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, and Kurt Busch will also have to start the race from the back of the field after their crews made unapproved adjustments to the cars.
Stages one of the race is 120, stage two is 130 laps long with stage three lasting 150 laps for a total of 400 laps around the one mile track.
Chris Buescher brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the outside lane with Denny Hamlin on the inside under some very cloudy skies. Buescher pulls out in front for the lead.
Lap two, Chris Buescher leads the race with Chase Elliott in second; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap five, Chris Buescher has a lead of over half a second on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap eight, Kurt Busch has moved up to 25th place after crews made repairs to a steering issue that put him at the back of the field. William Byron has moved up four spots in a back up car.
Lap 10, Chris Buescher has a lead of nearly a second on Chase Elliott; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five. There has been little movement in the field except the back of the field.
Lap 13, Josh Bilicki becomes the first driver to go a lap down.
Chase Elliott has some debris on his grille.
Lap 15, Chris Buescher has led every lap so far with Denny Hamlin in second; Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott now free of debris, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin passes Chris Buescher for the lead.
Lap 25, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on Kyle Larson; Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five. Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Daniel Suarez round out the top 10.
Lap 28, there are 32 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 30, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson; Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Lap 34, Kyle Larson has closed the gap on leader Denny Hamlin to just a tenth of a second. Denny Hamlin continues to lap cars with just 30 cars on the lead lap.
NASCAR has called for a competition caution on lap 41. Chase Briscoe is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road. AJ Allmendinger was caught speeding on pit road. Ryan Blaney’s crew reports that there was some cording on his tires.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 46 but it is Kyle Larson who gets out in front for the lead before Hamlin comes back on the outside to retake the lead.
Lap 47, Denny Hamlin leads the race with Kyle Larson in second; Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott rounding out the top five. Daniel Suarez with a Pitbull paint scheme and Kyle Busch battle for seventh.
Lap 51, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of a second on Kyle Larson; Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott round out the top five with 28 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 55, Denny Hamlin now has a lead of a second and a half on Kyle Larson; Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 65, Denny Hamlin has increased his lead to over two and a half seconds on Kyle Larson; Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
The caution flag comes out on lap 69 for rain in the area. Michael McDowell is the “lucky dog”.
Denny Hamlin leads a pack of drivers down pit road for fresh tires. Most of the drivers who came down pit road took four tires but Alex Bowman and Justin Haley took only two tires.
After staying out on the track, Kyle Larson is the new leader of the race.
On lap 78, NASCAR brings the drivers down pit road as they display the red flag to halt the race.
During the break, Tyler Reddick spoke to Regan Smith and lamented that fact that the Cup series does not have rain tires and races on oval tracks.
AT 5:30pmEDT, NASCAR has called the race due to rain and will attempt to complete the race beginning at noon on Monday.
The skies are grey and the track is green as the drivers return to their cars and prepare to race once again.
The teams were given only eight sets of tires for the race and despite severe lobbying from the teams, NASCAR said no, the teams will have to make do with what they have.
Pit road is closed but Ryan Blaney comes down pit road and the crew has the hood up. He will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Once pit road opens, only a few drivers come down pit road for adjustments and service.
Kyle Larson brings the field down to get the race restarted on lap 84 with Chase Elliott alongside. Larson jumps out in front for the lead from the outside lane.
Lap 85, Kyle Larson leads the race with Chase Elliott in second; Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, and William Byron round out the top five. Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, Chris Buescher, and Ross Chastain round out the top 10.
The caution flag comes out on lap 87 when Austin Cindric spins out and Todd Gilliland hits the wall trying to avoid Cindric.
Austin Cindric reports that the steering is off and is on pit road for repairs.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 93 and goes nose to nose with Chase Elliott before Elliott gets out in front for the lead.
Lap 94, Chase Elliott leads the race with Kyle Larson in second; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Today is Kyle Busch’s birthday. Mike Joy revealed that Busch has never lost a race that ended on a Monday and his birthday; he is two for two.
Lap 98, Chase Elliott has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
AJ Allmendinger slaps the wall after a push from Erik Jones but the track stays green.
