The 2019 Drydene 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on October 6, 2019 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Contested over 400 laps on the one-mile (1.6 km) concrete speedway, it was the 30th race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the fourth race of the Playoffs, and the first race of the Round of 12. Kyle Larson won the race, his first of the season and ultimately last driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Report
Background
Dover International Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware, United States. Since opening in 1969, it has held at least two NASCAR races. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the Verizon IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway was owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
Entry list (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points. (R) denotes rookie driver.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Joe Nemechek (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 52 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 77 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Joey Logano was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 22.056 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 22.056 163.221 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.204 162.133 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.245 161.834Official first practice results
Final practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 22.126 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 22.126 162.705 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.308 161.377 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 22.436 160.456Official final practice results
Qualifying Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 21.559 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 111 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.559 242 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 21.562 319 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.660 44 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 21.687 59 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.695 624 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.721 710 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 21.730 820 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.737 91 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 21.767 1012 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 21.781 1148 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.782 1288 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.838 1321 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 21.858 1422 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 21.859 1541 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 21.866 162 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 21.897 1714 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 21.901 1818 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.932 1917 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 21.975 2095 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 21.977 2138 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 22.031 2237 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 22.088 2336 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 22.113 246 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.127 2513 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 22.132 2643 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 22.137 273 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.171 2834 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 22.228 2932 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 22.320 3000 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 22.325 318 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.363 3247 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 22.401 3351 B. J. McLeod (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 22.721 3415 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 22.874 3552 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 23.023 3627 Joe Nemechek (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 23.061 3754 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 23.333 3877 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 23.359Official qualifying results
Race
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 120
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 84 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 66 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 120
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 93 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 75 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 39 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 210 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage two results
Final stage results
Stage Three Laps: 160
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 2 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 400 572 3 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 543 12 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 444 4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 400 465 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 506 18 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 347 20 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 400 308 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 399 9 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 399 2810 17 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 399 2811 16 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 399 2812 13 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 398 2513 6 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 398 3114 15 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 398 2315 8 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 398 2816 19 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 398 2117 7 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 398 2018 27 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 398 1919 32 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 396 1820 26 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 395 1721 31 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 394 1622 24 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 393 1523 25 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 393 1424 28 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 391 1325 23 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 390 1226 30 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 389 027 21 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 388 1028 29 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 385 929 33 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 382 030 36 27 Joe Nemechek (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 381 031 34 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 380 032 35 52 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 380 033 37 54 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 377 034 14 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 375 335 10 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 297 636 22 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 232 137 38 77 Reed Sorenson Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 180 138 5 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 8 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 14 among 9 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 3 for 17 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 56 minutes and 49 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2006 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2001 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
NBCSNBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 3 time Dover winner Rusty Wallace had the call for MRN when the field raced down the front straightaway. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform outside turn 3 when the field raced down the back straightaway. Winston Kelley, Steve Post, and Kim Coon called the race for MRN from pit lane.
MRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Backstretch: Mike Bagley Winston KelleySteve PostKim Coon
Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points 1 1 Martin Truex Jr. 3,095 1 2 Denny Hamlin 3,080 (–15) 2 3 Kyle Busch 3,080 (–15) 1 4 Kevin Harvick 3,074 (–21) 3 5 Kyle Larson 3,063 (–32) 1 6 Brad Keselowski 3,052 (–43) 2 7 Alex Bowman 3,049 (–46) 3 8 William Byron 3,032 (–63) 5 9 Joey Logano 3,032 (–63) 2 10 Clint Bowyer 3,028 (–67) 5 11 Chase Elliott 3,025 (–70) 2 12 Ryan Blaney 3,010 (–85) 13 Aric Almirola 2,101 (–994) 14 Ryan Newman 2,085 (–1,010) 15 Kurt Busch 2,084 (–1,011) 16 Erik Jones 2,037 (–1,058)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 1,093 2 Ford 1,058 (–35) 3 Chevrolet 1,027 (–66) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References