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MBNA America 400 - Dover International Speedway
Dover Domination for Newman
Mayfield Sweeps Dover Pole Positions
Dover Domination. No two words could ring more precise when describing Ryan Newman’s performance on Sunday afternoon in Delaware. Putting last week’s blown engine behind him, Newman was far and away the man to beat in the MBNA America 400 at Dover International Speedway. Newman, starting from the outside pole, took the lead at the wave of the green flag and led all but 75 laps on his way to take the checkered flag and the win. Newman led five times for a total of 325 of the event’s 400 laps and finished a whopping 8.149 seconds ahead of second place. The win is Newman’s second of the 2004 season and the 11th of his career. Newman has now won three of the last four events at the Monster Mile. Mark Martin, who won earlier this season at Dover, brought home a second-place finish, while Jeff Gordon finished third and took the lead by one point in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Dale Jarrett crossed the finish line in fourth, followed by Kurt Busch in the fifth position, his best career effort at Dover. Newman had winning average speed of 119.067 mph, while the event was slowed by a total of five cautions for 38 laps. The race featured 13 lead changes among seven drivers and lasted for 3 hours, 21 minutes and 34 seconds.
Jeremy Mayfield won the Nextel Cup Bud Pole for the MBNA America 400, lapping Dover International Speedway in 22.584 seconds, at an average speed of 159.405 mph. Mayfield holds the track-qualifying record of 22.288 seconds, 161.522 mph, set June 4, 2004. This is Mayfield’s ninth career Bud Pole in 337 Nextel Cup races. It is Mayfield’s third Bud Pole and ninth top-10 start in 21 races at Dover. His most recent Bud Pole came in the first event here at Dover earlier this year, giving him a sweep of the poles at the track in the 2004 season. The last driver to sweep both Bud Poles in a season at Dover was Cale Yarborough in 1980. Ryan Newman had the second-fastest time with a qualifying lap of 22.639 seconds, at an average speed of 159.018 mph, and will join Mayfield on the front row. It is his fifth top-five start in his six races at Dover and his third consecutive start on the front-row. Rookie Brian Vickers will roll off third while Elliott Sadler and Michael Waltrip will start from the top five.
