Dover International Speedway : Ask Biography

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Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned 1 mi (1.6 km) race track located in Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports, Inc. It is co-located with a harness racing track, Dover Downs, and shares the complex with Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. At one time both the entertainment complex and the speedway were owned by the publicly traded Dover Downs Entertainment, but they have since been split into two separate companies. Among NASCAR enthusiasts, the track has earned the nickname of "The Monster Mile".

In February 2002, Dover Downs Entertainment changed its name to Dover Motorsports following the spin-off of its gaming operations to its existing shareholders. As a result, the name of the track was changed from Dover Downs International Speedway to Dover International Speedway. Dover Motorsports, Inc. continues to maintain its corporate headquarters at the racetrack.

Dover is unique in many ways. It is exactly one mile long; technically this means that it is neither a superspeedway nor a short track. The speedway surface is concrete; most NASCAR track surfaces are asphalt (Dover was at one time an asphalt track, however; it wasn't until the mid-1990s that the asphalt surface was replaced with concrete). Dover is one of three concrete ovals used in NASCAR's three major series; Bristol Motor Speedway and Dover's sister track Nashville Superspeedway are the others (Dover and Bristol are the only two of the concrete tracks used by the Sprint Cup Series as Nashville has yet to receive a premier series date since its 2001 opening, despite hosting Nationwide, Truck, and IndyCar races).

The racetrack is home to the second race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and celebrated its 40th anniversary during the 2008 season.

At one time the Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup Series) races held here were 500 mi (804.7 km) long until a NASCAR rules change limited 500 mi (804.7 km) races to being held only at tracks over a mile in length; the current Sprint Cup Series races here are 400 mi (643.7 km) in distance. Dover also hosted Indy Racing League races in 1998 and 1999 won by Scott Sharp and Greg Ray.

Dover Motorsports owns Dover International Speedway and several other motorsports facilities, including Nashville Superspeedway, Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis and Memphis Motorsports Park. The Dover Motorsports ownership is one of only three publicly held ownership groups of NASCAR tracks, the other two being International Speedway Corporation, controlled by NASCAR's founding France family and owners of the Talladega and Daytona tracks, among others, and Speedway Motorsports, Inc., led by Bruton Smith, which owns Charlotte Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway, among others. Aside from these three ownership groups, NASCAR tracks are privately held by one or a few individuals.