Lap 105, Chase Elliott holds on to the lead with Denny Hamlin in second; Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Lap 109, Denny Hamlin battles with Chase Elliott for the lead but so far Elliott holds on to the lead.
While on pit road making repairs, Austin Cindric’s team did not complete the repairs during the six minute “crash clock”. Austin Cindric takes his car to the garage and is out of the race.
Lap 110, Denny Hamlin finally gets around Chase Elliott for the lead; Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Lap 117, only four laps remain in stage one, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over two and a half seconds on Chase Elliott.
Denny Hamlin wins stage one by nearly three seconds over Chase Elliott for his second stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Ross Chastain
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Chris Buescher
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road as a tire comes rolling down the pits. The tire came off of Denny Hamlin’s car.
Ross Chastain is the new leader.
Reports are that when the lug nut came off of the left front tire on Denny Hamlin’s car, it ended up in Joey Logano’s pit stall who pitted behind Hamlin.
Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 129 form the outside lane with Christopher Bell alongside. Chastain gets out in front for the lead as drivers jockey for position behind him.
Christopher Bell makes an unscheduled trip down pit road with a tire issue – a loose wheel.
Lap 133, Ross Chastain has a half second lead on Martin Truex Jr; Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch round out the top five. Denny Hamlin restarted the race in 29th place.
Lap 135, Denny Hamlin has moved up five spots since the race restarted.
There are 29 cars on the lead lap with just one car out of the race.
Lap 137, driving a car that promotes the newest music from minority owner Pitbull, Ross Chastain leads the race.
Lap 145, the sun has broken through and the track is bathed in sunlight!
Ross Chastain has a half second lead on Martin Truex Jr; Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Lap 152, Ross Chastain continues to lead the race with Martin Truex Jr in second; Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Busch round out the top five. After starting the race from the back of the field in a backup car, William Byron is in sixth place.
Kyle Larson brings out the fifth caution flag on lap 156 when he gets loose and blows two tires.
Once pit road opens, the drivers come down pit road for service with Ross Chastain winning the race off of pit road.
Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 164 form the outside lane and edges out in front of Martin Truex Jr for the lead.
Lap 165, Ross Chastain leads the race with Justin Haley in second after taking only two tires during his pit stop; Martin Truex Jr, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Daniel Suarez is the last car on the lead lap in 29th place.
Lap 169, Ross Chastain has pulled out to a half second lead on Justin Haley.
Lap 171, Martin Truex Jr passes Justin Haley for second with Ross Chastain leading by nearly a second.
Lap 174, after having tire issues, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson are both a lap down.
Lap 178, Ross Chastain’s lead is down to under half a second on Martin Truex Jr; Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
BJ McLeod is out of the race.
Durt Busch brings out the sixth caution flag of the race on lap 189 when he spins out after some contact from AJ Allmendinger. Busch hits both the inside and outside walls during the spin. Tyler Reddick narrowly misses Busch when Busch gets loose.
Lap 191, the top five are Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, Justin Haley, and Chase Elliott. Kyle Larson is the “lucky dog”.
Several drivers come down pit road for service including the leaders. After taking only two tires, William Byron wins the race off of pit road.
After staying out on the track, Justin Haley is the new leader and brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 195 and edges out Alex Bowman for the lead. Drivers get four wide going into turn two in a battle for position.
Lap 196, Justin Haley leads the race with AM Allmendinger in second; Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Joey Logano gets loose and spins out on lap 196 and brings out the caution flag. Christopher Bell is the “lucky dog”.
Justin Haley brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 201 with AJ Allmendinger on the inside. Haley edges out for the lead with Alex Bowman taking second. Drivers are three wide across the track in a battle for position.
Lap 202, Justin Haley leads the race with Alex Bowman in second; AJ Allmendinger, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Lap 207, Kyle Busch passes Tyler Reddick for fourth and battles AJ Allmendinger for third. Justin Haley has a narrow lead on Alex Bowman.
Lap 208, the top five are Justin Haley, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, and Chase Elliott.
