Frontstretch Newsletter: Austin Dillon Returns to the No. 3 in Dover

Published: Fri, 08/21/20

Frontstretch Newsletter: Aug. 21, 2020
Volume: XIV, Edition CXI

Around the World in Motorsports: Aug. 20-21

- A mini-outbreak of COVID-19 has struck the World of Outlaws NoS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. At least two drivers (Daryn Pittman and Paul McMahan) have tested positive, along with a couple members of Kinser Racing and others (including McMahan's wife) after last weekend's Brownells Capitani Classic at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. Both positive drivers, along with Kraig Kinser, will skip this weekend's races in North Dakota. In response, the World of Outlaws plans to reinforce the necessity of everyone to adhere to their COVID-19 protocols that were introduced earlier this year. In addition, the series has banned fans from the pit areas after their events indefinitely.

- Williams Racing announced Friday that the team has been acquired by Dorilton Capital, a New York-based private investment firm. The reasoning for the move is that the team in recent years has fallen to the back of the grid and is realistically no longer competitive. The sale, plus the new Concorde Agreement that was brokered earlier this week, will allow the team to capitalize on new rules.

- In opening practice for Saturday's Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, Porsche GT Team's Laurens Vanthoor was fastest with a lap at 115.923 mph. We'll have a full recap of both IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practices later today at Frontstretch.

What to Watch:

- At Indianapolis, today is Carb Day. In the past, this would have included the Freedom 100, but Indy Lights is idle for this year. You'll have final practice for Sunday's Indianapolis 500 live on NBCSN. Meanwhile, a few miles away, Indy Pro 2000 and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship will be racing at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

- In Dover, there is a doubleheader of racing today, starting with the ARCA Menards Series East General Tire 125 at 2 p.m. That will be streamed live on NBC Sports' TrackPass. The Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series will race 200 miles starting at 5 p.m. Coverage of the KDI Office Equipment 200 starts with NASCAR RaceDay - NGROTS Edition at 4:30 p.m. on FOX Sports 1.

Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from Dover!

TV Schedule: Here

Today's Top News:

Austin Dillon Cleared to Return to Racing

Austin Dillon announced Thursday that he is a big fan of The Mighty Ducks film series on Twitter. In the process, he also declared himself ready to return to the No. 3 Chevrolet for this weekend's doubleheader in Dover.

Corey LaJoie Leaving Go FAS After 2020

Corey LaJoie announced on his Twitter feed Friday morning that he will leave Go FAS Racing at the end of the 2020 season. No destination was noted, but LaJoie did note that he and his partners are looking for a more competitive situation for themselves.

Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.

Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.

Newsletter Exclusive

Frontstretch Folio: Drydene 311 Nos. 1 and 2

by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Dover for the last Cup doubleheader of the season (hopefully). Coverage of Drydene 311 No. 1 begins with NASCAR America Saturday at 3 p.m. on NBCSN. That is followed by Countdown to Green. The green should fly around 4:10 p.m. A similar schedule will be maintained for Race No. 2 on Sunday.. Radio coverage will be provided by local MRN radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year's Gander RV 400 saw Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott dominate the race, combining to lead 277 of the 400 laps. Truex came into his own late in the race. A expanded final round of stops resulted in others leading the race (Ex: Daniel Suarez led for 21 laps in the middle of the cycle), but once that was done, Truex was gone. He pulled away to win his home race by 9.5 seconds.

Alex Bowman was a distant second, followed by Kyle Larson. Kevin Harvick and Elliott rounded out the top five.

In the Drydene 400, there were no cautions due to crashes. The only non-stage break caution came after Elliott blew his engine on Lap 9. This was even more of a two-man race than the Spring event as Larson and Denny Hamlin combined to lead all but 28 laps.

Larson won the race off of pit road at the end of stage two (won by Truex) and only gave up the advantage to make his final pit stop en route to victory. Truex was second, followed by Bowman, Harvick and Hamlin.

All-time, Jimmie Johnson is the winningest driver at Dover International Speedway, claiming 11 victories at Dover. His 2017 victory is his most recent Cup victory. Richard Petty and Bobby Allison each have seven wins at Dover, tied for the most on the asphalt version of Dover (the track was converted to a concrete surface for 1995). David Pearson and Jeff Gordon each have five wins at Dover.

Behind Johnson, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. each have three Dover victories. Kevin Harvick has two.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1 mile oval, 400 laps (400 miles)
Banking: 24 degrees

Straightaways: 1,076 ft., banked 2 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 95,500

Pit Road Speed: 35 mph
Pace Car Speed: 45 mph
Opened: 1969

Website: http://www.doverspeedway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoverInternationalSpeedway

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MonsterMile

Say What?!

"I always enjoy Dover. It’s a place you don’t want to be afraid of. You want to go out there and attack the place and give it everything you’ve got. It’s a really unique track. People say it reminds them of Bristol, but it really doesn’t for me. It’s a concrete surface and it’s relatively high banked and you carry a lot of speed into the corner there a lot longer than you do on the straightaway. It’s a place where handling characteristics take up most of your worries and make sure you are good in the corners, and I’ve just always loved going there. Looking forward to having Interstate Batteries back with us all weekend at Dover and next week at Daytona. Really love that new green lightning scheme and hope we can get them more than one good run over the next couple of weeks." - Kyle Busch

"For a number of years, it was my worst track. And the biggest key to solving the Monster Mile is having the right stuff. Rodney Childers (crew chief) and everyone on my team has done a great job of bringing fast racecars and it’s really become one of our best racetracks. It’s going to be a tough weekend running two races in one weekend. That’s one of our more physical racetracks. To go there and run both of those events back to back will be something you’ll have to be prepared for. It’s one of my favorite racetracks just because you have to drive the car really hard every lap in order to make good lap times. Going back with the low-downforce package this year is something I’m looking forward to. It’ll be a lot of fun and the expectations will be high." - Kevin Harvick

"I’m excited for it. I think Dover is probably one of Chad’s (Knaus, crew chief) best tracks. Obviously, working with Jimmie (Johnson) in the past, I feel like he has a really solid notebook there and I feel like a really clear direction of what he wants to run there. So, that’s always good. I think that helps us, especially when we won’t have practice. I’m excited for it. Two races, two shots at it. We’ve done some simulator work this week and I feel like we’ve done our homework. I know the guys are working hard getting down to the final couple races here to try to make the Playoffs. I think we can do that and hopefully we can have a good weekend and kind of try to extend that point advantage that we have." - William Byron

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.

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Tomorrow:

Newsletter:
We'll have recaps of all of the action from Indianapolis, Dover and VIR.

Frontstretch.com:
We'll have a series of articles breaking down plenty of action from Dover.

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