Around The Track: Dover

In the past two weeks on the Winston Cup Circuit, Ricky Rudd and his Motorcraft Racing Ford Taurus Team have posted two top-three finishes. This coming weekend, NASCAR goes back to Dover, Del., for the Dover 400. The half-mile-high banked cement oval is the site of four victories for the driver and seven for the team. Ricky talks about why Dover has been such a good racetrack for him over the course of his racing career.

	Credit: Autostock

Q: What makes Dover such a good track for Ricky Rudd?

Rudd: I'm not really sure. For years it was asphalt. The very first time I was there and rolled out, I liked it. I would say a lot of people weren't fond of it. I'd put it in the category of a Bristol. It's tough to drive. It used to be a little bumpy and tricky getting into the corners, but they've fixed that now so it's a lot smoother.

I don't really have an answer for it other than it has been a track where I really haven't had to struggle, I haven't had to really work real hard to go fast there. When we unload we are usually pretty quick. We qualify decent and race well.

It used to be a lot more about survival there than it is today. When it was 500 miles you were racing the track and not the competitor. It's kind of changed a little bit over the years. It's gotten back into racing the competitors now, I think. The 500 miles made a big difference before they took that away.

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Q: You like roller coasters and it almost looks like drivers are on one the way they dive down to the bottom of the track and come back up.

Rudd: It feels like you are running 200 miles an hour when you leave the straightaway and go down into the corner. You're not running nearly that fast. You really get a big sensation of speed when you make a lap there. It's like Bristol. You are only averaging 120, 125, but it feels like you are going a whole lot faster. Things happen pretty quickly.

It is a little more difficult than it used to be at the beginning of a race because the track is a little narrow when the race starts. It does tend to widen up because it is a concrete track. I think they've got the best concrete track going as far as side-by-side racing. It is still treacherous on the outside getting into the corner, but then the track opens up into a two-groove race track.

Q: Do things happen as quickly there as they do at Bristol?

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Rudd: Bristol and Dover are both physical tracks. The things at Bristol tend to happen faster because you are running closer together. You are running literally inches off someone's bumper with someone just inches behind you, and you've got to be ready to pass if the guy four cars up goes up the race track. If you are in the thick of things you've got to be ready to come back down, not leave a spot there. So you've got to be close up to the guy in front of you, which I think contributes to the trouble. If something happens and you are right there it is hard to miss it because you are right there. At Dover you are a little more spread out.

Ricky Rudd drives the No. 21 Motorcraft Racing Ford Taurus owned by Wood Brothers Racing.