The NASCAR Cup Series travels to Dover, Delaware, this weekend for the DuraMAX Drydene 400, and the starting lineup will try to take advantage of the technical track as the sport heads into summer.
One of the storylines to watch is Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevy Camaro who will start sixth at Dover. Bowman has quietly emerged as a force in the Cup Series, notching five top 10s in the last six races and stage points in eight of the last 20 stages. Winner of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway race earlier in the season, Bowman also led 98 laps last spring en route to a victory at Dover.
Interestingly enough, though, Bowman boasts the worst gambling odds (12-1) of any Hendrick Motorsports driver for tomorrow’s race; which underscores just how well oddsmakers expect the team to perform out of the gate.
Not only did the team put on an absolute clinic last year by finishing 1-2-3-4 in order, but three of the teammates will start in the top six tomorrow. Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott will all start near the front; but don’t count out fellow Hendrick driver William Byron at 33rd, who has already won twice this season. All four drivers also sit top seven in the NASCAR Cup series point standings so far this year.
Who in the starting lineup could challenge NASCAR’s Hendrick Motorsports Sunday at Dover?
The man who could stand in Hendrick’s way at the “Monster Mile,” however, is Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the only multi-time winner in the previous seven races in Delaware, and has seven consecutive top-six finishes.
Of course, don’t ever count out Ross Chastain of TrackHouse Racing this year, who will start 7th in the race. Chastain enters looking for his third win of the season after victories at both COTA and Talladega. However, Dover has historically given Chastain the most trouble in the Cup Series. In seven Cup Series starts, he has never finished better than 15th and has led zero laps.
No. 17 driver Chris Buescher took pole position for Sunday’s race.
Check out the starting lineup for the DuraMAX Drydene 400
Position | Driver | Car No. |
1 | Chris Buescher | 17 |
2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
3 | Kyle Larson | 5 |
4 | Chase Elliott | 9 |
5 | Ryan Blaney | 12 |
6 | Alex Bowman | 48 |
7 | Ross Chastain | 1 |
8 | Daniel Suarez | 99 |
9 | Bubba Wallace | 23 |
10 | Kyle Busch | 18 |
11 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
12 | Austin Cindric | 2 |
13 | Ryan Preece | 15 |
14 | Justin Haley | 31 |
15 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr | 47 |
16 | Kurt Busch | 45 |
17 | Christopher Bell | 20 |
18 | Martin Truex, Jr | 19 |
19 | AJ Almendinger | 16 |
20 | Brad Keselowski | 6 |
21 | Corey Lajoie | 7 |
22 | Joey Lagano | 22 |
23 | Chase Briscoe | 14 |
24 | Auston Dillon | 3 |
25 | Erik Jones | 43 |
26 | Tyler Reddick | 8 |
27 | Aric Almirola | 10 |
28 | Cody Ware | 51 |
29 | Michael McDowell | 34 |
30 | Cole Custer | 41 |
31 | Ty Dillon | 42 |
32 | BJ Mcleod | 78 |
33 | William Byron | 24 |
34 | Todd Gilliand | 38 |
35 | Harrison Burton | 21 |
36 | Josh Bilicki | 77 |