NASCAR Busch Series News and Notes - Dover 200
• Magic At The Monster Mile: Jeff Burton’s Win Last Year Helped Provide Career Push
• After Season’s First 13 Races, Regan Smith In Lucky Career-Best Points Slot
• Loop Data: Dover Could Prove A Slump-Breaker For Hamilton Jr.
• Suzy Kolber Makes Debut As Host Of NASCAR Countdown On ESPN2 At Dover
Putting It Into "Dover Drive": Jeff Burton's 2006 Win Started His Surge
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.(May 29, 2007)
- Putting It Into “Dover-Drive:” Jeff Burton’s 2006 Win Started His Surge
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 29, 2007) – Jeff Burton (No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet)
had a good start to his 2006 season in both NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series competition, but after winning last year’s Dover 200, both of
his series seasons seemed to click.
Burton had ended a national series winless streak that dated back to 2001 with a
NASCAR Busch Series win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March last season, but it’s
the Dover win that truly launched his special year.
The 39-year-old South Boston, Va., native who is tied for fourth on the all-time
series wins list with 24 – two of those wins came in succession this year at Las
Vegas Motor Speedway and Atlanta – ran off four top fives and five top-10
finishes in the remaining nine NASCAR Busch Series races on his schedule after
he won at Dover one year ago.
The resurgence was also evident in his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup ride as he surged in
the point standings to not only claim a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup, but took the lead after winning that series’ fall race at Dover. He
held on to the top spot for the subsequent three races before eventually
finishing seventh, his first foray into the Premier Series top 10 since 2001.
And the surge continues. In addition to the two NASCAR Busch Series wins this
year, Burton is ninth in the points, the first time since 1999 he’s been in the
top 10 more than once in the same season. He’s also fifth in the NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup standings with one win.
Top-10 Shuffle: Smith, Blaney Up; Reutimann, Hamilton Jr. Down
After 13 weeks of racing, the NASCAR Busch Series
point standings are on either side of the lucky scale depending on which driver
you talk to.
After seven consecutive weeks in the top 10 with a high ranking of fifth, Bobby
Hamilton Jr. (No. 35 McDonald’s Ford) fell out of the standings after a
season-worst 36th-place last Saturday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Hamilton is only
four points out of finding his way back into the top 10, however.
David Reutimann (No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota) is also a bad-luck
recipient as of late. After spending the last six weeks in the top 10, most
recently ranked a career-high third following the event at Darlington Raceway,
Reutimann is now fifth due to a 43rd place finish in Charlotte as a result of
engine failure just four laps into the race. He’s still well within striking
distance of spots within the top five, though.
Those who consider 13 lucky include Regan Smith (No. 4 Ginn Resorts Chevrolet)
who has tied Reutimann with 1,393 points and is sixth in the standings, a
career-best for the Cato, N.Y., native. He’s also the highest-ranked among
series regulars and tied his career-best fifth-place finish at LMS.
Reutimann’s misfortune pushed Dave Blaney (No. 10 Fan1st.com Toyota) back into
third place and within striking distance of reigning series champion Kevin
Harvick (No. 77 Dollar General Chevrolet). Blaney comes to Dover 169 points
behind second place Harvick.
In The Loop: Hamilton Jr.’s Dover
History Could East Recent Slump
Jeff Burton returns to Dover International Speedway this weekend to defend his
NASCAR Busch Series win of a year ago. At that race, Burton flashed his veteran
wile. Driving arguably only the third-best car in that race, he captured the
checkered flag, nudging out Carl Edwards (No. 60 Dish Network Ford) and Clint
Bowyer, who led 67 and 62 laps, respectively. Burton led 19.
Burton earned a Driver Rating of 122.1 in that event and also had an Average
Running Position of 8.410, a race-high 41 Fastest Laps Run and a race-high 24
Fastest Laps Run. Overall at Dover, Edwards has a Driver Rating of 103.9 and an
Average Running Position of 7.6.
Another driver to watch this weekend is Ragan Smith who made a charge up the
point standings with a fifth-place finish last weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
The performance, which matched his career-best finish, vaulted Smith from eighth
to sixth place in the standings, another career mark.
He had the fourth-best Average Running Position (7.925), the fifth-best Driver
Rating (105.7) and the eighth-fastest Green Flag Speed. Also, Smith spent only
eight laps outside the top 15.
On the other hand, Bobby Hamilton Jr. has dropped from the top 10. Hamilton has
struggled of late with finishes of 22nd, 20th and 33rd over his last three
races. His fall peaked this past weekend in Charlotte, as he dropped from
seventh to 12th in the standings.
Hamilton stats at LMS were below par as well. Hamilton had an Average Running
Position of 36.315 and a Driver Rating of 38.1. Coming into the Lowe’s race, he
had a season-to-date Average Running Position of 22.477 and a Driver Rating of
64.3.
There is light at the end of the tunnel for Hamilton, though, who finished
second at Dover in 2003 and fourth in ‘04, the last time he raced at at The
Monster Mile in NASCAR Busch Series competition.
NBS ETC.
“With over 1,200 people participating in the 2006 event, we hope that the 2007 walk can provide even more support for all the charities that are participating,” said Mike Helton, president of NASCAR and The NASCAR Foundation.
Fans can register online by accessing the NASCAR Foundation website at www.foundation.nascar.com.
The Director's Take: Dover
WHAT TO WATCH FOR AT DOVER: THOUGHTS FROM JOE BALASH,NASCAR BUSCH SERIES DIRECTOR
“Dover lives up to its “Monster Mile” nickname due to the loads that are placed on all of the chassis parts. The high banking and high speeds also place a lot of stress on all of the suspension parts.
