AAA 400 2016: Five takeaways from Dover

The 2016 AAA 400 at Dover International Raceway provided plenty of challengers looking to pick up the win.

“The Monster Mile” at Dover International Speedway really earned it’s moniker on Sunday. With plenty of cautions and key strategies taking place on the track, the 2016 AAA 400 certainly had it’s moments.

Early on, Kevin Harvick was faster than anyone on the track and was dominating because of his speed. There wasn’t car that could match him in the turns.

While Harvick was strong on the track, Carl Edwards was even stronger in the pits. With pit stops that were seconds better than Harvick, Edwards was reeling him and keeping Harvick from running away with the race.

Eventually Harvick would drop back and have a bit of a spill that allowed Edwards to take over. However, Kyle Larson would aggressively pursue the lead and capture it.

With Larson leading, last week’s bad luck recipient, Martin Truex Jr., would chase him down and overtake the lead, as the two battled late in the race.

After a caution late in the race, Jimmie Johnson’s car wouldn’t fire on a restart and it led to a huge wreck in Dover, which took out many contenders. This brought out a red flag and the race came to a halt.

After the red flag, Edwards would find himself racing teammate Matt Kenseth for the lead. Immediately on the lead, Edwards would spin and hit the wall hard.

The final laps would be Matt Kenseth battling with Kyle Larson with Chase Elliott lurking just behind. In an incredible battle at the end, Kenseth would just hold off Larson and Elliott to pick up his first win of the season and punch his ticket into the Chase. He also earned a spot in the All-Star Race next season.

1. Oil slicks caused problems again at Dover

Racing on concrete always provides different challenges. This week at the AAA 400, it was oil slicks. After Danica Patrick was involved in a huge wreck in practice this week, oil was causing huge problems at the track again this week.

First it was Reed Sorenson who was dropping oil all over the track. Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick would hit that oil and go for a spin of their own, but both were able to recover.

Late in the race, Chris Buescher dropped oil and went for a spin as well. This took out Tony Stewart and race leader Martin Truex Jr. just barely saved control of his car.

2. The improved safety barriers at Dover were much needed

While Dover is a shorter track and the speeds aren’t as high as some tracks, there have been plenty of issues with drivers hitting the wall hard. This year, Dover added some extra safety barriers and it payed off on Sunday.

After Michael Annett made hard contact with the wall, it was clear that the added safety barrier took the brunt of the hit. The safety barrier would come into play later again, as Carl Edwards hit the wall hard.

This was a much needed improvement for a track that needed it.

3. Rubber caused a lot of deceptiveness

With the sun shining bright and the concrete at the AAA 400 taking its toll on the track, rubber was an issue for tires, as they were collecting rubber left and right from the track.

In fact, there was a moment where Carl Edwards thought he had a flat tire, but it was just the issue with the track chewing up rubber.

That’s just one of the many challenges of racing at Dover.

4. Martin Truex Jr. has some issues with bad luck.

At Kansas, Martin Truex Jr. had the fastest car and should have won his first race of the season. Then in a freak occurrence, a wheel became loose because of a bolt that broke off and didn’t move, which prevented the tire from getting right.

This week at Dover, it looked like Truex Jr. was going to be a contender to win the race.

However, Jimmie Johnson’s car failed to shift gears on the restart and Truex Jr. ran into the back of him. Another possible win was taken from Truex Jr.

5. Kyle Larson showed growth at Dover

Kyle Larson has had some great races in his young career, but the 2016 AAA 400 might have been the best race of his career yet. He was aggressive and he was chasing the lead all day. He spent time in first and battled with some of NASCAR’s best drivers.

If there was a down moment for Larson, it was probably when he got into the back of Carl Edwards, which he felt bad about. Late in the race, Larson would have a huge battle with Matt Kenseth for the win.

He would put on an incredible performance and would fight Kenseth to bitter end. It wasn’t a win, but his best performance yet.

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