Motorsport-Magazin.com – The 24th race of the regular season at Dover International Speedway was the first of two double-header races on the dreaded Monster Mile. Denny Hamlin won the start of the third and final double header of the current season on the short oval after an impressive 115 leading laps. Martin Truex Junior and Kyle Busch ensured a 1-2-3 success for Joe Gibbs Racing on the concrete track. After Homestead, Hamlin won all three stages for the second time this year. It was his first win at Dover, the sixth win in 2020 and the 43rd success of his career.
Chase Elliott is on pole position for the third time
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Before the start: Elliott on pole position after a new qualification procedure
For the 24th and 25th races of the season, 40 drivers were registered by the teams for the third double header of the ‘Corona season’ at Dover International Speedway. Austin Dillon takes over # 3 again at Richard Childress Racing from strong debutant Kaz Grala.
Since the 23rd race, a new procedure has been used to determine the starting grid for the remainder of the 2020 season. NASCAR rewards performance in the season as well as in a race to determine the starting grid and the selection of the boxes. The position of the owner points as well as the last race result and the fastest lap of the last race completed are used. The owner points are weighted at 35%. Final position with 50% and the fastest race lap with 15%. When the playoffs begin, the playoff cars are always in the top starting positions (top 16 / top 12 / top 8). In the last race, the four finalists then occupy the first two rows.
The Daytona Road Course winner Chase Elliott will start from pole position. This is the third time this season that the Hendrick driver is on the best grid position with his Chevrolet. The two Gibbs-Toyota drivers Hamlin and Truex start the race over 311 laps, as they did last week, from second and third. This is followed by the top-placed Ford drivers Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano. The eleven-time Dover record winner Jimmie Johnson is sixth on the grid. Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick complete the top 10 on the grid. Matt DiBenedetto is in 14th place ahead of his 200th anniversary race. The best placed rookie is Tyler Reddick in 16th position. Reigning champion Kyle Busch only starts from 22nd. One row behind is Bubba Wallace, who is contesting his 100th cup race. After two negative COVID-19 test results, Austin Dillon is celebrating a comeback in 32nd place.
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Welcome back Austin Dillon
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Start / Stage 1: A corona comeback and four punitive transfers
Rookie Brennan Poole, Joey Gase and Daniel Suarez had to start from behind. Garrett Smithley also lost his starting position and started the race from the pit lane. Before the start there was once again the usual thunderstorm warning. The rain front was still 45 miles from Dover. Pole setter Elliott won the start from Hamlin. On lap seven Kurt Busch flew off after contact with Erik Jones and severely demolished his Chevrolet. Alex Bowman also had repairs done.
Again Elliott showed a perfect restart and continued to lead the field. Elliott and Hamlin then clearly separated. The announced Competition Caution followed in the 25th round. Smithley got the ‘Lucky Dog’. Logano, Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola only took two fresh tires with them at the pit stop and were therefore ahead of Hamlin and Elliott at the restart. Austin Dillon and four other drivers led the field without a pit stop. Harvick had to visit his crew a second time. Austin Dillon won the restart ahead of Matt Kenseth. Elliott and Bowyer had a contact.
Stage 1: Hamlin takes sixth stage win after 70 laps
After 43 laps, Hamlin reappeared in second position. Austin Dillon was still in the lead 3.4 seconds ahead of the Gibbs driver. Ten laps later, the gap was only 0.4 seconds. Keselowski was another four seconds behind in third. On lap 60, Hamlin was the new leader. After 70 laps, Hamlin recorded the sixth stage win this year. Austin Dillon defended second place in front of Keselowski, Bowyer, Truex, Logano, Harvick, Johnson, Chris Buescher and tenth Almirola. Elliott finished the stage in 17th position after tire problems. Poole received the ‘Lucky Dog’.
Stage 2: After 185 laps, Hamlin also wins the second stage
There were pit stops in the first Conclusion Caution between the stages. Hamlin won the pit lane race ahead of Truex and Bowyer. There were still 31 drivers on the lead lap. Hamlin won the restart. Once again the two leading drivers clearly set themselves apart from their pursuers. Hamlin was leading Truex by 2.6 seconds after 110 laps. 50 laps before the end of the stage there were the first pit stops under green. Hamlin came to service three laps later on lap 138. Due to the later stop, Hamlin only got back on the concrete runway just before Truex.
DiBenedetto and William Byron stayed the longest and were not overtaken by Hamlin until lap 161. Truex was second again and Bowyer was third again. Almirola had to make another stop because of vibrations. After 185 laps, Hamlin was also able to confidently win the second stage. Truex came in second ahead of Bowyer and the third Gibbs Toyota with Kyle Busch. It was followed by Keselowski in fifth ahead of Harvick, Johnson, Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Junior and Elliott, who made it back into the top 10. Blaney received the ‘Lucky Dog’. Only 18 pilots were in the lead lap.
Stage 3: Gibbs show on top
After the pit stops in the second Conclusion Caution, the final stage followed over 126 laps. All three Gibbs Toyota drivers were handled perfectly and led in the order in which they restarted: Truex first ahead of Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Truex had the best start ahead of Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Hamlin. Then these four drivers left. Hamlin was only able to overtake Keselowski on lap 208, but due to the long duel for third place he was more than three seconds behind his teammates at the front.
Keselowski was then unable to keep up with the pace of the Gibbs Toyota drivers. In lapping traffic, the time intervals between the top 3 changed only minimally. After 245 laps, Hamlin took second place, two seconds behind Truex. Harvick again opened the next round of pit stops under green on lap 252. The last driver without a stop was Austin Dillon. Truex was three seconds ahead of Hamlin and another second ahead of Kyle Busch. Harvick was six seconds behind the reigning champion.
Stage 3 / Goal: Hamlin defeats Truex
Truex was only able to overtake Austin Dillon on lap 280, who then turned off for service. Hamlin was now exactly a second behind Truex. Kyle Busch had lost five seconds on Truex. Fifteen laps later, Hamlin came a little closer. On lap 330 the gap was only 0.3 seconds. There was now a mad duel for first place. Hamlin made it eight laps before the finish line. For the second time, Hamlin was able to win all three stages and achieve the sixth win of the season. Truex and Kyle Busch made Joe Gibbs Racing 1-2-3 successful. Harvick was fourth behind, ahead of Elliott, Bowyer, Johnson, Logano, Keselowski and Stenhouse. As the best-placed rookie, Cole Custer just missed the top 10 with eleventh place.
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The decision: Denny Hamlin (# 11) overtakes Martin Truex Jr. (# 19)
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Official results come on Monday / Tuesday and / or Thursday / Friday
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