Dover International Speedway

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

Dover International Speedway
The Monster Mile
Facility statistics
Location	1131 North Dupont Highway, Dover, Delaware, 19903
Broke ground	1966
Opened	1969
Owner	Dover Motorsports
Operator	Dover Motorsports
Construction cost
Architect	Melvin Joseph (Melvin Joseph Construction)
Former names
Dover Downs International Speedway (1969-2001)
Major events
NASCAR Nextel Cup Neighborhood Excellence 400 presented by Bank of America Dover 400 2005 NASCAR Busch Series StonebridgeRacing.com 200 Dover 200 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series AAA Insurance 200
Seating capacity
140,000 (NASCAR)
Current dimensions
Track shape	Oval
Track length	1 mile
Track banking	Turns - 24° Straights - 9°

Dover International Speedway (nickname: The Monster Mile) is a NASCAR race track located near Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports. It is unusual in several respects. It is a concrete track; most NASCAR tracks are asphalt. It is co-located with a horse racing track, Dover Downs, and in fact is sometimes also referred to by this name. It is also exactly one mile long; technically this means that it is neither a superspeedway nor a short track. The speedway is also notoriously hard on cars, and its standard nickname is The Monster Mile. The horse track is part of an extensive entertainment complex including other forms of gambling; at one time both it and the speedway were owned by the publicly traded Dover Downs Entertainment, but they have since been split into two separate enterprises, partly at the encouragement of NASCAR. At one time the Winston Cup races held here were 500 miles long until a NASCAR rules change limited 500 mile races to being held only at tracks over a mile in length; the current Nextel Cup races here are 400 miles long. Dover also hosted Indy Racing League races in 1998 and 1999 won by Scott Sharp and Greg Ray.

In February 2002, Dover Downs Entertainmnet changed its name to Dover Motorsports following the spin-off of its gaming operations to its existing shareholders. As a result, the name of the track was changed from Dover Downs International Speedway to Dover International Speedway. Dover Motorsports, Inc. continues to maintain its corporate headquarters at the racetrack.

Dover Motorsports (formerly Dover Downs Entertainment) which owns Dover International Speedway also owns several other racing facilities, including Nashville Superspeedway. It has been suggested that one of the two current Cup races held there could be shifted to Nashville but this seems unlikely as both current Cup races at Dover are easily sold out. The Dover ownership is one of only three publicly held ownership groups of NASCAR tracks, the other two being International Speedway Corporation, controlled by NASCAR's founding France family and owners of the Talladega and Daytona tracks, among others, and Speedway Motorsports, Inc., led by Bruton Smith and H. A. "Humpy" Wheeler, which owns Lowe's Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, among others. Aside from these three ownership groups, NASCAR tracks are privately held by one or a few individuals.

[edit] The Dover Monster

The speedway has a brand new mascot called the Dover Monster in 2004 hence the track's nickname, "The Monster Mile", the "monster" does not officially have a name but many people just refer to it as the Dover Monster or "Miles". It is featured on the winner's trophy and the track tickets and memorabilia.

See also: List of NASCAR race tracks

[edit] Current Races

• Nextel Cup - Neighborhood Excellence 400 presented by Bank of America
• Nextel Cup - Dover 400
• Busch Series - StonebridgeRacing.com 200
• Busch Series - Dover 200
• Craftsman Truck Series - AAA Insurance 200

[edit] Records

• NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying: Jeremy Mayfield, 22.288 sec. (161.522 mph), 2004
• NASCAR Nextel Cup Race: Mark Martin, 132.719 mph, September 21, 1997
• NASCAR Busch Series Qualifying: David Green, 22.797 sec. (157.915 mph), 2004
• NASCAR Busch Series Race: Brian Vickers, 133.154 mph, September 20, 2003
• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: David Starr, 22.846 sec. (157.577 mph), 2005
• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race: Ted Musgrave, 104.545 mph, May 31, 2002

[edit] USAC Championship Car history

Season	Date	Race Name	Winning Driver	Chassis	Engine
1969	August 24	Delaware 200	Art Pollard	Gerhardt	Plymouth

[edit] Indy Racing League history

Season	Date	Race Name	Winning Driver	Chassis	Engine
1998	July 18	Pep Boys 400K	Scott Sharp	Dallara	Oldsmobile
1999	August 1	MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200	Greg Ray	Dallara	Oldsmobile

[edit] External links

• Dover International Speedway Official Site
• Dover International Speedway Page on NASCAR.com
• High Resolution image from Google Maps
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 39.18960° -75.53031°
  • WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
  • Street map from MapQuest or Google Local
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
  • Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth