Sunday brings a second-straight one-mile track in the form of Dover International Speedway and the Monster Mile. Dover is known for being a tough track to make it around but not because for the same reason as Loudon. It is known for having faster speeds than the other tracks at this distance, New Hampshire and Phoenix, due to the steep banking of 24 degrees in the turns, which also leads to potentially big crashes. The Citizen Soldier 400 is also a cut down race for the Chase as four drivers will get eliminated at the conclusion of the race.

Track Data Breakdown

 Avg.Avg.     Laps  HighLow Avg.DiffLaps LedLaps Led
DriverStartFinishRacesWinsTop 5'sTop 10'sTop 20'sLedPolesFinishFinishDNFRatingPts.Pts.Pts./race
Jimmie Johnson10.414.25233329901410107.4-3.874.7514.95
Matt Kenseth1011513449301391110.6-123.254.65
Kevin Harvick6.29.65122581011170123.5-3.4202.540.50
Jeff Gordon119.5411249401150106.21.523.55.88
Kyle Larson11.46.250245850211099.35.221.254.25
Brad Keselowski9.27.65023515612160100.91.6397.80
Kasey Kahne16.410.65023500420090.65.800.00
Aric Almirola20.416.25022300531175.74.200.00
Clint Bowyer17.49.650135704140907.81.750.35
Joey Logano10115013420422096.5-10.50.10
Denny Hamlin3.812.6501241331521096.3-8.833.256.65
Jamie McMurray1413.45012310422080.50.60.250.05
Kyle Busch624501221070242399.1-1826.755.35
Kurt Busch1517.85011400531089.6-2.800.00
Chase Elliott133101110033096.71000.00
Martin Truex Jr.127.85004517806110102.14.244.58.90
Paul Menard17145002400825077.4300.00
Ryan Newman1318.45001400831075-5.400.00
Tony Stewart2419.45001300734172.24.600.00
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.18.223.85001300841166.3-5.600.00
Ryan Blaney188100110088084.81000.00
Trevor Bayne28.32830011001043050.50.300.00
Carl Edwards12.417.4500043101128191.2-57.751.55
Greg Biffle16.423.650002601338170.4-7.21.50.30
Danica Patrick25.819.450002001325061.16.400.00
David Ragan28.223.850002001336053.44.400.00
Austin Dillon15.626.650001002033069.4-1100.00
Chris Buescher301810001001818048.61200.00
Michael McDowell282010001002020046.7800.00
Landon Cassill36.630.250001001940139.56.400.00
A.J. Allmendinger22.22450000002129060.3-1.800.00
Casey Mears24.225.850000002427056.1-1.600.00
Brian Scott223120000002438153.5-900.00
Cole Whitt32.827.650000002630145.15.200.00
Michael Annett36.638.250000003541241-1.600.00
Reed Sorenson37.331.7540000002438139.35.5500.00
Matt DiBenedetto3435.3330000003240136-1.3300.00
Josh Wise3736.450000002842235.40.600.00
Regan Smith333910000003939131.1-600.00
Jeffrey Earnhardt393510000003535029.5400.00
Ty Dillon0000000000000000.00
Timmy Hill0000000000000000.00

Key Drivers on 1-Mile Tracks

 Avg.Avg.     Laps HighLow  DiffLaps LedLaps Led
DriverStartFinishRacesWinsTop 5'sTop 10'sTop 20'sLedPolesFinishFinishDNFRatingPts.Pts.Pts./race
Kevin Harvick8.17.251661111142,19121300128.30.85547.7534.23
Matt Kenseth10.88.531538111327501391109.12.2768.754.58
Jimmie Johnson7.614.8816258113442142295.9-7.28865.38
Brad Keselowski8.48.131617111553831290107.30.27134.58.41
Joey Logano7.89.751617111421301401103.2-1.9553.253.33
Kyle Busch6.315.331516101047721423105.7-9.03119.257.95
Jeff Gordon12.210.67121381012301260101.51.5330.752.56
Kyle Larson10.411.691604814990231089.7-1.2924.751.55
Denny Hamlin6.412.8816048132352237095.1-6.4858.753.67
Kurt Busch10.516.38160371210539192.4-5.880.250.02
Jamie McMurray11.613.06160361320226087-1.460.50.03
Kasey Kahne14.114.56160361100426084.8-0.4600.00
Ryan Newman15.214.63160261460339180.60.571.50.09
Carl Edwards9.312.8116025151663228195.7-3.5141.52.59
Aric Almirola20.817.44160241200543273.43.3600.00

Drivers to watch this week

Kevin Harvick: Harvick has been on this list a lot but it’s for good reason. He is coming off a win at NHMS last week and is still the most dominant driver at this distance in terms of wins, top-fives, top-10s, and laps led, where he leads by more than 1,600 laps over the next closest driver. At Dover, Harvick has a win and two top-fives and an average finish in the top-10 in the last five races here with 810 laps led. He should be at the top of the list for any formats lineup.

Kyle Larson: Larson is hanging onto the 12th spot in the Chase at the moment, five points ahead of Jamie McMurray, but heads to Dover as the better of the two drivers. Larson has a solid +5.2 positional differential but also has two top-five finishes and could be a sneaky pick for another finish of that ilk on Sunday. He is a bit pricey at $9,900 this week, but he can still be worked into lineups fairly well.

Jimmie Johnson: J.J. has had a bit of a rough patch this season after showing his normal form in the early part of the year. However now he comes to a track that has seen him win twice in the last five with the most recent coming in May of 2015. Since then he has finished 41st and 25th in the last two races respectively at the Monster Mile. He remains more of a GPP play than a cash lineup choice, but at $9,300 he can easily be fit into either format.

Chase Elliot: Elliot may have only one race under his belt at Dover in the Sprint Cup car, but that didn’t stop him from finishing top-three in May. He has been the top rookie on the track every week and that shouldn’t be any different this Sunday at Dover. He consistently puts up 40+ points each week and has the upside to produce into the 80-point range like he did at Chicago two weeks ago. Elliot is securely into the next round of the Chase but that doesn’t mean that a high finish can’t boost him into the round of eight. His $8,900 price tag gets you a potentially elite point scorer at a mid-tier price,

Clint Bowyer: Bowyer is my sleeper pick for Sunday. He owns the third-best positional differential at +7.8 in the last five races and averages a top-10 finish on the track. He has a top-five and three top-10s since 2014 at Dover and hasn’t finished worse than 14th in that span. $7,100 is a solid price to pay for a guy that could put up 40+ points at the Monster Mile.