DFS NASCAR: Gander Outdoors 400 Practice Notes

Final Practice for Gander Outdoors 400

Dover International Speedway

Saturday, October 6th 1:00 pm ET

80 minutes in length

Weather

Cloudy and cool today I 12 degrees cooler today than tomorrow

Penalized Drivers

No driver(s) served a penalty this session

Top-20 Speeds (one lap)

Best Lap Averages

Items of Note:

• Several drivers were working on pit road speed tests early the session so as to get used to the narrow pit road once more
• The cars are practicing even as mist continues to fall on the track. Kyle Busch’s Crew Chief told him that if he’s not comfortable with the conditions he didn’t have to go out. He did go out and has made a several-lap run.
• Kyle Larson will try and search multiple grooves here to find the speed but ultimately he loves the top groove along the wall. Early in practice he had the fastest lap by nearly two mph, just as he showed in Friday’s pre-qualifying practice.
• With just under an hour left in the session, Clint Bowyer had the seventh fastest single lap but the third best five-lap average, and the second best 10-lap average on the track making him faster as he drove.
• Halfway through the practice numerous drivers are running different lines around the track. Some are in the high-line all the way around, some are in the middle groove and some are combining the grooves and running the bottom in the turns but along the wall in the straights, including Brad Keselowski.
• The cars are really starting to lay down rubber and has noticeably turned blacker in some spots, particularly the corners.
• Denny Hamlin has been showing the second best speed so far in practice a week after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.
• Alex Bowman said the ride quality is awful. He’s chattering the tires everywhere and it’s not loading well in the center of Turn 2 and it’s not quite handling how he wants it to, Though Dale Jr. says the ride quality is a tough thing to fix on the rough surface of Dover.
• Martin Truex Jr. is P19 in the speed charts and has come back to the garage to get out of the car and communicate with the Crew Chief. He is however the top driver on the lap average chart for all laps run during this session. They believe the track will change significantly between this practice and the race.
• Kevin Harvick’s fastest lap came on the 28th lap of the race.
• The gear shifters inside the car vibrate so badly during the lap that it’s impossible to hold onto it during the laps and interior sheet metal has been known to come loose during the course of a race.
• A lot of teams have put on sticker tires late in the practice session after starting on scuffed tires which means the drivers putting the stickers on late will rise up the speed charts toward the end of practice.
• Aric Almirola has made the Round of 12 for the first time this year and so he has stated they they are playing with house money now.
• Kurt Busch has finished 15th or worse in three of the last four Dover races and outside the top-10 in 11 of the last 13 races even with a P5 finish in May.
• Jimmie Johnson’s last win in the MENCS came at Dover and it was his 11th at the track with 3,105 laps led all-time which is by far the most.
• Joey Logano is nervous about Dover as it’s not one of his better tracks in his career and finished 15th in May.
• Brad Keselowski is one of the cars that put on sticker tires late in practice and he is tiring to drive the rest of practice on the same set. This has been a solid track for him in his career.
• Chase Elliott has finished top-five in four of his five career starts at Dover and top-6 in the last two playoff races.
• Ryan Blaney has two P8s here and three finishes of P23 or worse in the other three races.
• Clint Bowyer is happy with his car and pulled off the track with 10 minutes left in the session and is eyeing Dover as his best chance to make it to the Round of 8 this year, even with his home track at Kansas in this round as well.
• Kurt Busch said he is feeling similar things to what he felt at the Richmond race as to why the car was loose in the corner.
• Austin Dillon was battling a loose car all session and it just never got to where he wanted it.

Second Practice for Gander Outdoors 400

Dover International Speedway

Saturday, October 6 11:00 am ET

50 minutes in length (wound up being cancelled)

Weather

It is a drizzly and foggy for the start of practice

Penalized Drivers

No practice was held

Top-20 Speeds (one lap)

No practice was held

Best Lap Averages

No practice was held

Items of Note:

• Since qualifying was rained out the field will be set based on owner points which makes the 12 playoff drivers start in the top-12 spots
• The entries into Turns 1 and 3 have a 30 degree drop from the wall of the straightaways down to the apron in the turns. There are also bumps in Turn 3 that can snap the backend loose.
• It has the oldest surface of any track on the schedule and the concrete panels it’s made of have seems that are rough on the cars by the end of the race and can effect the handling and speed.
• After consistent drizzle and mist the practice session was cancelled and the final practice will be an hour and a half in length

Opening Practice for Gander Outdoors 400

Dover International Speedway

Friday, October 5 11:00 am ET

50 minutes in length

Weather

67 degree Air Temp I Considerable cloudiness I Rain later in the afternoon

Penalized Drivers

No driver was penalized during this session

Top-20 Speeds (one lap)

Best Lap Averages

No driver ran 10-consecutive laps in this session

Items of Note:

• The pit road at Dover is the fourth-most narrow pit road on the entire schedule which could cause trouble getting into and out of the pit stalls
• With 43 minutes left in practice there have only been eight cars on the track so far.
• William Byron’s car has been rubbing the splitter on the surface consistently and they made need to adjust the ride height of the car.
• Most drivers were in qualifying trim this practice with two practice happening on Saturday to dial in race trim.
• Jimmie Johnson has 11 career wins at Dover which is better than 28 drivers in the field have in their careers total.
• Dale Jr. talked about how there is a hill the cars go down into the corners and it makes it fun to drop down at speed.
• Kevin Harvick won each stage and the race in May and led 201 of the 400 laps.
• With 27 minutes left in practice, Kyle Larson turned in a lap that was 2.2 mph faster than the second-fastest car of Chase Elliott.
• The track has a ton of grip right now because its cool and overcast and the track isn’t taking a lot of rubber but come Sunday afternoon when it’s sunny and warmer it will be slicker on the racing surface.
• This year is the first year since 2014 that all JGR drivers failed to make the Round of 12 in the playoffs.
• This is a the type of track that the drivers have a lot of control over what the car is doing on the track and a view of Kevin Harvick’s hands show just that as he is constantly moving the wheel to make the car look like it’s on a rail around the track.
• Clint Bowyer has not been happy with the 14-car this session early in the practice but after adjustments he was 12th on the board.
• Kyle Larson says his car is really really good so far even after overdriving the second and third runs of the session. His four top-fives here tie him with Michigan and New Hampshire for his highest totals on the schedule.