This week the Cup Series drivers face off against Miles the Monster on the Monster Mile of Dover Motor Speedway for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400.
Thirty-seven teams have brought cars to Dover for 40 starting spots.
A shower has moved through Dover since the Xfinity Series drivers were on the track and track drying is in progress in hopes of getting some practice and a qualifying run in before the Xfinity Race later in the day.
If qualifying is rained out, Shane van Gisbergen would start sixth; a spot he is not comfortable with. He notes that he has never seen Dover and needs some laps to get familiar with the track.
When the green flag drops, Joey Logano will be making career Cup Series start number 600; he is the youngest driver to reach the milestone in NASCAR.
A little more rain has moving through the area as track drying continues.
Hoping more for practice than qualifying, Kyle Larson noted that practice is always important.
NASCAR has announced that all practice and qualifying has been cancelled, The field will be set by NASCAR’s metric.
The starting lineup for the Auto Trader Echo Park Automotive 400:
Chase Elliott
Chase Briscoe
Christopher Bell
Tyler Reddick
William Byron
Shane van Gisbergen
Michael McDowell
Joey Logano
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Busch
Ryan Preece
Chris Buescher
Denny Hamlin
Josh Berry
Brad Keselowski
Alex Bowman
AJ Allmendinger
Daniel Suarez
.Ross Chastain
Justain Haley
Ty Dillon
Bubba Walace
Austin Dillon
Todd Gilliland
Kyle Larson
Austin Cindric
Erik Jones
John Hunter Nemechek
Cole Custer
Zane Smith
Ryan Blaney
Riley Herbst
Cason Hocevar
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cody Ware
Noah Gragson
JJ Yeley
Practice and qualifying was rained out on Saturday; Sunday, the rain is gone but the heat is out and the drivers will face a hot day of racing.
Stages one is 120 laps, stage two is 130 laps, and stage three is 150 laps for a total of 400 laps around the one mile concrete track. The drivers can run around 95 laps on a single load of fuel.
NASCAR has called for a competition caution on lap 35; crews may come down pit road for tires and adjustments but cannot fuel the cars before the competition caution.
As the drivers begin making their pace laps, temperatures are 86 with a heat index of 100!
Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the outside lane with Chase Briscoe alongside. Elliott edges out in front but Briscoe comes up from the inside to take the lead.
Lap two, the top five are Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron.
Lap six the field is spread out nearly nine seconds from first to last with Chase Briscoe leading the way.
Never having seen the track, Shane van Gisbergen has dropped 14 spots since the race started. He reports the right side “is completely gone”. He tells the crew chief that he has a problem and needs to pit.
Lap eleven, Chase Briscoe has a near half second lead on Chase Elliott; Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and William Byron round out the top five.
Shane van Gisbergen comes down pit road.
Lap 14, Chase Elliott passes Chase Briscoe on the outside to take the lead.
Lap 15, Chase Elliott has a half second lead on Chase Briscoe; Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap 24, Chase Elliott has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Chase Briscoe; Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and William Byron round out the top five.
Shane van Gisbergen is back in the race four laps down, he had a flat right front tire.
Lap 30, Christopher Bell passes Tyler Reddick for third.
NASCAR displays the yellow flag for the competition caution on lap 35.
Drivers come down pit for for service and to check tire wear. Chase Elliott wins the race off of pit road.
Todd Gilliland was caught speeding on pit road and will restart the race from the back of the field.
Cody Ware is the “lucky dog”’.
Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 42 with Chase Briscoe alongside. Chase Elliott jumps out in front for the lead. Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe battle for second.
The top five are Chse Elliott, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, and Denny Hamlin.
Lap 47, Chase Ellott has a lead of over a second and a half on Chase Briscoe; Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Deny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 50, Chase Elliott has increased his lead to over two seconds on Chase Briscoe.
Lap 54, Chase Elliott has a two and a half second lead on Chase Briscoe; Chrisotpher Bell, William Byron, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 66, Chase Elliott has a lead of over two and a half seconds on Christopher Bell; Chase Briscoe, William Byron, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 73, Chase Elliott has a lead of over two and a half seconds on Christopher Bell; but third place driver William Byron is over four seconds back.
Denny Hamlin passes Chase Briscoe for fourth.
Lap 80, William Byron is slowly closing the gap on leader Chase Elliott who is now just two seconds out in front.
Lap 89, Chase Elliott has a lead of just over a second and a half on Christopher Bell; William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Tyler Reddick is falling through the field, reporting a very loose condition.
