Dover 400 Qualifying Update

Dover International Speedway -- 05/31/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Sunday May 31 2009 1:53am

Preparation for the Autism 400 at Dover has included one Friday practice, a qualifying session, and two practices on Saturday leading up to Sunday’s 2:16 PM EST green flag.

Continuing on a hot streak is David Reutimann, who parlayed his rainy-day win in Charlotte on Monday to a pole run at Dover on Friday. It was his second career Cup pole and his first this season. Reutimann also had the fastest time in first practice on Friday and ran third Saturday morning, though his Happy Hour time was just 21st on the speed chart.

Kasey Kahne, starting on the outside pole, also ran second in the first two practices and was 12th in Happy Hour.

It’s worth noting that conditions were much different in Dover Saturday than they were Friday, with sunshine and blue skies Saturday after clouds and rain Friday. Sunday’s forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies with a slight chance of scattered showers.

Three drivers ran in the top 10 in all three practice sessions and also qualified in the top 10. They are Jimmie Johnson (starts 8th), Greg Biffle (5th), and Kyle Busch (6th).

Kyle Busch paced Saturday morning’s practice, though he followed that up with two disappointing races in the Nationwide and Truck series, where tires cost him a possible win in both events. Denny Hamlin had the fastest lap in Happy Hour.

It’s also noteworthy that the top driver in each event – David Reutimann in first practice and qualifying, Kyle Busch in second practice, and Denny Hamlin in final practice – were driving Toyotas.

The first five rows will line up as follows:

Row 1 – David Reutimann / Kasey Kahne

Row 2 – Juan Pablo Montoya / Reed Sorenson

Row 3 – Greg Biffle / Kyle Busch

Row 4 – AJ Allmendinger / Jimmie Johnson

Row 5 – Brian Vickers / Elliott Sadler

Of the 78 Cup races run at Dover including both spring and fall dates, 60% have been won from a top 5 starting spot and 78% from the top 10. The last time this race was won from the pole was in 2003 by Ryan Newman; Kyle Busch won last year from P3.

No one has won at Dover from deeper in the field than 37th (Kyle Petty in 1995). Jeff Gordon will start 42nd Sunday after slamming the wall in practice and going to a back-up.

Tires were an issue in Saturday’s truck race and all three series are running the same tire codes, though it is the same tire combination that the Cup and Nationwide teams ran at Dover last fall. It’s unclear whether tires will be as much of an issue in the Cup race as they were for the trucks.

Odds-makers' Favorites:

Kyle Busch +425
Jimmie Johnson +650
Greg Biffle +700

Mid-pack Maybes:

Carl Edwards +800
Matt Kenseth + 1100
Ryan Newman +1500

Long-shots to Watch:

Mark Martin +1800
Jeff Gordon +2000
Brian Vickers +3000

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