Event: Würth 400 (Round 11 of 36)
Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 28
Location: Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway
Layout: 1-mile, concrete oval
Laps/Miles: 400 laps/400 miles
Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 120 laps / Stage 2: 130 laps / Final Stage: 150 laps
TV/Radio: FS1 / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
SHR Fast Facts:
– With a 12th-place finish last Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Chase Briscoe maintained his streak of quiet consistency that has allowed him to climb from 18th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings four weeks ago to 12th entering Sunday’s Würth 400 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing has scored seven straight top-20 finishes, with the last three being no worse than 12th. With 16 races to go before the championship cutoff where only the top-16 drivers are eligible to compete in the 10-race title chase, Briscoe has a 23-point margin over 17th-place Kyle Busch.
– Noah Gragson’s height is listed at 5 feet, 8 inches, but if he appears 6-feet tall when he walks into Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway this weekend, it’s because the 25-year-old Stewart-Haas Racing driver is coming off his career-best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series. Gragson finished third last Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, bettering his previous best result of fifth, earned on Aug. 28, 2022 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway while driving for Beard Motorsports. Making Gragson’s third-place run even more impressive is that he did it after starting 36th. Gragson led on five separate occasions at Talladega, highlighting how often he was at the front of the 38-car field.
– Josh Berry returns to Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway Sunday for his third career start at the high-banked, concrete mile oval on the Delmarva Peninsula. Berry made his NASCAR Cup Series debut there in May 2021, driving a Spire Motorsports entry to a 30th-place finish. Berry’s second premier series start at Dover came last May behind the wheel of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports entry, when he subbed for an injured Alex Bowman, and this time in a NextGen racecar. In that event, Berry started 23rd and charged through the field before taking the checkered flag in 10th.
– After securing his third consecutive top-15 of the season, Ryan Preece is set to tame the track affectionately nicknamed the “Monster Mile.” Sunday’s Würth 400 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway marks the first appearance of the season for Morton Buildings as primary sponsor of Preece’s No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing. Morton Buildings, the industry-leading company in post-frame manufacturing and construction, previously adorned the hood of Preece’s Ford Mustang during one race in 2023, and for several races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series when the Connecticut native made select starts during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
OUR WEEKLY WRAPS:
WHAT OUR DRIVERS ARE SAYING:
Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Did you ever have a welcome-to-Dover moment?
“I remember the first time I was there, going out and being pretty mind-blown at how big the drop was, like down into the corner. I ran the simulator and watched video, but you never get a full appreciation for it until you do it. I remember coming in after that first 10-or-so-lap run huffing and puffing. I never took a breath the first 10 or so laps around that place. So, yeah, I would say that was my welcome-to-Dover moment. And honestly, every time you go there, it’s one of those same things where you forget how big the drop is and you forget to breathe on your first run. I feel like every time you go to Dover you have one of those welcome-to-Dover moments.”
Noah Gragson, Driver of the No. 10 MillerTech Ford Mustang Dark Horse
You have one NASCAR Cup Series start at Dover and it lasted 43 laps. How difficult is that track in a Cup car, and how difficult is the learning curve?
“It’s a challenging racetrack to run fast laps, but it’s even more challenging when your stuff’s not driving well. Trying to figure it out in the simulator is really key for me. I probably do go deeper into the corner than I think I can just because we were looking at sim and I was driving it in about 165 feet deeper than my teammates, so I was probably overdriving it. Ran a little faster, but they were like tweaking out in the sim over it.”
Josh Berry, Driver of the No. 4 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
You have been a model of consistency at Dover Motor Speedway. What has led to your success at that track?
“I don’t feel like I have done anything specifically that has made me run better, I just think Dover is a place I have done well at because it fits my style and I feel comfortable there. I have always felt good there even though I haven’t made a lot of starts there, and I always had good cars there, so it helped me a lot when I was learning the track and getting used to the layout.”
Ryan Preece, Driver of the No. 41 Morton Buildings Ford Mustang Dark Horse
A few weeks ago, you said that April would be an important month for you and the team to build momentum. Results say that things have gone in your favor, but do you feel like you’ve done what you hoped to achieve over the course of the month?
“I would definitely say that, outside of Richmond, we’ve had a decent amount of races throughout the month. We’re going to continue to build on that going into Dover, which I feel pretty good about based on the direction that we’ve headed at places like Martinsville and even Texas. We’re heading in a good direction, and I’m really hopeful that we can continue to work on the speed, as well as qualifying, and running good at Dover and the other tracks coming up.”