“The concrete surface will be a factor, too. Teams will need to manage their tires since Dover is one of four tracks we go to this year where only five sets of tires can be used. The majority of our events utilize six sets for practice, qualifying and the race.
“Pit strategy plays a big part at this race. Pit
road at Dover is tight with concrete boxes, so drivers need to have their cars
under control and not slide the tires. This is key especially if they’re making
a two-tire stop.
Lastly, teams may gamble on taking fuel only to gain track position.”
Rookie Spotlight: Ambrose Righting The Ship
• High Five: Ragan Ups Lead Over Montoya: increased his lead from two to five points over Juan Pablo Montoya following last Saturday night’s race in Charlotte. Ragan’s finish wasn’t sharp – 25th – but it was enough to pad his lead after Montoya’s 40th-place result due to an accident. That finish was his worst since the start of the season at Daytona when he was also saddled with 40th.
• Ambrose Regains Some Footing: Early-season surprise Marcos Ambrose (No. 59 Kingsford Ford) led the standings as recently as after Talladega but has lacked consistency since Atlanta where he finished 28th. Ambrose had four top-20 finishes in his first seven races – including two top 10s – but averaged a forgetful 26th over his next four events. But he’s picked up his performance over the last two races with finishes of 19th and 20th, respectively.
• Richardson Returns: Robert Richardson Jr. is scheduled to drive the No. 28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet for Haas/CNC Racing at Dover. Richardson’s last race was at Talladega Superspeedway in April where he posted his career-best finish (19th).
2007 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
Driver Points
1. David Ragan 132
2. Juan Pablo Montoya 127
3. Marcos Ambrose 123
4. Kyle Krisiloff 110
5. Brad Keselowski 73
6. Brad Coleman 50
7. Justin Diercks 39
8. Sam Hornish Jr. 35
9. Robert Richardson Jr. 23
10. Alex Garcia 7
11. Bobby Santos 6
ESPN / ABC
Suzy Kolber will make her debut as host of NASCAR
Countdown on Saturday from Dover. The pre-race show will air on ESPN2 beginning
at 2:30 p.m. ET, with race coverage of the Dover 200 starting at 3 p.m.
ET. She’ll be joined in the ESPN pit studio by analyst Brad Daugherty with Tim
Brewer at the ESPN Chevy Cutaway Car.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lead announcer for the race telecast, with Dale
Jarrett and Andy Petree in the ESPN booth handling analysis. Jarrett is filling
in for ESPN’s lead auto racing analyst, Rusty Wallace, who will rejoin NASCAR
coverage next week when the series heads to Nashville Superspeedway for its
third stand-alone event of the season. Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little
and Mike Massaro will serve as pit reporters.
In addition to the telecast on ESPN2, ESPN’s signature broadband service,
ESPN360.com, will deliver a live online simulcast of the event, and a
Spanish-language version of the race will be televised on ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s
domestic Spanish-language network.
2007 At-A-Glance: NASCAR Busch Series Leaders After 13 Of 35 Races:
Traditional Statistics:
Loop Data Statistics:
Driver Rating – Ky. Busch (113.2)
Average Running Position – Edwards (7.516)
Fastest Laps Run – Ky. Busch (242 fastest laps)
Quality Passes – Edwards (599)
Laps In Top 15 – Edwards (2,165 of a
possible 2,389)
Chevrolet Rules In Manufacturer Standings And At
Dover, But Dodge Could Factor In
Chevrolet remains solidly in the lead in the
Bill France Performance Cup standings as the NASCAR Busch Series moves on to
Dover. Chevy is also the leader in victories at The Monster Mile, having won 20
times at the track, including two in a row and six of the last eight races
there.
Ford – second in the standings – broke into that streak with a Greg Biffle
victory in this race in 2004. But it’s Dodge (third in the rankings) that
snapped Chevy’s string most recently with a victory by Ryan Newman in the fall
race in 2005, and it’s Dodge that may have an upper hand in once again
challenging Chevrolet this weekend.
Kasey Kahne captured the manufacturer’s second win of the season last Saturday
at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and first since Juan Pablo Montoya won in Mexico City
in March. Dodge also had two cars in the top 10 in this event last year at
Dover.
Toyota, 11 points behind Dodge in the standings, will make its debut at Dover.
Up Next: Federated Auto
Parts 300 Presented By Dollar General At Nashville Superspeedway
The first portion of the summer’s
“stand-alone” season begins June 9 at Nashville Superspeedway when the NASCAR
Busch Series makes its second visit of the year to the 1.333-mile track for a
Saturday night event.
Standings leader Carl Edwards won this race last year while Roush Fenway
teammate Todd Kluever captured his first career Busch Pole. Edwards will seek
his second consecutive victory at Nashville after also winning arguably the most
coveted trophy in the series – the Gibson guitar custom-painted by famed NASCAR
artist Sam Bass – this past April.
The Federated Auto Parts 300 presented by Dollar General is the first of three
consecutive stand-alone events for the NASCAR Busch Series in the month of June;
solo races at Kentucky Speedway (June 16) and The Milwaukee Mile (June 23)
follow.
FAST FACTS
The Race: Dover 200
The Place: Dover International Speedway
The Date: June 2, 20071
The Time: 3:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 1-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,127,483
2006 Winner: Jeff Burton
2006 Pole: None - weather
2007 Point Standings
No. Driver Points
1 Edwards 2075
2 Harvick 1652
3 Blaney 1483
4 Kenseth 1431
5 Reutimann 1393
6 Smith 1393
7 Ragan 1358
8 Bowyer 1349
9 J Burton 1340
10 Biffle 1320
Schedule:
Fri. 9–10:20 a.m. – Practice; 1:20–2:45 p.m. – Rookie Practice; 2–3:00 p.m. –
Final Practice. Sat. 11:05 a.m. – Qualifying (Impound).