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Generally, summer in Delaware means mellow days out by the sea, whether on Rehoboth Beach or anywhere else along the state's shoreline. However, the pace of this year's summer is set to get far quicker than they've been in years, as The Monster Mile has awakened to interrupt the tranquility.

This weekend, NASCAR makes its annual trip to Dover Motor Speedway for the Autotrader Echopark Automotive 400, changing things up from its traditional spring and fall dates to a midsummer visit. It's the first time NASCAR raced at Dover in July since their very first visit to the one mile speedway, which came in 1969 when Richard Petty took the checkered flag. Years later, a summertime trip to Dover is sure to make for a unique challenge unlike any previous trips to the track, as the summer heat stands to make this track's concrete surface slick, greasy, and thirsty for the physical carnage it's known for.

Ty Dillon, star of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge, regaining confidence and having fun again as Cup driver
Steven Taranto
Ty Dillon, star of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge, regaining confidence and having fun again as Cup driver

Where to watch the NASCAR Cup Series at Dover

When: Sunday, July 20, 2 p.m. ET
Where: Dover Motor Speedway -- Dover, Del.
TV: TNT
Stream: fubo (try for free)

Starting lineup

Rain washed out practice and qualifying Saturday, forcing NASCAR to set the starting lineup per the sport's rule book. As a result, Chase Elliott will lead the field to the green flag Sunday.

  1. #9 - Chase Elliott
  2. #19 - Chase Briscoe
  3. #20 - Christopher Bell
  4. #45 - Tyler Reddick
  5. #24 - William Byron
  6. #88 - Shane van Gisbergen (R)
  7. #71 - Michael McDowell
  8. #22 - Joey Logano
  9. #54 - Ty Gibbs
  10. #8 - Kyle Busch
  11. #60 - Ryan Preece
  12. #17 - Chris Buescher
  13. #11 - Denny Hamlin
  14. #21 - Josh Berry
  15. #6 - Brad Keselowski
  16. #48 - Alex Bowman
  17. #16 - A.J. Allmendinger
  18. #99 - Daniel Suarez
  19. #1 - Ross Chastain
  20. #7 - Justin Haley
  21. #10 - Ty Dillon
  22. #23 - Bubba Wallace
  23. #3 - Austin Dillon
  24. #34 - Todd Gilliland
  25. #5 - Kyle Larson
  26. #2 - Austin Cindric
  27. #43 - Erik Jones
  28. #42 - John Hunter Nemechek
  29. #41 - Cole Custer
  30. #38 - Zane Smith
  31. #12 - Ryan Blaney
  32. #35 - Riley Herbst (R)
  33. #77 - Carson Hocevar
  34. #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  35. #51 - Cody Ware
  36. #4 - Noah Gragson
  37. #44 - J.J. Yeley

Storyline to watch

Sunday's race in Dover features a major milestone for the reigning Cup Series champion, as Joey Logano makes his 600th career Cup start and claim a piece of NASCAR history as his own. In making his 600th start at 35 years, one month and 26 days old, Logano will break the NASCAR record for the youngest driver to ever reach 600 Cup starts, which had been held for 52 years by Petty after he made his 600th start at Richmond at 35 years, seven months and 23 days old in 1973.

Dover is a somewhat fitting locale for Logano's milestone, as in 2008 it also served as the site of his debut at the national level in the Xfinity Series shortly after his 18th birthday. Logano made his first Cup start later that year before going full-time as a teenage phenom in 2009, but he is still looking for his first Cup win at Dover in what will be his 29th start at the speedway.

Meanwhile, Dover will serve as the semifinals of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge, where now just four drivers remain. No. 32 seed Ty Dillon continues his Cinderella run through the tournament and will be matched up with No. 12 seed John Hunter Nemechek, while No. 23 seed Tyler Reddick faces No. 6 seed Ty Gibbs on the other side of the bracket.

The highest finisher in each of the two matchups will move on to the final round in next weekend's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, where they will go head-to-head and race for the grand prize of a $1 million bonus.

NASCAR news of the week

  • 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lost their charters for at least the next two Cup Series races after their request for a preliminary injunction in their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR was denied on Thursday. 23XI and Front Row sought a preliminary injunction to prevent NASCAR from revoking their charters and continue forcing the sport to recognize them as chartered teams, but a judge ruled that because neither team will be in danger of failing to qualify for the next two races or lose their drivers or sponsors, they are not subject to irreparable harm.

    While the teams claim that NASCAR signaled intentions to sell their charters to other entities, NASCAR claimed that it would not sell any charters before the court can rule on the plaintiffs' motion. NASCAR also claimed that the teams had "manufactured evidence of harm" when requesting a previous preliminary injunction.

    While racing as open teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports will not be eligible for the financial and competitive benefits earned by chartered teams, which includes a guaranteed starting spot in each Cup Series race. While only 37 cars are entered at Dover and less than 40 cars are expected to be entered in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, 23XI and Front Row's teams would be in danger of missing the field in the event that more than 40 cars enter a future Cup Series race and they are not fast enough to qualify.
  • In other legal news, Legacy Motor Club sued former Spire Motorsports co-owner T.J. Puchyr, claiming that Puchyr made an "underhanded attempt" to purchase Rick Ware Racing while Legacy M.C. was in a legal dispute with Rick Ware over the purchase of one of the team's charters. Legacy M.C. claims that Puchyr had been working with the team in an "independent contractor agreement" through his consulting firm, but was reported several weeks ago to have reached an agreement to purchase Rick Ware Racing.

    Legacy M.C.'s lawsuit against Puchyr comes several days after a hearing was conducted in their lawsuit against Rick Ware Racing, in which a Charlotte, N.C. judge ruled that there could be "really serious ramifications" if Rick Ware Racing sold one of its charters despite informing the court it did not plan to do so. A previous judge in the case had decided not to issue an order to prevent RWR from selling or transferring their charters based on the idea that they would be static during legal proceedings.
  • RACER reports that NASCAR reached a deal to hold a street race in San Diego, Calif. next season, with an announcement to come as early as next week in a major development in the formation of the sport's 2026 schedule. In addition to a race in San Diego that would return NASCAR to the Southern California market, Sports Business Journal reports that NASCAR has been evaluating a possible return to Chicagoland Speedway next year, a move which would put Chicagoland back on the schedule for the first time since 2019 and keep NASCAR in the Chicago market amid an uncertain future for the city's own street race.
  • Xfinity Series team Our Motorsports announced it will shut down following Saturday's race in Dover after parting ways with driver Kris Wright. Wright brought sponsorship funding to the team through First National Bank, but his results were poor and he ranked 29th in points -- lowest of any driver to attempt every race this season -- following last Saturday in Sonoma.

    Kaz Grala will drive the team's No. 5 Chevrolet in their final race before ceasing operations.

Pick to Win

Kyle Larson (+500) -- Since the start of his Cup career in 2014, Dover has often been a place where Kyle Larson excelled to the point where it's hard to believe that he has just one victory there. Larson has eight top fives and 12 top 10s in 16 career Dover starts, with a staggering four runner-up finishes – including last year – taking some of the bite out of his history of performance there.

Larson seems due for his first Dover victory with Hendrick Motorsports (his win in 2019 came with Chip Ganassi Racing), and the odds are very good that it's coming: In four starts at Dover since joining HMS, Larson has run second twice and has also finished sixth.