Practice and Busch Light Pole Qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway was canceled due to inclement weather Saturday afternoon.
Through a metric established by NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was awarded pole position for Sunday’s race. He’ll start out front in the No. 9 Hendrick Chevrolet alongside Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe in the No. 19 Toyota.
NASCAR combines owners’ points, a driver’s finishing position in the preceding race, and his fastest lap time in that race to rank the teams and establish a lineup when qualifying is not possible.
Championship points leader, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron will start fifth Sunday sharing the third row with Trackhouse Racing rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who has won the last two races (road course events at Chicago and Sonoma, Calif.) coming into the Dover 400-lapper.
Defending Dover winner, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin will roll off 13th. Three-time Dover winner, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch will start 10th.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, a three-time race winner in 2025 who leads NASCAR’s Playoff Standings, will start 25th. The 2019 Dover winner has only a single top-five (fifth place at Michigan) and three top-10s in the eight races since his last victory at Kansas in May.
With a new tire compound for cars this weekend, drivers were hoping for some laps on track. “Brand new tire or not, practice is always important,” Larson said, acknowledging he is hopeful his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team can return to early-season form this week at the famed, “Monster Mile.”
“I wouldn’t deny that we’re in a slump, results kind of show that,” Larson said. “But I think some of it has been a little bit out of our control and some of it execution with a car that’s been a little bit off on speed. But confidence in our 5 team is strong and hopefully we can turn it around at Dover.
Busch’s three victories at Dover Motor Speedway make him the winningest driver in Sunday’s field. And not only does he have an enviable assortment of trophies, but his 14 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes are also best in the field.
The two-time series champion is ranked 18th in the Playoff standings — only 37 points behind the all-important 16th place position currently held by Bubba Wallace; and only three points behind Ryan Preece, the first driver outside the cutoff line.
“I mean, you’re obviously looking at it (the standings) every week,” said Busch, who has a combined nine additional wins in the NASCAR Xfinity and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at Dover too. “I think we leave probably the fifth race of the year looking at points, like where we’re at and what are we doing?
“But honestly, points take care of themselves when you run good. Results are what matters.”
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season champion Tyler Reddick has advanced to the In-Season Challenge semifinals this week — and will be racing head-to-head with fellow Toyota driver, Ty Gibbs.
Meanwhile, three-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano will be making his 600th series start this weekend at Dover — a significant statistic considering he’s only 35 years old.
The youngest in NASCAR history to achieve that mark, Logano smiles recalling that his second ever NASCAR Cup Series start at Dover — 16 years ago as a 19-year-old and how it ended with a dramatic fashion — his car flipping. But for the popular Team Penske driver, the part of the statistic that “hits home” is that he’s been able to have such a successful career, noting he essentially grew up in front of everyone and all the challenges that entailed.
“At first glance, I said, well, it’s just ‘starts,'” Logano said of reaching the big milestone number this week. “But then when you start thinking about it, to be able to be around in a sport as an athlete competing at a top level for 16-plus years, and hitting 600 starts, it’s pretty incredible to have a career that long. It’s something that I take some pride in. I’m proud of that, to be able to hit this marker.”
–Holly Cain, special to Field Level Media
