Today, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series takes to the track. Dover International Speedway hosts the opening round of MENCS practice.
View 2019 Dover practice results below.
There’s three practice sessions set for the weekend. This is the only of the three that will take place ahead of qualifying later today. Teams will spend this session in qualifying trim.
Dover Rules Package: It’s going to be fast. Drivers have the same horsepower they had last year along with the added downforce.
Dover
Practice – Report
Duration: 50 minutes
25 minutes into the session, Hendrick Motorsports is showing strength. Byron leads the session with Alex Bowman in 2nd. Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson also sit in the top 10 with 37 drivers setting a time.
Halfway – Dover Practice Times: 1. William Byron (21.474); 2. Alex Bowman (21.491); 3. Kurt Busch (21.541); 4. Chase Elliott (21.550); 5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (21.589); 6. Erik Jones (21.645); 7. Kyle Busch (21.661); 8. Bubba Wallace (21.670); 9. Kevin Harvick (21.673); 10. Jimmie Johnson (21.674);
The track record will be set this weekend. On May 30, 2014, Brad Keselowski set the qualifying record at 164.444 mph (21.892 seconds). The top 18 drivers have run faster than that in the first 30 minutes of opening practice round.
Drivers are on the throttle a lot more this time around. “Just a small little slip could cost you three tenths just because of on-throttle time,” Ricky Stenhouse Jr told MRN.
“I compared it to running Lawrenceburg Speedway, when it’s really heavy,” Kyle Larson says of Dover.
Kurt Busch wins the opening round of practice! 23 drivers ran quicker than the current track record.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will return to the track later this afternoon for qualifying.
View full Dover International Speedway practice results below.
Dover Practice Results
May 3, 2019
Pos | Driver | Time
1. Kurt Busch
21.372
2. Kyle Larson
21.415
3. Kevin Harvick
21.435
4. William Byron
21.474
5. Ryan Blaney
21.474
6. Alex Bowman
21.491
7. Denny Hamlin
21.493
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
21.535
9. Chase Elliott
21.536
10. Jimmie Johnson
21.548
11. Kyle Busch
21.571
12. Aric Almirola
21.601
13. Erik Jones
21.606
14. Clint Bowyer
21.615
15. Daniel Suarez
21.618
16. Matt DiBenedetto
21.622
17. Martin Truex Jr
21.645
18. Bubba Wallace
21.670
19. Joey Logano
21.693
20. Austin Dillon
21.702
21. Daniel Hemric
21.737
22. Ryan Newman
21.750
23. Brad Keselowski
21.764
24. Chris Buescher
21.917
25. David Ragan
21.917
26. Ty Dillon
22.023
27. Paul Menard
22.036
28. Corey LaJoie
22.054
29. Landon Cassill
22.056
30. Matt Tifft
22.075
31. Ryan Preece
22.089
32. Michael McDowell
22.139
33. BJ McLeod
22.935
34. Ross Chastain
23.013
35. Quin Houff
23.569
36. Cody Ware
23.638
37. Reed Sorenson
24.002
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Dover TV Schedule
Links
Dover International Speedway | NASCAR