Track Profile: Get To Know Dover Motor Speedway
Track Profile: Get To Know Dover Motor Speedway
Get to know Delaware's Dover Motor Speedway, best known as "The Monster Mile" before the ARCA Menards Series East General Tire 125.
For years, Dover Motor Speedway has served as one of the premier stops on the ARCA Menards Series East calendar.
The track affectionately known as the “Monster Mile” has proven to be a true challenge of skill and determination for some of auto racing’s top drivers, with several of them finding Victory Lane with the East Series through the years.
Among the stars to win in East Series competition are drivers like Mark Martin, Ken Schrader, Harry Gant, Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace, Austin Hill, Harrison Burton and, most recently, Ty Gibbs.
Below is everything to know about Dover Motor Speedway.
Dover Motor Speedway
Track Profile
| Track | Dover Motor Speedway |
| Location | Dover, Delaware |
| Opened | 1969 |
| Layout | Oval |
| Surface | Concrete |
| Length | One mile |
| Banking | 24 degrees in corners; Nine degrees in straightaways |
| Seating capacity | 95,000 |
| 2021 pole speed | 155.387 mph (Ty Gibbs) |
After construction began in 1966, Dover Motor Speedway opened in 1969 as a unique, dual-purpose facility for both horse racing and motorsports. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at the venue was held on what was then a one-mile asphalt oval that same season, with Richard Petty winning the Mason-Dixon 300 on July 6, 1969.
By 1971, all other non-NASCAR motorsports events were removed from the Dover calendar so the track could focus on hosting two NASCAR Cup Series races per season. The track later added a race for the NASCAR Sportsman division, the precursor to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, in 1982.
The track welcomed what is now the ARCA Menards Series East for the first time in 1987, with Mark Martin scoring the victory against a field that included Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Jack Ingram and Harry Gant, among others.
In 1995 Dover received a new surface as track officials replaced the asphalt with concrete, making the facility the second on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule alongside Bristol Motor Speedway to have a concrete racing surface. Kyle Petty would win the first race on the new concrete surface later that season.
Last year it was announced that Speedway Motorsports, the owner of venues like Charlotte Motor Speedway, had acquired the facility as part of an agreement that also included the purchase of Nashville Superspeedway. The track, which had been known as Dover International Speedway since 2002, was renamed Dover Motor Speedway following the acquisition.
East Series Results at Dover
| Year | Date | Winner |
| 1987-05 | 5/30/87 | Mark Martin |
| 1987-19 | 9/19/87 | Rick Mast |
| 1988-08 | 6/4/88 | Bobby Hillin, Jr. |
| 1988-22 | 9/17/88 | Michael Waltrip |
| 1989-08 | 6/3/89 | Rick Wilson |
| 1989-22 | 9/16/89 | Ken Schrader |
| 1990-08 | 6/2/90 | Michael Waltrip |
| 1990-22 | 9/15/90 | Harry Gant |
| 1991-22 | 9/14/91 | Harry Gant |
| 1992-08 | 6/1/92 | Robert Pressley |
| 1998-09 | 7/18/98 | Jimmy Spencer |
| 2001-18 | 9/21/01 | Dale Shaw |
| 2002-17 | 9/20/02 | Matt Kobyluck |
| 2004-13 | 9/24/04 | Dale Quarterley |
| 2005-11 | 9/23/05 | Andy Santerre |
| 2006-10 | 9/22/06 | Tim Andrews |
| 2007-13 | 9/21/07 | Sean Caisse |
| 2008-12 | 9/19/08 | Aric Almirola |
| 2009-11 | 9/25/09 | Brett Moffitt |
| 2010-10 | 9/24/10 | Brett Moffitt |
| 2011-12 | 9/30/11 | Bubba Wallace |
| 2012-12 | 9/28/12 | Corey LaJoie |
| 2013-13 | 9/27/13 | Austin Hill |
| 2014-16 | 9/26/14 | Austin Hill |
| 2015-14 | 10/3/15 | Collin Cabre |
| 2016-14 | 9/30/16 | Kyle Benjamin |
| 2017-14 | 9/29/17 | Harrison Burton |
| 2018-14 | 10/6/18 | Ruben Garcia, Jr. |
| 2019-12 | 10/4/19 | Sam Mayer |
| 2020-03 | 8/21/20 | Sam Mayer |
| 2021-04 | 5/14/21 | Ty Gibbs |