Chase Elliott passes AJ Allmendinger for fourth.
Lap 210, Alex Bowman passes Justin Haley for the lead. Bowman is the defending champion of the race.
Just over halfway and drivers are running some of their fastest laps of the race.
Lap 212, Kyle Busch takes the lead passing Justin Haley and Alex Bowman in successive corners.
Lap 214, Kyle Busch has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Alex Bowman; Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 218, Kyle Busch has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second and a half on Alex Bowman; Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 222, Chase Elliott passes Alex Bowman for second with Kyle Busch two seconds out in front for the lead.
Lap 226, Kyle Busch leads the race with Chase Elliott in second; Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr, and William Byron rounding out the top five.
Lap 229, Martin Truex Jr passes Alex Bowman for third.
Kyle Busch puts Joey Logano a lap down on lap 230.
Lap 231, Kyle Busch has a lead of over a second and a half on Chase Elliott; Martin Truex Jr, Alex Bowman, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 233, Tyler Reddick has to make a trip down pit road for a shredding tire. The track stays green.
Lap 237, Ty Dillon has to come down pit road for a shredding tire.
Lap 239, Kyle Busch has a lea of a second and a Half on Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin and Cody Ware bring out the eighth caution flag of the race on lap 242 when Ware spins out and makes contact with Hamlin.
Kyle Busch brings most of the field down pit road for service with just seven laps remaining in stage two. Kyle Busch wins the race off os pit road by a wide margin.
There is a lug nut laying out on the track.
After staying out on the track, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Harrison Burton in second. Kyle Busch is in third.
With just three laps remaining in stage two, Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with Blaney getting out in front and Kyle Busch taking second with Martin Truex Jr on his bumper.
Kyle Busch comes up on the outside to battle Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Ryan Blaney holds off Kyle Busch to win stage two for his fourth stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Alex Bowman
Martin Truex Jr
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ross Chastain
Erik Jones
Harrison Burton
Chris Buescher
Chase Elliott
Drivers who did not make a pit stop during the caution flag come down pit road for service.
Tyler Reddick is the “lucky dog”.
Austin Dillon is on pit road with the hood up.
Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 258 with Alex Bowman on the inside lane. Busch and Bowman go nose to nose before Kyle Busch edges out for the lead.
Lap 259, Kyle Busch leads the race with Alex Bowman in second; Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ross Chastain, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
After getting a lap down, Kyle Larson has entered the top 10.
Lap 261, Ryan Blaney gets into the back of Cole Custer but Custer saves the car and the track stays green.
There are 28 cars on the lead lap. Cody Ware is out of the race.
Lap 265, Kyle Busch has a half second lead on Alex Bowman; Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ross Chastain, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Lap 270, Alex Bowman has closed the gap on leader Kyle Busch to under half a second; third place driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr is over two seconds back with Ross Chastain and Martin Truex Jr rounding out the top five.
Lap 277, Kyle Busch has a half second lead on Alex Bowman; Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ross Chastain, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
Ross Chastain has gotten around Martin Truex Jr for third.
With 111 laps to go, Kyle Busch has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Alex Bowman; Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr round out the top five.
Lap 293, leader Kyle Busch has encountered slower traffic and is beginning to lap drivers.
Lap 296, Kyle Busch has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Alex Bowman; Ross Chastain in third is over three seconds back.
Lap 305, Kyle Busch has a lead of over a second and a half on Alex Bowman. Busch has just passed Brad Keselowski to put the number six car a lap down.
Lap 306, Martin Truex Jr has caught up to third place driver Ross Chastain and is battling for the third.
Lap 312, Ryan Preece is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop.
Lap 315, leader Kyle Busch puts Ryan Blaney a lap down.
Lap 317, Chase Briscoe goes one lap down; three are now just 19 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 318, Kyle Busch as a half second lead on Alex Bowman; Martin Truex Jr, Ross Chastain, and Ricky Stenhouse Fr round out the top five.
Lap 320, more drivers make green flag pit stops.