There are 31 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 95, Chase Elliott’s lead on Christopher Bell is down to under a second and a half.
Lap 100, Chase Elliott has a lead of just over a second and a half on Christopher Bell; William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Alex Bowman round out the top five with 29 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 110, Chase Elliott’s lead is down to under a half a second on Christopher Bell as he battles with Daniel Suarez; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Daniel Suarez is the last car on the lead lap in 30th place.
Lap 114, Chase Elliott finally puts Daniel Suarez a lap down.
Chase Elliott has increased his lead to over half a second now that he has put Daniel Suarez a lap down.
Erik Jones gets into the wall. Cody Ware got loose on the track.
Chase Elliott wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Alex Bowman
Chase Briscoe
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson
Daniel Suarez is the “lucky dog”.
AJ Allmendinger and Erik Jones has tires unwinding.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Chase Elliott winning the race off of pit road. Christopher Bell barely edged out Denny Hamlin for second.
Erik Jones was caught speeding on pit road – through five sections.
Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two from the outside lane on lap 128 with Christopher Bell alongside. Elliott holds on to the lead with Christopher Bell in second; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Lap 134, Chas Elliott has a half second lead on Christopher Bell; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five. Drivers back in the field are starting to work their way forward.
Lap 141, the top 10 drivers are separated by nearly six seconds.
Lap 144, Chase Elliott has a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Joey Logano in 12th place is the highest scoring Ford. The top eight drivers are Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.
Lap 157, Chase Elliott holds a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Lap 166, leaders have encountered slower traffic.
Chase Elliott has dominated the race so far with 28 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 178, Chase Elliott has a lead of nearly a second on Christopher Bell; Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap 182, Zane Smith made his pit stop to begin the cycle of green flag pit stops.
Lap 184, green flag pit stops have started in earnest as more drivers come down pit road.
Lap 186, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell come down pit road and give the lead over to Ty Gibbs.
Chase Elliott had a slow pit stop with jack issues and was passed by Christopher Bell.
Lap 188, Ty Gibbs comes down pit road and gives the lead over to Carson Hocevar.
Lap 190, the top four drovers have yet to make a pit stop.
Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin battle for position it will eventually determine the leader of the race.
Carson Hocevar comes down pit road and gives the lead to Daniel Suarez.
Carson Hocevar was charged with leaving his pit stall with equipment and will have to serve a pass through penalty.
Lap 200, Christopher Bell passes Daniel Suarez to take the lead.
Lap 209, Christopher Bell leads the race with Denny Hamlin in second; Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
AJ Allmendinger makes an unscheduled trip down pit road with a brake issue.
Lap 220, there are 24 cars on the lead lap. Carson Hocevar is off the track.
Lap 222, Christopher Bell has passed Austin Dillon to put him a lap down.
Christopher Bell has a lead of over three seconds on Denny Hamlin; Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
AJ Allmendinger takes his car to the garage with a brake issue.
Cody Ware takes his car to the garage with a mechanical issue.
Lap 237, all four of the Hendrick cars are in the top 10 – from third to seventh.
Christopher Bell has a lead of over four seconds on Denny Hamlin; Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Elliott round out the top five. There are just 21 cars on the lead lap.
Chase Elliott passes teammate William Byron for fourth.
Alex Bowman passes Denny Hamlin for second.
Christopher Bell wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Christopher Bell
Alex Bowman
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Chase Briscoe
T Gibbs
Ryan Blaney
Bubba Wallace
Drivers come down pit road for service with Christopher Bell winning the race off of pit road with Chase Elliott coming out second.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 260 with Chase Elliott alongside. Christopher Bell gets loose and brings out the first caution flag for an on track incident today. Bell and Chase Elliott were in a battle for the lead when Bell spun out.
Chase Elliott leads the race.
Chase Elliott brings the field down for the green flag restart with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 265. Elliott jumps out in front for the lead.
The top five are Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Wiliam Byron, and Chase Briscoe.
Lap 271, Chase Elliott has a lead of over a second on Alex Bowman; Denny Hamlin, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five. There are 23 cars on the lead lap.
AJ Allmendinger is th.e first car out of the race.
One of the crew chiefs told his driver that rain is on the way – maybe 20 minutes.
Cody Ware is out of the race.
Lap 291, Chase Elliott has led 203 laps so far.
Lap 293, Chase Elliott has a near three and a half second lead on Denny Hamlin; Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Lap 300 – 100 to go, Chase Elliott has a near four second lead on Denny Hamlin; Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
On a hot July afternoon, Chris Buescher’s cool suit has not worked all race long.
