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Joe Gibbs' No. 18 car has been out front at Dover for 396 laps in the past three races.JGR running circles around the competition at Dover
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How dominant has Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide Series teams been at Dover International Speedway? About the only way for them to lose is to beat themselves, which is what happened earlier this year.
Thank you very much, says Brad Keselowski.
The hiccup came on the next-to-last lap in the May 30 race at the Monster Mile. Kyle Busch went into the final restart with the lead; young teammate Joey Logano was running second. Once the green flew, Logano got into the back of Busch and sent him up the track. Keselowski, running third at the time, zoomed to the front and held off Logano for the victory.
Until then, JGR had been nearly unbeatable at Dover.
2Consecutive victories for Denny Hamlin beginning in the fall race of 2007. He led 138 laps in the No. 20 car. In the spring of '08, Hamlin led 131 laps in the No. 18.
3Consecutive wins streak for JGR that was snapped earlier this year. Kyle Busch won the fall race of 2008, giving the No. 18 car the season sweep.
333Laps led by Kyle Busch in the past three races.
Hamlin will drive JGR's No. 20 car this week. Logano, who has a 7.3 average finish in three starts, is not entered.
Coverage of the Dover 200 (Entry List | Tickets
) begins at 3 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN2.
2Laps led by Brad Keselowski in his victory in May. They are the only laps he has led at Dover although he has never finished worse than seventh in four starts in JR Motorsports' No. 88 car.
2Active drivers to post their first career win at Dover: Mike Wallace (spring of 1994) and Scott Wimmer (fall of 2002).
3Wins by Todd Bodine, most of any driver. Three drivers will be looking to match that total this week: Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr.
3Season sweeps at Dover in the first 23 years the track has hosted two races a year, all coming in a five-year stretch: Robert Pressley (1992), Todd Bodine ('93) and Randy LaJoie ('96).
4Races won from the pole, including three in the fall race: Morgan Shepherd (1986), Ryan Newman (2005) and Kyle Busch ('08). Joe Nemechek won from the pole in the spring of '03.
6Worst finish for Carl Edwards in the past five races at Dover. In nine starts overall, he has one win, five top-fives and seven top-10s.
9Top-fives for Matt Kenseth, most of any driver. Five of those have come in the fall race, including both of his wins (1998 and 2000). In 17 starts overall, he has 10 top-10s and five DNFS (all crashes).
THE BUSCH WATCH
After finishing 17th at Dover in May, his third-worst result of the season, Kyle Busch the following week began his record-setting streak of 10 consecutive top-two finishes.
1Wins for Kyle Busch at Dover, his only top-10 finish in past three races. Busch has more DNFS (three, all for crashes) than top-fives (two).
THE WOW FACTOR
99Career series top-10s for Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer. Only one other time has two drivers earned their 100th series top-10 in the same race: Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick at Darlington in 2006. At Dover, Busch has five top-10s in 10 starts; Bowyer has six top-10s in seven races.
THE SUPER LOOPER
4Perfect Driver Ratings (150.0) at Dover, tied with Fontana for most at any track in the series (there have been 14 total). Of the times the feat has been accomplished at Dover, three have come in the fall race: Ryan Newman (2005), Denny Hamlin ('07) and Kyle Busch ('08). Carl Edwards was perfect in the spring of '07.
Driver Rating (since 2005, nine races)
| Pos. | Driver | Starts | Rating | Pct. Laps / Top 15 | Avg. Run Pos. | Avg. Fin. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Martin Truex Jr. | 4 | 122.1 | 99.0 | 3.1 | 11.3 |
| 2. | Ryan Newman | 2 | 114.8 | 69.3 | 10.0 | 16.5 |
| 3. | Carl Edwards | 9 | 111.9 | 96.7 | 6.1 | 9.7 |
| 4. | Denny Hamlin | 8 | 109.3 | 70.4 | 11.9 | 10.9 |
| 5. | Kyle Busch | 7 | 105.1 | 74.9 | 11.2 | 18.9 |
| 6. | Clint Bowyer | 7 | 104.7 | 80.8 | 9.1 | 6.9 |
| 7. | Mike Bliss | 5 | 100.1 | 72.0 | 10.3 | 9.4 |
| 8. | Reed Sorenson | 6 | 98.0 | 77.8 | 10.3 | 9.0 |
| 9. | Brad Keselowski | 5 | 97.4 | 74.1 | 11.5 | 8.4 |
| 10. | David Reutimann | 4 | 95.7 | 82.3 | 10.0 | 11.5 |
• Loop Data Statistics: Season-to-Date Box Score | * Entered in this race only
BLAST FROM THE PAST
1Career series wins for Joe Ruttman. He won the series' first race at Dover in 1982. It also was his first start in the series. In 21 career starts he had two top-fives and five top-10s, including two at Dover (the only track at which he had more than one).
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Nationwide Series
Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Kyle Busch | 4,379 | -- |
| 2. | -- | Carl Edwards | 4,178 | -201 |
| 3. | -- | Brad Keselowski | 4,082 | -297 |
| 4. | -- | Jason Leffler | 3,599 | -780 |
| 5. | -- | Justin Allgaier | 3,152 | -1,227 |
| 6. | -- | Steve Wallace | 3,132 | -1,247 |
| 7. | -- | Jason Keller | 2,991 | -1,388 |
| 8. | -- | Brendan Gaughan | 2,957 | -1,422 |
| 9. | -- | Mike Bliss | 2,950 | -1,429 |
| 10. | -- | Michael McDowell | 2,902 | -1,477 |
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