TACH SPECIAL: NASCAR Heads To Gritty Dover Downs

By David Treffer
Contributing Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

June 1, 2001

The “Monster Mile” will be hosting the NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck series this weekend. The Dover, Delaware facility has always been known as one the toughest tracks on the racing calendar. The “Monster Mile” moniker describes the driver’s feelings about the place. As Darrell Waltrip once described Dover to me, “This place, if you’re not careful, will chew you up and spit you out before the green flag even drops.” That comment was before the track surface was changed from asphalt to a concrete surface. Back then it was known as a track of survival. In a lot of ways not much has changed. The 1-mile steeply banked oval is still a handful but at least the drivers have a bit more grip with the concrete surface.

The toughest turn at Dover has to be turn 2. The drivers are funneled into a backstretch that actually narrows by about 8 feet. Those precious 8 feet can be the difference between missing an accident and being part of the carnage that regularly occurs at Dover Downs. To make matters worse the drivers enter turn 2 without the ability to see ahead. The transition from the steep banking to the banked backstretch is severe. The spotters for many of the teams describe the turn as “Blind Man’s Bluff” or “Nowhere To Hide.”

Set-up at any racetrack is always a compromise. At Dover, with the new standards of Goodyear supplying only seven types of compounds for the entire season, the search for that correct set-up will be an exacting and sometimes frustrating “hair-pulling, teeth-grinding” process. In past years the tire suppliers developed a tire compound for each race surface. In essence a “designer tire” was created for every racetrack. With the new rules package Goodyear has developed tires that will reportedly fit every racetrack that NASCAR races on. The most recent race at Charlotte revealed that the experiment might not be working. Tire grip and longevity were concerns that every team echoed. At Dover, those tire concerns may be amplified. The concrete surface, similar to Bristol, is gritty which eats away at synthetic rubber surfaces. On top of that the track itself endures contracting and expansion heaving during the extremes of winter and summer months. The heavi! ng, which is not discernable to the naked eye, becomes apparent as the cars “porpoise” down the front and back stretch. As Dodge driver John Andretti once described it to me “You just race from one bump to the next.”

So the full compliment of NASCAR’s top tier racing comes to Dover Downs. The question really is not who will win at the “Monster Mile” more of a question as to who can overcome the adversity.

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.