FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: DOVER PLAYOFF ADVANCE
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series begins its second round of Playoff action while the NASCAR XFINITY Series conducts a first-round elimination race this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Ford has a series-high five drivers in the Round of 12 on the Cup side while all three of its NXS drivers are poised to advance to the Round of 8.
FORD IN THE MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES AT DOVER
· Ford has 26 all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins at Dover.
· Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick all have series wins at Dover.
· Richard Petty won the inaugural race at Dover while driving a Ford in 1969.
FORD IN THE ROUND OF 12
Ford has a manufacturer-best five drivers still alive in the battle for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. The Team Penske trio of Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney, along with the Stewart-Haas tandem of Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, have all advanced to the Round of 12 for the second consecutive season.
ROUND OF 12 MENCS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 8 Advance After Kansas)
4th – Joey Logano (+24 above the cutoff)
5th – Kevin Harvick (+23)
7th – Brad Keselowski (+19)
10th – Ryan Blaney (-2 from the final transfer spot)
12th – Clint Bowyer (-6)
FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT DOVER
· Ford has 11 NASCAR XFINITY Series wins at Dover.
· Mark Martin won Ford’s first series event at Dover in 1987.
· Joey Logano won a series-record four straight Dover races from 2012-13.
ROUND OF 12 NXS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 8 Advance After Dover)
2nd – Cole Custer (Clinched spot in Round of 8)
4th – Austin Cindric (+ 50 above the cutoff)
6th – Chase Briscoe (+35)
HARVICK CONTINUES 2018 ROLL AT DOVER
Ford dominated the AAA Ford Drive for Autism at the Monster Mile in May 2018, leading 374-of-400 laps, before Kevin Harvick came away with his fourth win of the season. Stewart-Haas teammate Clint Bowyer was the event’s runner-up and was leading when a scattered rain shower red-flagged the event for 41 minutes. Once back to green flag racing, Harvick, who led 201 laps, went to the point and never looked back, stretching out his lead to what became a win of over seven seconds.
ANOTHER FIRST FOR THE KING
Ford won the inaugural Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Raceway in 1969 when Richard Petty drove to victory lane on July 6. That marked the only year in which The King drove a Ford and was the fourth of nine wins for him that season, and it came in dominating fashion as he led half of the 300 laps, including the final 109. It was a Ford day all-around as the Blue Oval led every lap in the race with Lee Roy Yarbrough (124) and David Pearson (26) combining to lead the ones Petty didn’t, and had nine of the top 11 finishers.
JUNIE GOES TO VICTORY LANE
Dover proved to be magical for the late Junie Donlavey, who won the only Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of his career at Dover on May 17, 1981 in the Mason-Dixon 500 when driver Jody Ridley took the checkered flag. Ridley had a good car that day, but it was even more reliable and that proved the difference. Neil Bonnett was the dominant driver as he led 404 of the first 459 laps, but he blew an engine that ended his day. Cale Yarborough appeared to be the main beneficiary as he inherited the lead, but the same fate befell him 20 laps from the finish and sent him to the garage. That left Ridley to assume the top spot and he held on from there to register his first and only Cup win. It also ended up being Donlavey’s only trip to victory lane. The Richmond native made 863 starts and fielded strictly Ford products from 1965-2002 in NASCAR’s top series that featured names like LeeRoy Yarbrough, Fred Lorenzen, Harry Gant, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader and Dick Trickle.
FROM 500 TO 400
In 1997 Ford swept both Dover events, but it’s remembered for historical reasons because when Ricky Rudd won the spring event on June 1, 1997 it marked the speedway’s final 500-mile event. Rudd took advantage of being in the right place at the right time after leader Ernie Irvan was involved in an accident with 29 laps remaining. Rudd took over the lead and held off Mark Martin over the final few laps to lead a Ford sweep of the top four spots. Martin bounced back a few months later by winning the fall event, which marked the inaugural 400-mile race at the track. That started a streak that saw him win three straight fall events at the Monster Mile.
FORD MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES DOVER WINNERS
1969 – Richard Petty
1978 – Bobby Allison (2)
1980 – Bobby Allison (1)
1981 – Jody Ridley and Neil Bonnett
1985 – Bill Elliott
1986 – Ricky Rudd (2)
1987 – Davey Allison and Ricky Rudd
1988 – Bill Elliott (Sweep)
1990 – Bill Elliott (2)
1994 – Rusty Wallace (Sweep)
1997 – Ricky Rudd and Mark Martin
1998 – Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin
1999 – Mark Martin (2)
2004 – Mark Martin (1)
2005 – Greg Biffle (1)
2006 – Matt Kenseth (1)
2007 – Carl Edwards (2)
2008 – Greg Biffle (2)
2011 – Matt Kenseth (1)
2018 – Kevin Harvick (1)
FORD NASCAR XFINITY SERIES DOVER WINNERS
1987 – Mark Martin (1)
2001 – Jeff Green (2)
2002 – Greg Biffle (1)
2004 – Greg Biffle (1)
2007 – Carl Edwards (1)
2011 – Carl Edwards (Sweep)
2013 – Joey Logano (Sweep)
2015 – Chris Buescher (1)
2017 – Ryan Blaney (2)
