NASCAR Cup Series: 2019 Dover races nearly carbon copies of one another

The two NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover International Speedway in the 2019 season were nearly carbon copies of one another.

The round of 12 of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs kicked off on Sunday afternoon at Dover International Speedway, and it was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson who took the checkered flag to win the Drydene 400 and secure his first career playoff victory and his first Cup Series victory in more than two yeas.

It was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. who won the 400-lap race around the four-turn, 1.0-mile (1.609-kilometer) high-banked Monster Mile oval in Dover, Delaware in May.

But other than that, these two races were practically carbon copies of one another, which was somewhat expected given how challenging it was to pass five months ago with the new rules package.

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Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch even stated that the package “sucked” after finishing in 10th place in the race back in May due to the lack of passing.

Not much changed this time around.

But just how similar were these two races?

The top four finishers in both races were the same. Larson finished in third place in May before winning in October. Truex and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman finished in second in third in October after winning and finishing in second in May. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick finished in fourth in both races.

While the fifth place finishers were not the same, both started from the pole position, with Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott doing so in May and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin doing so in October. Both led more laps than anybody else in the field and dominated stage one.

Both race winners dominated stage three, with Truex leading 131 of 160 laps and Larson leading 151 of 160 laps. Both winners only emerged as true leaders in stage three, as Truex did not lead any laps prior to stage three while Larson led only three.

The May race featured a total of 15 lead changes among 11 leaders. The October race featured a total of 14 lead changes among nine leaders.

The May race featured a total of 1,588 green flag passes for an average of 4.3 per green flag lap. The October race featured a total of 1,607 green flag passes for an average of 4.2 per green flag lap.

In one sentence, clean air was king.

Neither race featured any wrecks. The May race featured six caution flag periods: the two stage-ending caution flag periods, a competition caution and three for small incidents on the track, but for nothing more than a no-contact, low-speed spin or a slight brush of the wall. The October race featured three caution flag periods: a debris caution in stage one and then the two stage-ending caution flag periods.

Both races featured 34 drivers taking the checkered flag, and neither race featured a driver forced to retire due to contact.

As far as races at the same tracks in a single NASCAR Cup Series season go, it would be hard to top this year’s race at the Monster Mile as far as similarities go. Paint a few cars a bit differently, and you basically have the same race playing out twice.