Clint Bowyer finally won last week, but a rough starting point this weekend makes a repeat tough to see.

We are back at Dover International Speedway, home of the one-mile concrete track that is dubbed the monster mile.

It is considered a monster because more than a few drivers have stated at their first race here, they were scared of the high speeds and turns. The straightaways are narrow and the corners are low with twenty-four degree banking. It’s like Talladega and Bristol all wrapped up into one exciting four-hundred mile package. We may not have a ‘big one’, but chances are we will have a smaller version of it. Despite this, drivers love the track and find it a fun place to race.

There is always a lot of excitement on pit road, but there is even more here at Dover. Pit stalls are close and tight, and two drivers will have to share a stall, which still boggles my mind.

When last we were here, there was a lot of talk about tire wear. I have yet to hear any grumblings about this issue yet, but a lot of cars were getting loose in qualifying. We’ll consider this one more wild card to add into an already forbidding mix.

Dover is a concrete track, and one driver who seems to run well on concrete is Carl Edwards. He finished third back here in June but has never won here. His expertise on concrete should serve him well this week, and I look to see him run in the top five if for some reason he does not end up in the winner’s circle.

The fact that they are racing COT’s is not a big factor like it used to be, so Hendrick does not necessarily have the locked in win. Jeff Gordon has four wins here, tied with Mark Martin for the most, so he should be considered a strong favorite. His teammate, Jimmie Johnson, may have the pole, but I’m not sure he can pull off a win – top five, yes.

Matt Kenseth – I do not think he will win, but I do think he will run in the top five. That is what he does, runs steady and strong, but he is not necessarily the first to cross the line and it has not failed him yet.

I am very afraid I am going to jinx him, but I can’t not pick Martin Truex, Jr. He qualified fifth and won this race earlier this year, his first win. It was that win that sent him on a steady roll and secured him a place in the top twelve. A win now would be an excellent way to get a jump up on a championship season.

The driver who sits in the number twelve spot has a lot of ground to make up, 102 points as a matter of a fact. He is off to a good start with his qualifying run of fourth. Kurt Bush is not to blame for his bad run last week, so if everything keeps running like it should on his car, he should take a bite out of that spread.

My number one dark horse pick, Clint Boyer, finally got his win last week, so I am not going back to that well anymore. Casey Mears has been doing some great racing lately, and even though he barely qualified in the top twenty, I think we’ll see a strong run and good finish from him this week.

Starting Grid

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