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Dover International Speedway
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Dover International Speedway
Track Diagram |
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Dover International Speedway
P.O Box 843 Dover, DE 19903 |
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1969 - Dover Downs opens as an unique dual purpose facility, designed to accommodate both horse racing and auto racing. First event on the speedway is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race on July 6, won by Richard Petty. USAC Championship Trail, ancestor of the Pep Boys Indy Racing League, races on August 24 in wreck-marred 200-miler won by Art Pollard.
1971 - All other motorsports events are dropped from schedule to concentrate on two 500-mile NASCAR Winston Cup Series races per year. This schedule will prevail, with few exceptions, for the next 26 years. 1982 - NASCAR Busch Grand National races, added as a Saturday attraction on Winston Cup weekends, soon begin attracting large crowds. 1986 - Modest 3,200 seat grandstand addition begins expansion of facility, which continued until 2001 - unequaled by any other NASCAR track. 1994 - Delaware General Assembly passes legislation authorizing slot machines at pari-mutuel horse racing facilities. 1995 - Dover Downs becomes NASCAR’s first concrete paved superspeedway. Races become cleaner, faster, and more competitive. After summer and fall of round-the-clock construction, Dover Downs Slots opens on December 29. 1996 - Revenues from slot machines mandated by law to be paid in harness racing purses raise Dover Downs’ stature to national leader in that sport as well. Dover Downs Entertainment, Inc., parent company of all Dover Downs activities, begins trading on New York Stock Exchange under symbol DVD. 1997 - Change to 400-mile distance for NASCAR Winston Cup races is made at fall event. MBNA America Bank NA signs to sponsor both NASCAR Winston Cup weekends through 1999. Dover Downs and Indy Racing League announce return to major league open-cockpit racing on July 19, 1998. Dover Downs Entertainment, Inc. acquires Nashville Speedway USA, operator of NASCAR events at Tennessee State Fairgrounds, and announces plans for a new superspeedway in the Nashville area. Open date is set for Easter weekend in 2001. 1998 - Dover Downs Entertainment reaches agreement to acquire Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, owners of Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis and Memphis Motorsports Park, as well as operators of the street race in southern California which bears its name. Pep Boys Indy Racing League returns major-league open-cockpit racing to Dover Downs for the first time since 1969. Tony Stewart sets track record over 185 miles per hour, Scott Sharp is race winner. 1999 - Innovative promotional programs like the Busch 6 Pack (now named Dover Motorsports Club) are implemented to focus on Busch Series, making 200-mile Saturday events major-league attractions in their own right. 2000 - Fifteenth consecutive year of grandstand expansion places seating capacity at 133,000 - largest seating capacity of any sports facility in mid-Atlantic region. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series make debut at Dover’s September race weekend with a 200 mile, 200 lap format. Kurt Busch wins the race from the pole. 2001– Sixteenth consecutive year of grandstand expansion places seating capacity at 140,000 - still the largest capacity of any sporting facility in mid-Atlantic region. Dover holds first Winston Cup event after terrorist attacks of September 11th on New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins the race and takes the American flag for a victory lap around the track. 2002 - Dover Downs International Speedway becomes Dover International Speedway, as the gaming side of the company splits off and Dover Motorsports, Inc. is created to exclusively oversee racing at the Dover, Nashville, Memphis and St. Louis tracks, as well as the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Grand Prix of Denver and Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The harness racing, slots operation and new hotel retain the Dover Downs name. Dover Motorsports, Inc. puts on successful inaugural Champ Car Grand Prix race in Denver, then opens the 2003 season with the critically acclaimed Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. 2003 – Ryan Newman sweeps both Winston Cup races to become the third racer in the last four years to pull off that feat (Jimmie Johnson in 2002 and Tony Stewart in 2000). R.J. Reynolds tobacco and its Winston Cup program run at Dover for the last time as the sponsor of NASCAR’s premiere series. After 33 years as the title sponsor, Winston steps aside as NEXTEL takes the reigns. 2004 – The DuPont Monster Bridge, a glass-enclosed seating structure that extends over the track in Turn 3, is unveiled. The one-of-a-kind structure creates the “Most Exciting Seat in Sports.” On June 6, Mark Martin returns to Victory Lane at Dover International Speedway in the “MBNA 400: A Salute to Heroes.” The race is held on the 60th anniversary of D-Day, as fans pay tribute to the many soldiers who serve and protect our country. The new-for-2004 “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup” comes to the Monster Mile in the fall, as Ryan Newman notches another Dover win in the MBNA America 400 on Sept. 26. 