It’s time to go racing in Delaware.
The NASCAR Cup Series is rolling into the capital city of the nation’s first state this weekend for a 400-mile race at Dover Motor Speedway.
The one-mile oval is a one-of-a-kind venue on the NASCAR schedule. With its high banking and concrete surface, no track quite compares to the appropriately-nicknamed Monster Mile. Dover has been on the Cup schedule since 1969 when Richard Petty won the inaugural event.
So, what’s in store for Dover this year? What’s the TV schedule for the weekend? And who could contend for the win on Sunday? Here’s everything to know for Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400:
When is the NASCAR race in Dover?
Green flag for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 is set for Sunday, July 20, at 2:17 p.m. ET.
Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying on Saturday. The 37 drivers will be split into two groups, with each group getting 25 minutes of free practice. For qualifying, each driver will get two laps to set their quickest time, with the starting order set using each driver’s faster lap. The 400-lap race will begin at 2:17 p.m. ET on Sunday.
NASCAR TV schedule this weekend for Dover
Adam Alexander (play-by-play), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (analyst) and Steve Letarte (analyst) will be on the call for TNT, with Shannon Spake, Parker Kligerman and Jamie McMurray providing pre- and post-race coverage.
Here’s the full schedule for Dover:
Saturday, July 19 (truTV and HBO Max)
Sunday, July 20 (TNT and HBO Max)
- NASCAR Nation Pre-Race: 1:30 p.m. ET, TNT and HBO Max
- Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400: 2 p.m. ET, TNT and HBO Max
- NASCAR Nation Post-Race: 5:30 p.m. ET, TNT and HBO Max
Who is racing in Dover? Here’s the entry list
Thirty-seven drivers will race in Dover — the 36 full-timers, plus one additional entry.
J.J. Yeley is the outlier, as the 48-year-old veteran makes his sixth start of the 2025 season for NY Racing Team. Since there are fewer than 40 teams entered, all 37 cars will qualify for the race on Sunday.
Here’s the full entry list for Dover:
| Car number | Driver | Team | Sponsor |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Moose Fraternity |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Autotrader |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Breztri |
| 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | MillerTech |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | HendrickCars.com |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | BuildSubmarines.com |
| 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | Gainbridge |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Cheddar’s |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Sea Best |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Progressive |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Menards |
| 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Campers Inn RV |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Trimble |
| 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Bass Pro Shops |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Rheem |
| 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Advance Auto Parts |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Shell/Pennzoil |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Space Force/Leidos |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Raptor |
| 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Love’s Travel Stops |
| 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Tree Top |
| 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Horizon Hobby |
| 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Haas Tooling |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Hertz |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Dollar Tree |
| 44 | J.J. Yeley | NY Racing Team | Ultimate Tailgating RV |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | SiriusXM |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Fun Pops |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Ally |
| 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Mighty Fire Breaker |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Monster Energy |
| 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Castrol |
| 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Delaware Life |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Miner |
| 88 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | WeatherTech |
| 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Jockey Underwear |
NASCAR picks, predictions, favorites for Dover
The last five races have been at untraditional tracks — road courses, a triangle and a drafting oval. Expect a return to normalcy this weekend, with the typical contenders returning to form (sorry, Shane van Gisbergen).
It all starts with Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, the two winningest teams this season. Each organization has four drivers capable of winning at Dover.
Starting with HMS, three of its four drivers are past Dover winners — Elliott, Larson and Bowman. Elliott is a two-time winner, including in 2022 with the current generation of car. Larson and Bowman won in the previous generation of car, but both have remained consistent in recent years. Larson was second last year and Bowman has four straight top-10 finishes. Byron is the only HMS driver without a Dover win, but he has three fourth-place finishes in the last five years.
As for JGR, Hamlin is the defending Dover winner after leading 136 laps last year. Bell was fourth in 2022 and has two Dover wins in the second-tier Xfinity Series. Briscoe and Ty Gibbs have also visited victory at Dover in the lower divisions, though that hasn’t yet translated to the Cup Series.
If you’re look for some longshots, keep an eye on Ross Chastain, Noah Gragson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chastain has a chance to upset the HMS and JGR drivers after finishes of second and third in 2023 and 2022, respectively. Gragson and Stenhouse likely aren’t threats to win, but both could challenge for top-10s. Gragson was sixth last year and Stenhouse has points in three of the last four stages, plus a second-place finish in 2022.
The winning pick for Dover is Byron, who joins his Hendrick teammates as a Dover winner and gets his first victory since the season-opening Daytona 500.
Past winners at Dover, race history
Just six of the 37 drivers in the field are past winners at Dover.
Busch (2008, 2010, 2017), Hamlin (2020, 2024) and Elliott (2018, 2022) have multiple wins to lead all active drivers. One-time winners include Keselowski (2012), Larson (2019) and Bowman (2021).
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