NASCAR: Four Predictions for the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover
Here are four predictions for the race at Dover this Sunday. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
NASCAR is headed to the final race of the round of 16 at Dover. Here are four predictions for this Sunday’s race.
The first round of the Chase is almost over, but before four drivers get eliminated and the round of 12 starts, the Chase drivers must get through the Monster Mile.
Dover is the last track of the Round of 16 and a handful of drivers will have to make up ground in the standings if they hope to make it onto the next round. Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher are all on the edge of elimination. Larson is safe right now, but is only one spot above the cutoff.
Which one of these drivers will survive the Monster Mile? Chris Buescher is so far back in points that his only way to make it on to the next round is by winning. Can he pull off another surprise win?
Besides for the pressure of being in the final race of the Round of 16, weather could add extra stress to teams this weekend. The current forecast in Dover is calling for a lot of rain and we could see qualifying and practice cancelled, as well as the potential for the race to get pushed back to Monday.
How will drivers handle competing without the benefits of practice or qualifying if mother nature gets in the way?
Dover is a great way to end the first round of the Chase and with a championship on the line, Sunday’s race should be filled with plenty of exciting moments.
As we get ready to see who will tame the Monster Mile here are four predictions for the Citizen Solider 400 This Sunday.
Rain and bad weather could cancel both qualifying and practice. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
Weather Will Be a Problem This Weekend
Let’s start off this week’s predictions with one that involves good ole’ mother nature.
Right now the forecast isn’t looking too good for the Dover, Delaware area. Lots of rain is predicted right now, and it’s supposed to last throughout the weekend.
This means that not only could qualifying be canceled, but practices could see cancellation as well. Drivers could potentially be competing at the Monster Mile without any type of warm-up.
Add in how this race is already stressful since it’s the last of the round of 16, and you’ve got a combination that could make a Monday Dover race even more hectic than normal.
The race earlier this year at Dover was also impacted by rain as weather cancelled qualifying, but drivers were still able to compete on Sunday. The weather this weekend however, could be much worse than last time.
NASCAR has been somewhat lucky this season when it comes weather and has mostly avoided canceling races because of rain but mother nature will win this weekend and drivers will be competing for a spot in the round of 12 at the Monster Mile on Monday.
Tony Stewart might not make it out of the first round of the Chase. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The Current Bottom 4 Chase Drivers Will Be The Ones Eliminated
As it stands now heading into Dover the four drivers on the verge of being eliminated are Jamie McMurray, Austin Dillon, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher.
To say these four are the ones in the most danger shouldn’t surprise anyone. McMurray and Dillon made it into the Chase on points, Buescher got lucky and won at a rain-shortened Pocono race, and Stewart won at Sonoma but has struggled to keep up with the other top drivers in NASCAR for a majority of the season.
Any of these four can erase their current Chase woes with a win at Dover, but the possibility of one of these drivers winning is highly unlikely. Buescher’s run terrible so far in the Chase and is on an under-funded team, the highest position Dillon has finished at this track is 20th and Stewart hasn’t cracked the top 10 at Dover since 2014.
Jamie McMurray has the best chance of a solid finish on Sunday, but he’s never managed to win at the Monster Mile and if he were to move up in the standings he’d have to beat his teammate Kyle Larson, who finished second at this track earlier in the season.
The only way any of these drivers will move up in the standings is if they can handle the pressure and take advantage of when other Chase drivers struggle on Sunday.
With how these drivers have been running all season though, they might not be able to take advantage if others struggle. Expect the current bottom four drivers to be out of the Chase next weekend.
Dover is a great away to end the first round of the Chase, but expect drivers to crack under pressure on Sunday. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
Drivers Will Crack Under The Pressure
New Hampshire last weekend looked like a normal casual race from the inside, but on the radio drivers were fuming.
If this is your first time watching the Chase for the Sprint Cup, this is what NASCAR’s version of the playoffs does to drivers; it makes them very anxious and puts them in situations where if they feel another driver is bumping them too much or getting in their way, they’ll have no problem dumping them into the wall, or they worry that they themselves may get taken out.
This is especially true when it comes to drivers outside of the Chase. These drivers, like Danica Patrick, have nothing to lose. If a Chase driver tries to push someone who isn’t in the Chase out of the way, it could end in disaster for the driver competing for the Sprint Cup Championship.
Now we head to Dover, a race that signifies the end of the Round of 16 and a place where four drivers will fail to move onto the next round.
One bad race, one incident of bad luck or making the wrong driver upset could take someone who was sitting safely in a spot to move onto the next round and potentially knock them out before Dover is even over.
We’ve seen a lot of calm driving so far in the Chase, but now that it’s crunch time for the round of 16 tempers will be flaring by the end of the race on Sunday as drivers crack under the pressure of the Chase.
Jimmie Johnson will win on Sunday and prove that he is still the man. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
Jimmie Johnson Reminds Everyone That He Is Still The Man at Dover
When it comes to Dover, there is no other driver who has dominated the Monster Mile as much as Jimmie Johnson.
Johnson has won at this track 10 times and has an average finish of 9.62. His 10 wins is a Dover record that might never be topped.
The issues with Johnson and the 48 team heading into Dover though is that they were quiet throughout the regular season after winning races early. Fans wondered if the 48 was still the group to beat, and it looked like Johnson might have lost a step since he wasn’t running as well as he normally did.
When he Chase started though, Johnson almost won at Chicagoland but was caught speeding on pit road and had to settle for 12th. Last week at New Hampshire he improved slightly from his 12th place finish and ended the race in 8th.
Now at Dover Johnson and the 48 team have a unique opportunity to prove that they are still very much the top team in NASCAR and a dominant win at Dover would remind everyone why Johnson is a six time champion and the best driver at the Monster Mile.
When the green flag drops on Sunday, don’t be surprised to see the 48 somewhere near the front. And by the time the race ends, Johnson will have reminded everyone that he is still the man at Dover.
Who do you think will win on Sunday? Will Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team end up in Victory Lane? Let us know in the comments below.
For all of your NASCAR Chase news, head over to BeyondTheFlag.com.
More from Beyond the Flag
This article originally appeared on 
