The Daytona road course race is in the books. Congratulations to Chase Elliott for winning yet another one of these races. He had to fend off Denny Hamlin after a late race caution, but he had the best car in the field the whole day.
DRYDENE 311
Once again the series will do a back to back weekend next Saturday and Sunday weather permitting as the drivers and teams head to the Dover International Speedway. There have been six different winners in the last six Dover races. That means there are a lot of drivers who could win here once again this weekend.
Martin Truex Jr.: I’m going to pick Martin to win this week only because he is one of those who has won in the last six races and has also finished in the top five in five of them. In fact, he has two wins and six top four finishes in his last seven Dover starts. The most consistent driver gets the nod from me this week.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin won the spring race here two years ago and has finished sixth or better in every race since than at this track. He has also lead more laps than any other active driver during the last six races here and has been on a roll lately other than what happened to him at the road course last weekend.
Chase Elliott: Last week’s winner also won here in the fall of 2018 and has finished in the top ten in six of his eight career starts at Dover. After a great win in a dominating performance last week this team is going to be riding their momentum into the coming weekend. A good pick if you want to save some starts for Martin and Kevin.
Jimmie Johnson: With eleven career wins at this track Jimmie should be someone to really consider having in your lineup this weekend. After coming off a top five finish last weekend at Dover this team will have a lot of confidence coming into this weekend. He very well could break his winless streak in one of this weekend’s races.
Denny Hamlin: Although he has yet to win at this track, Denny has run very well on the intermediate tracks all season. He lead 218 laps in the fall race here last year and this team should be able to go back to their notes from that race and have a pretty good idea how to setup their car when it comes off the truck. Without any practice time that is critical to competing for a win.
Kyle Busch: The woes continued for Kyle last week at Daytona when he had multiple issues during the race. One of these weekends this team is going to put it all together and this could be that weekend. Kyle has three wins and four runner up finishes at Dover in his thirty career starts. Look for him to be in the mix at the end of this race.
Clint Bowyer: Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing, Clint has come away with four top ten finishes in his six starts here. He had a good run at Daytona last week and needs to get better on the intermediate tracks. He should feel pretty good coming into this weekend and we will see how he does on Saturday. If he gives us a good showing we will consider him for the Sunday race.
Matt Kenseth: Matt has three wins at this track and is my dark horse for this week. Even though he hasn’t run very well on this type of track this season since coming back to the series he has the potential to win yet. Besides his five career wins Matt has also had seventeen top five finishes in thirty-nine starts here. Pretty good stats if I should say so myself.
Erik Jones: Erik has run very well since announcing he won’t be back with Joe Gibbs Racing next season. The rumor is that he is a strong candidate to take over the 48 ride when Jimmie Johnson retires at the end of the year. Erik has only run six races at Dover, but has never finished outside the top twenty. He has one of the best overall average finish rates here and is one of my Big 18 picks this week.
DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Driver Group Game Group A
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Chase Elliott
Driver Group Game Group B
- Matt Kenseth
- Jimmie Johnson
- Clint Bowyer
- Erik Jones
Driver Group Game Group C
- Cole Custer
- Christopher Bell
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Chase Elliott
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Busch
Dark Horse: Matt Kenseth
Stay Away From: Chris Buescher
Big 18: Eric Jones
27 replies on “2020 Dover International Speedway, Drydene 311”
Other than starting position, how do you decide when to start a certain driver Saturday versus Sunday? I’m very well aligned with your recommendations, just not sure who to pair up with whom and when.
I go with who I’m pretty sure of for Saturday and then see how my others do. If those others do well on Saturday I can run them on Sunday depending on how my pretty sure of drivers do in the first race. Gotta save starts sometimes.
who do ya like better here? Clint or Jimmie? thanks!
Jimmie
Your best 2 B picks from 21 – 88 – 48 – 14. THANK YOU.
48 and 14
4-9-19-11-18-I have next two picks? Thanks jeff
48 and 1
Do you like 2 or 22 here?
I don’t really like either one, but if I had to choose I would go with the 2.
How important is starting track position here? looking at some dark horses in the 15th – 25th positions but am hesitant because i am not too sure on importance of track position and the race only 311 miles vs 400.
thx in advance
This track has multiple grooves and the pit road is big enough you don’t have to worry too much. With stage racing it shouldn’t really matter as there are many ways you can gain track position.
Thank you!
95 or 34
95
New to Nascar this season, and have really been enjoying it. Your picks have been very helpful! I’ve been wondering though what does “Big 18” mean? Thanks for all you do Jeff.
If 95 & 41 were in B how would you rank them against your four B picks? Worth the risk?
They’ve both had their moments this season, but it’s hard to go against experience.
14 or 48?
47 or 34
Any change to your picks after watching Saturday’s race?
Take out Kenseth and use either Bowyer or Jones. Preferable Bowyer if you have enough starts left for him.
Do you like Hamlin over Truex today? It seems like going back to back is tough…. but man Hamlin is on a streak.
I would use the one you have the most starts left with. If that number is the same for both of them go with your gut.
I am going with the same group I had yesterday: A: 19 B: 14 48 C: 41
Big 18?
Jimmie Johnson