Back in 19th, Christopher Bell has not been able to work his way back through the field.
With weather approaching, NASCAR officials are checking around the track for dry/wet conditions.
Lap 319, Chase Elliott has a two second lead on Denny Hamlin; Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Kyle Larson has passed Chase Briscoe for fourth.
Lap 323, Denny Hamlin is now less than two seconds behind leader Chase Elliott.
Christopher Bell has begun moving through the field and is now in 15th.
Green flag pit stops have begun. Bubba Wallace is the leader after the leaders have come down pit road.
Joey Logano and Josh Berry have been charged with speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Bubba Wallace makes his pit stop with 70 to and gives the lead over the Noah Gragson.
Lap 334, Christopher Bell is the new leader but has yet to make his pit stop. Austin Dillon and Justin Haley also have not made their pit stops.
NASCAR displays the yellow flag for precipitation on lap 337.
William Byron is the “lucky dog”.
Christopher Bell and Austin Dillon come down pit road to complete the cycle of pit stops. Chase Elliott also makes a pit stop.
Denny Hamlin is the race leader.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 342. Hamlin gets out in front with Christopher Bell in second; Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon battle for third.
Fifty to go, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on Christopher Bell; Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
With 47 laps to go, Christopher Bell is slowly closing the gap to leader Denny Hamlin.
With 43 laps to go, Christopher Bell has caught leader Denny Hamlin and the battle begins.
Forty to go, Denny Hamlin has a quarter of a second lead on Christopher Bell; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Austin Dillon round out the top five.
Christoher Bell drops to the inside to battle for the lead.
There are 21 cars on the lead lap.
There are 35 laps remaining in the race but the rain is on the way.
Carson Hocevar is out of the race.
Thirty to go, Denny Hamlin has a half second lead on Christopher Bell; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
With 27 to, Christopher Bell has caught up to leader Denny Hamlin again.
Leader Denny Hamlin has encountered slower traffic and is lapping cars.
Twenty to go, Denny Hamlin has a third of a second lead on Christopher Bell; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
The caution flag come out with 17 to go when Ross Chastain gets into the wall. He is stopped near pit road and pit road remains closed.
The rain has begun in turn two.
NASCAR is bringing the drivers down pit road and allowing crews to cover the cars.
NASCAR has displayed the red flag at 5:33pm.
At 6:17pm, NASCAR has called the drivers back to their cars. During the break, Denny Hamlin went back to his motor home for a fresh dry fire suit.
Track officials are making some repairs to the “safer barrier”.
At 6:30pm, NASCAR has pulled the red flag and displayed the caution flag and the cars are moving again with 13 laps remaining in the race.
Chris Buescher needed a push to get moving.
NASCAR holds the cars on the track while the propane trucks dry pit road.
Pit road is open for drivers to come down for fresh tires. Some of the drivers come down for service.
Denny Hamlin reports that there are some really bad weepers in turn three.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 392. Bell and Hamlin go side by side in a battle for the lead. Christopher Bell spins out to bring out the caution flag. Noah Gragson gets into the wall and collects William Byron.
Denny Hamlin leads the race.
Christopher Bell was caught speeding on pit road.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag shootout to the end of the race with Kyle Larson alongside. Hamlin takes the lead with Chase Briscoe in second.
The caution flag comes out when Zane Smith spins out and gets into the wall.
The race goes into overtime.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the overtime shootout to end the race with Chase Briscoe alongside. Hamlin and Briscoe go side by side with Denny Hamlin getting out in front to take the white flag.
Denny Hamlin wins the race to go back to back wins and his fourth win of the season.
The In Season Challenge comes down to the Ty show with Ty Dillon and Ty Gibbs competing for the million dollar prize next week at Indianapolis.
The unofficial results of the Auto Trader Echo Park Automotive 400:
Denny Hamlin
Chase Briscoe
Alex Bowman
Kyle Larson
Ty Gibbs
Chase Elliott
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Blaney
Chris Buescher
Brad Keselowski
Kyle Busch
Tyler Reddick
Michael McDowell
Joey Logano
Austin Dillon
Austin Cindric
Justin Haley
Christopher Bell
Ryan Preece
Ty Dillon
John Hunter Nemechek
Zane smith
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Riley Herbst
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez
rik Jones
Josh Bery
Cole Custer
Shane van Gisbergen
Noah Gragson
William Byron
Ross Chastain
JJ Yeley
Carson Hocevar
Cody Ware
AJ Allmendinger