Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished second at Dover.
“Kyle Larson just had too much of a lead,” Truex said. “I knew I couldn’t catch him, so I felt like there was really no point in extending myself trying to catch him. It was a case of ‘too much cushion for the pushin.”
2. Kyle Busch: Busch finished sixth at Dover and is second in the points standings.
“We certainly looked better than we did last week at Charlotte,” Busch said. “And I was very excited. Heck, I actually felt like hanging around for the finish.”
3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Dover and led 218 laps on his way to a fifth at Dover.
“We were fast most of the race,” Hamlin said. “And we were even faster late in the race. Just to clarify, we were ‘fading fast.'”
4. Kyle Larson: Larson led 154 laps and won at Dover to secure his spot in the next round of the playoffs. The win snapped a 75-race winless streak.
“My wife Katelyn shotgunned a beer in Victory Lane,” Larson said. “That makes her ‘pound-for-pound,’ the absolute best wife in NASCAR.”
5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started fourth and finished fourth at Dover.
“It’s a sad state of the sport,” Harvick said, “when the biggest feud in NASCAR right now is Bubba Wallace versus Alex Bowman. And it’s all about Bubba squirting a little water in Alex’s face. For fans of the sport who like to see a few punches thrown, this is absolute torture. In other words, it’s ‘water boring.'”
6. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished third at Dover and solidified his standing in the points. He is seventh, 46 behind Martin Truex, Jr.
“Luckily,” Bowman said, “I didn’t have to deal with Bubba Wallace. At Charlotte, he squirted me in the face with water. I can understand it from his standpoint because that’s the only way he can ‘make a splash’ in this sport.”
7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 11th, one lap down, in the Drydene 400 at Dover.
“Penske hasn’t been to Victory Lane since June,” Keselowski said. “We’re gonna try our darndest to end this slump. I mean, we’re going to go to great lengths to make it happen. I told Joey Logano we’re gonna work on it until the wheels fall off.”
8. Joey Logano: Logano finished 34th at Dover after a broken axle prevented him from starting the race until he was already 20 laps down.
“That’s not what you would call being on a ‘roll,'” Logano said. “My first reaction was to say, ‘Aw hell! Broke loose!'”
9. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished last at Dover after his engine blew just eight laps into the race.
“‘That was quick,'” Elliott said, “is usually a phrase you don’t mind using to describe your car.”
10. William Byron: Byron finished 13th at Dover and is now eighth in the playoff points standings.
“We’re off to Talladega,” Byron said, “where anything can happen. Tensions will be high, and with playoff spots and positioning on the line, anxieties will be heightened. So, most drivers will be a ‘wreck’ before they even get on the track.”
