Dover Motor Speedway 2025 NASCAR Track Profile

[Editor’s note: The following article is from Athlon Sports’ 2025 Racing Annual magazine. Order your copy online today, or buy one at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]

Dover Motor Speedway is one of the most grueling tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The concrete one-mile oval resembles a larger Bristol Motor Speedway, with high speeds going into the steeply banked corners and a ton of G-force. Diving into the corners at Dover has been compared to falling several stories, and the drivers go through that experience 400 times over the course of a race. Also, it’s such a narrow track that when an accident breaks out, it almost always gobbles up several cars – hence the track’s mascot being Miles the Monster.

Denny Hamlin held off Kyle Larson for the win in 2024, leading 136 laps. It was Hamlin’s second career Dover win and his last Cup victory to date. However, both of Hamlin’s victories here came in the 2020s, so if the winless streak is alive going into the Monster Mile, it may serve as a good opportunity to slay it.

Kyle Busch has the most wins among active drivers with three. He also leads in top 5s (14), top 10s (22), and laps led (1,375). Busch last won at Dover in 2017, but last year’s fourth-place showing after leading 34 laps is a promising sign.

Chase Elliott is the only other active driver with multiple Dover wins (2), last winning in 2022. He has an average finish of 9.5, second only to 2019 Dover winner Kyle Larson’s 8.2. In the three Next Gen races at Dover, Elliott is tied with Ross Chastain for the highest average finish (5.7).

Speaking of Larson, one glance at the chart to the right should tell you all you need to know about the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

William Byron has led the most laps in the Next Gen era at Dover (229) but has only has one top 5 to show for it.

Dover Motor Speedway track info

Site: Dover, Delaware

Laps: 1-mile oval

Banking/Turns: 24 degrees

Banking/Straightaways: 9 degrees

2025 Date: July 20

Distance: 400 laps, 400 miles

2024 winner

Denny Hamlin

Scouting report

The Monster Mile earns its nickname because things happen fast on the high-banked concrete one-miler, and that can end one’s day in a hurry. In an era where the cars are built with largely identical parts and made to last far longer than one race, Dover still puts both the car and its pilot through a strenuous drive. The high loads mean parts fail at a higher rate than anywhere else on the schedule and when a crash happens, it’s hard for drivers to lay off and not get involved.