Lap 323, leaders come down pit road for a green flag pit stop. AJ Allmendinger brings out the 10th caution flag when he loses a tire. Martin Truex Jr is the leader.
Chase Briscoe is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Ross Chastain winning the race off of pit road.
Denny Hamlin gets caught for speeding on pit road.
AJ Allmendinger gets out of his car and is out of the race.
Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 330 from the outside lane with Martin Truex Jr on the inside. Kyle Busch restarts the race in 16th place with Alex Bowman in 17th. Ross Chastain jumps out for the lead.
Lap 331, Ross Chastain leads the race with Chase Elliott in second; Martin Truex Jr, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Christopher Bell round out the top five. Kyle Busch has not moved up since the race start. Alex Bowman in 15th has a large piece of debris on his grille.
The caution flag comes out on lap 335 when Corey LaJoie hits the wall. Daniel Suarez spins out after contact from LaJoie.
Cole Custer is the “lucky dog”.
Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 339 from the outside lane with Chase Elliott in the inside. Chase Elliott edges out for the lead initially but Ross Chastain comes up from the outside to battle for the position.
Tyler Reddick spins on the backstretch and hits the wall. He brings out the 12th caution flag on lap 343. Ross Chastain had just taken the lead when the caution flag came out. Kyle Busch is just outside the top 10 in eleventh.
There are 18 cars on the lead lap.
Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane on lap 347 and Chase Elliott jumps out for the lead. Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Ross Chastain battle for second.
Lap 348, Chase Elliott leads the race with Ricky Stenhouse Jr in second; Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell round out the top five. Kyle Busch has entered the top 10. Alex Bowman is in eighth.
Lap 352, Chase Elliott has a lead of over half a second on Ricky Stenhouse Jr; Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
There have been 17 lead changes so far in today’s race with Kyle Busch leading the way with 103 laps led.
Lap 358, Chase Elliott leads the race by over a second on Ricky Stenhouse Jr; Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell rounding out the top five. Birthday boy Kyle Busch is mired back in 10th place over six seconds behind the leader.
Lap 367, Chase Elliott hods a lead of over a second on Ricky Stenhouse Jr; Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Just 30 laps remain in the race; Chase Elliott has a second and a half lead on Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Alex Bowman has moved up to sixth place. Kyle Busch is in ninth.
Lap 374, Chase Elliott holds a second and a half lead on Ricky Stenhouse Jr; Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Twenty to go, Chase Elliott has a second and a half lead on Ricky Stenhouse Jr; Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell round out the top five. Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch are right behind in sixth and seventh.
Lap 384, leader Chase Elliott is approaching a large group of traffic.
Twelve to go, Chase Elliott has a two second lead on Ricky Stenhouse Jr; Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell continue to round out the top five.
In the previous 10 races, eight of them were won on the last lap.
Seven to go, Chase Elliott has a lead of two and a half seconds on Chase Elliott; Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
With four laps to go, there are 15 cars on the lead lap.
Chase Elliott takes the white flag with a two second lead on Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Finally completing the Hendrick sweep, Chase Elliott wins the race.
Coming to the checkered flag, Martin Truex Jr tries to pass Ross Chastain for third and gets loose.
Chase elliott becomes the ninth different driver in the first eleven races to win a race. This is the first time that one time had all four of its drivers win a race in the first eleven races of the season.
The unofficial results of the DuraMAX Drydene 400:
Chase Elliott
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ross Chastain
Christopher Bell
Alex Bowman
Kyle Larson
Kyle Busch
Chris Buescher
Kevin Harvick
Erik Jones
Justin Haley
Martin Truex Jr
Chase Briscoe
Daniel Suarez
Cole Custer
Bubba Wallace
Michael McDowell
Corey LaJoie
Aric Almirola
Brad Keselowski
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Austin Dillon
Harrison Burton
Ryan Preece
Ryan Blaney
Ty Dillon
Todd Gilliland
Joey Logano
Tyler Reddick
Kurt Busch
Josh Bilicki
AJ Allmendinger
Cody Ware
BJ McLeod
Austin Cindric
HMS Tames the Monster
