Just as expected, the GEICO 500 at Talladega ended in chaos when Michael McDowell spun off the front bumper of Brad Keselowski coming back to the checkered flag. The resulting calamity allowed Tyler Reddick to claim his first victory of the season and punch his playoff ticket. Now NASCAR heads to the challenging Dover Motor Speedway, also known as the Monster Mile, for the 2024 Wurth 400.
As we really get into the full swing of the NASCAR season, the drivers all hope to cement themselves as favorites moving forward. Dover represents a great chance to capture momentum moving forward. Can Reddick win for the second straight week or will we see a new face atop the order at the Monster Mile?
2024 Wurth 400 Entry List
The most notable change in the entry list for Dover Motor Speedway comes courtesy of an injury from Talladega. Erik Jones suffered a compression fracture in his lower back due to an extremely hard hit and rookie Corey Heim steps into the #43 to fill in. Also joining the field this weekend are Xfinity Series regular AJ Allmendinger and multiple-time champion Jimmie Johnson.
.@JimmieJohnson returns to the @MonsterMile this weekend and we never get tired of seeing this save. pic.twitter.com/qVDNNiBBuA
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 24, 2024
A big piece of the puzzle to keep an eye on come Sunday’s race will be the tire wear. Like Bristol Motor Speedway, Dover’s represents one of the rare fully concrete surfaces on NASCAR’s schedule. The concrete surface eats at the tires in a way that asphalt simply can’t compare to. With that being said, I don’t know that we’ll see wear quite to the levels of Bristol earlier this year – just something I’m going to be watching very carefully.
2024 Wurth 400 Race Odds and Predictions
The two drivers to keep an eye on as race winners on Sunday are Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. Larson represents the favorite at +450 to win but I recommend the safer play of +150 to finish in the top three. MTJ, meanwhile, holds +600 odds to win, and historically performs well at the Monster Mile with multiple wins at the track.
If you hope to find more of a dark horse pick on the odds, consider Alex Bowman at +1600. Hendrick Motorsports usually runs extremely well at Dover Motorspeedway and with the three other HMS cars having been to victory lane already this year, Bowman and the #48 crew will hope to join the party.
Clint Bowyer nearly rolled over at Dover. pic.twitter.com/rQWneK4cNI
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 3, 2019
I can’t promise a great race on Sunday at Dover as the NextGen car hasn’t quite delivered yet but I’ll always have a lot of respect for this track. It ranks as one of the most challenging and unique circuits that NASCAR visits thanks to both the concrete surface and the drastic entry into the corners. One small mistake can prove to be catastrophic as we’ve already seen this weekend with Kaz Grala’s practice incident. I love seeing the drivers challenged and will be excited to see who rises to the occasion at the 2024 Wurth 400.
Check out the schedule below so you don’t miss any on-track action! NASCAR Cup Series qualifying is already underway as I’m a little late getting this posted – but there is still plenty of action to go this weekend.
Saturday 04/27
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 10:20 a.m. CT on FS1
BetRivers 200 (NASCAR Xfinity Series) – 12:30 p.m. CT on FS1
Sunday 04/28
Wurth 400 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 1:00 p.m. CT on FS1
Stay locked into Apollo for more NASCAR and F1 Coverage throughout the racing season! Follow @CoachJayArnold and @ApolloHOU on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest and check out our newly minted Instagram – Apollo NASCAR!
Pingback: 2024 AdventHealth 400 Preview: NASCAR's May Begins In Kansas