The second third of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off this Sunday. The Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway will be the 13th race the season. After a dominant performance at Darlington this past weekend, will Martin Truex Jr. be able to keep the momentum going at his “home track”?
Read on for an overview of the ‘Monster Mile’ and the full NASCAR weekend racing schedule.
Dover International Speedway Overview
Dover International Speedway was opened in 1969. NASCAR has been racing at the 1-mile track every year since. From 1971-95, the Delaware track hosted two races that were both 500 miles in distance. In 1996, the races were both shortened to 400 miles. In 1995, the track was repaved. During this repaving, Dover switched from an asphalt surface to concrete. This move caused more wrecks for the drivers in ensuing races, and the speedway took full advantage of that as ‘Miles the Monster’ was born. Miles feasts on wrecked cars like in the 2016 AAA 400 Drive for Autism.
Since the inception of the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 1982, it has joined the Cup Series in running at Dove International Speedway on an annual basis. In fact, they ran two races here each year from 1986 to 2020. Dover lost the second race date for both series this year to Nashville Raceway. The NASCAR Truck Series will not be racing at the ‘Monster Mile’ for the first time since 1999.
NASCAR Cup Series at Dover | Weekend Racing Schedule
Drydene 200
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date: Saturday, May 15, 2021
Start Time: 1:30 P.M. EST
Coverage: FS1
Distance: 200 miles
Laps: 200
Drydene 400
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Date: Sunday, May 16, 2021
Start Time: 2 P.M. EST
Coverage: FS1
Distance: 400 miles
Laps: 400
