While the NBA and NHL Playoffs are heating up most of the week with intense postseason action, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series soldiers on to provide us red-hot stock car races every Sunday. The best drivers in the world will once again head to the Dover Speedway for the AAA 400 Drive for Autism.
Jimmie Johnson has been the king of Dover in his career, but he’ll have plenty of contenders gunning to keep him away from victory lane. There are the other favorites Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick as well as some very good drivers from the middle of the pack.
Read on as we take a look at the drivers to watch in the upcoming race. For more on NASCAR, check out our AAA 400 Drive for Autism purse breakdown.
Jimmie Johnson is an ace at Dover. In 28 races on the track he has 10 wins, five poles, 15 top five and 20 top ten finishes. He’s immaculate on the track. He has only finished outside the top nine three times in all events since 2008. He has led 2,999 laps at Dover, almost three times more than any other driver. With such an impressive resume, JJ is undoubtedly the driver to beat once again.
Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch is the hottest driver in the series, having picked up his third Sprint Cup victory last weekend at the Kansas Speedway. Busch has also been an excellent driver at Dover. He’s won two races at the track and finished second three times. He has also led 1,037 laps on the track, good for third among all active drivers. He has a strong and capable car capable of sustaining long runs.
Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick should give the rest of the favorites quite a challenge at the AAA 400 Drive for Autism. He’s been an excellent driver in recent Monster Mile races—even more dominant than Jimmie Johnson. In the last four races at Dover, he has the best driver rating, best average running position (6.5) and led the most laps (693). He came close to winning last week at Kansas, but finished second.
Harvick has the car and the team to win just about every week in the Sprint Cup Series. He should be among the frontrunners in this race yet again.
Sleeper
Carl Edwards
Carl Edwards is a Joe Gibbs driver who runs well at Dover on a consistent basis. He has one win, eight top-five and twelve top-10 finishes in 23 starts at the track. Edwards showed some fight last week. He was two laps down at the Kansas Speedway but managed to salvage an 11th-place finish. He and his team should once again be contenders in this race.
Long Shot
Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart is an excellent driver to pin your hopes on entering the AAA 400 Drive for Autism. He has three wins and eleven top-five finishes in 33 starts on this track. He’ll be hard-pressed for a win to put him in the top thirty in points and qualify for the Chase. He’s ripe for a big finish after placing 12th and sixth in the last two races at Kansas City and Talladega, respectively.
