(Motorsport-Total.com) – The “Monster Mile” in Dover sees the last double header in the 2020 season of the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend. The Dover Races were once 500 miles and more recently 400 miles, but this weekend the distance is twice 311 miles.
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Sixth win of the season in 2020 and first Dover win for Denny Hamlin Zoom
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The first of the two races, both titled Drydene 311, was won by Denny Hamlin (Gibbs-Toyota) on Saturday. After initially winning the first two racing segments, it has not looked like Hamlin’s sixth win of the season for a long time.
Thanks to a final attack on his teammate Martin Truex Jr., he managed this sixth win of the season. In Dover, it is Hamlin’s first victory in the highest NASCAR league.
Two stage wins for Denny Hamlin at the beginning
Chase Elliott was able to claim the best starting position thanks to the calculation formula that was used for the second time. And with his Hendrick Chevrolet, which was designed in green on Saturday, Elliott already had a huge lead on the field the moment the green flag was waved.
The start was not canceled. Nevertheless, there was the first yellow phase early on. On the seventh lap, Kurt Busch (Ganassi-Chevrolet) turned into the barrier after touching Erik Jones (Gibbs-Toyota).
The rest of the first racing segment (Stage 1) went without any problems. Denny Hamlin clinched the first stage win of the day after routine pit stops. There was no further yellow phase between the first and second stage caution. The second stage victory went to Hamlin in a similarly sovereign manner as the first.
Fight for victory: Hamlin catches Truex Jr.
The last racing segment began with Martin Truex Jr. at the top because he was the quickest to get through during the pit stop during the second stage caution. He led the field for a long time, but with ten laps to go, Gibbs team-mate Denny Hamlin made the direct connection. And the five-time season winner at the time did not hesitate for long.
With nine laps to go, Hamlin overtook Truex Jr. on the inside lane of Turns 1/2, let himself be carried upstairs and thus deprived his teammate of the opportunity to counterattack at Turn 2. So Hamlin brought his sixth win of the season in 2020 and his first Dover- Victory with a one-second lead across the finish line. There was no yellow phase in the last racing segment either.
Truex Jr., who finished third in all of the previous five races this season, finished second this time. But he just missed his second win of the season. Kyle Busch made a one-two-three for Joe Gibbs Racing in third. Leader of the standings Kevin Harvick (Stewart / Haas-Ford) and Chase Elliott, who started from P1, completed the top 5.
NASCAR 2020: Dover 1
The highlights of race 24 of 36 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series, the first of the two Drydene 311s at Dover International Speedway!
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Austin Dillon (Childress-Chevrolet) made his comeback after a race with a corona break. After 311 laps, he crossed the finish line in 15th place. He even finished Stage 1 in second place and booked a few laps on the way. The reason for this was that he was one of the few who made his first pit stop only during the first stage caution.
Fight for playoff entry: Jimmie Johnson enters the top 16
In the battle for a place in the 16-man field of playoff participants, the ten winners of the season have already secured their tickets: Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon and Cole Custer.
Even without a win of the season, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer have good chances of moving in. On the other hand, things will be tight for Matt DiBenedetto and above all William Byron, because Jimmie Johnson has cracked the top 16. The seven-time champion and eleven-time Dover winner first made it into the top 10 in stage 1 and stage 2 on Saturday and he succeeded in doing so with P7.
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Jimmie Johnson would currently be in the playoffs, but it will still be close Zoom
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In return, Johnson’s Hendrick team-mate Byron, who only finished 28th after a different pit stop strategy, dropped out of the top 16 of the table. However, only three points are missing from Johnson.
Part 2 of the double header in Dover – the second edition of the Drydene 311 – begins on Sunday according to the reversal of the top 20 of the Saturday result with Matt DiBenedetto (Wood-Ford) in the best starting position. After the second Dover race there is only one more race until the playoffs begin.
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