2005 – Greg Biffle takes home the monster trophy in the MBNA RacePoints 400 on June 5. Biffle adds to his Dover success, adding a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup win to his two previous Dover wins in the NASCAR Busch Series. The second of the final ten races of the year in the “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup” sees Jimmie Johnson celebrate in Dover's Victory Lane. The Sept. 25 win in the MBNA RacePoints 400 is the third career victory for Johnson at the Monster Mile. 2006 – In a dramatic come from behind finish, Matt Kenseth passes Roush Racing teammate Jaime McMurray with three laps remaining to win the Neighborhood Excellence 400 presented by Bank of America on June 4. In another tight, late-race battle, Jeff Burton spoils Matt Kenseth's dominating performance by sneaking past Kenseth with six laps to go to win the Dover 400 on September 24. The win was Burton's first visit to Victory Lane in more than five years, and 175 starts, and he emerged as the overall points leader with only eight races remaining in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Dover Motorsports Inc. Making history, one race at a time… 1969 was a year to remember. The world saw mankind's first step on another celestial body, 400,000 music fans attended the Woodstock Music Festival, and construction wrapped up on the brand new Dover Downs International Speedway (now Dover International Speedway). When the one-mile, high-banked Delaware track first opened its gates for NASCAR's premier racing series, the stage was set for history to be made. The 25-row, 10,333-seat Dover International Speedway first ushered in guests on July 6, 1969 for the "Mason-Dixon 300." The first throngs of fans cheered as the iconic No. 43 car driven by "The King" Richard Petty roared into Victory Lane. With this first race, the story of Dover Motorsports, Inc. officially began. Fast-forward 37 years to today. Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal identified Dover Motorsports, Inc. as one of the top-10 gainers in sports stocks in 2005 with a 12.7% increase in share price over the previous year. Annually, the company's facilities host more than 400 races, attracting hundreds of thousands of motorsports fans from major media markets around the U.S. Dover Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE: DVD) continues to be recognized as one of the nation's premier promoters of motorsports events. Mammoth crowds now descend on Dover International Speedway's 140,000-seat grandstands to watch their favorite drivers blister around the Monster Mile. Not only do loyal fans from the Mid-Atlantic region bring excitement and passion to race weekends twice a year-they bring more than $94 million directly to the Delaware economy. Dover Motorsports, Inc. takes great pride in providing its fans with great experiences at first-class facilities…one race at a time since 1969. |
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Track Facts Information: Track size Back Straight Length Policy Information: Permitted items: You MAY enter the grandstands with the following:
Prohibited items: You MAY NOT enter the grandstands with ANY of the following:
NO items may be left at the gate Please note that the following activities are not permitted on Speedway grounds:
BEER SEARCH & INSPECTION EXPRESS LANES THIS GATE ADMISSION POLICY MAY CHANGE PRIOR TO EACH EVENT BASED UPON LOCAL, STATE OR NATIONAL SITUATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT DOVER TICKET OFFICE FOR THE MOST UPDATED POLICIES Glass containers are NOT permitted in grandstands. Please do NOT drop cans or trash through grandstand bleachers. Please STAY AWAY from track safety fence at all times. Please LEAVE ROOM for emergency vehicle access while in any line. Please BE RESPONSIBLE in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. South & North Grandstands - Rows 31 and above are accessible by elevators or staircases. Cannot access from the lower level Grandstand area. Restrooms & Concession Stands are available on this level. Services: ATM Machines-Located on the first floor of the Air Conditioned Grandstand (enter the building near the main ticket office). Concession Stands-There are concession stands conveniently located around the track. Foods available-hamburgers, hotdogs, Italian sausage, nacho’s, pizza, soft pretzels, beer, soda, and water. Parking: Parking-General Parking on Sunday (race day) is $10 per vehicle. Ground fires are NOT permitted in the parking areas. Please do NOT erect any flags or other structures within 100 feet of any telephone or power lines. You are parking at YOUR OWN RISK. Please lock your vehicle at all times. Please OBSERVE all signs. Stay OUT OF restricted areas and OBEY instructions from Dover International Speedway personnel. To park in the ADA accessible parking areas, the patron must have a handicap hang tag or license plate, which can be obtained through your city or state. To insure that our guest with disabilities receive the opportunity to park in our handicap parking areas, we have enlisted law enforcement's assistance to monitor and enforce proper use of state-issued disabled parking permits at our upcoming race. Delaware law requires that the person with the disability to whom the disabled plate or hang tag was issued must be the driver or passenger in the vehicle bearing the plate or hang tag at the time the vehicle is parked in areas that are restricted for use by persons with disabilities. Before entering the disabled parking lots, patrons will be required to show their state-issued disabled parking photo identification card to verify ownership of their state-issued plate or hang tag. For patrons in Delaware and other states who are not issued a disabled parking photo identification card, the police will verify the state issued plate or hang tag number and request photo identification (such as a driver's license) to match the name on the plate or hang tag. A free ADA golf cart shuttle is available to transport patrons with disabilities from all ADA accessible parking areas throughout the facility to the grandstand's admission gates. Each accessible parking area has a sign designating the pickup area. Telephones are located at all grandstand gates for your convenience in calling for a pickup. You are not allowed to bring your own golf cart or similar mode of transportation onto our property (this does not include electric convenience vehicles ("ECV")). While we would like to transport everyone in your party, space and time is limited. We are only able to transport the patron with the disability and one companion. Volunteers transfer patrons as quickly as possible. Please be patient. Thank you. Please note: Wheelchair seating is available only in row 31 in the North and South Grandstands and elevators access only row 31. Also, entrance through Gate 1 is only permitted when no other access is available. Please BE RESPONSIBLE in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Please OBSERVE all signs. Stay out of restricted areas and OBEY instructions from Dover International Speedway personnel. Please BE COURTEOUS to other guests. Let’s make Dover International Speedway an even more exciting and enjoyable place for all race fans. |
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