Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
The first practice session would occur on Friday, September 24, at 11:05 AM EST and would last for one hour and 55 minutes.[2]Rusty Wallace of Penske-Jasper Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.536 and an average speed of 159.744 miles per hour (257.083 km/h).[3]
The second practice session would occur on Saturday, September 25, at 9:30 AM EST and would last for 45 minutes.[2]Matt Kenseth of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.213 and an average speed of 155.085 miles per hour (249.585 km/h).[4]
The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, would occur on Saturday, September 25, at 11:10 AM EST and would last for 45 minutes.[2]Ward Burton of Haas CNC Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.213 and an average speed of 155.085 miles per hour (249.585 km/h).[5]
Qualifying would occur on Friday, September 24, at 2:40 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[2] Positions 1-38 would be decided on time, while positions 39-43 would be based on provisionals. Four spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The fifth is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[6]
Terry Labonte would crash on his second lap, losing the backend of his car in Turn 1. However, he had made a lap that was able to get him in on time, and would still be able to qualify without a provisional.[8]
