NASCAR’s top drivers take to the Monster Mile Sunday for the Sprint Cup “FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks” – but one likely brings more confidence than any other.
Jimmie Johnson owns a record 9 career victories at Dover.
But the six-time Sprint Cup champ – who owns 3 wins this season – says that past success can backfire at times.
“I find that the moments that we’re off we’re probably a little more anxious than we would be at other tracks, due to the fact that we’ve been so good here," said Johnson. "There’s this level of expectation that we have amongst ourselves that we don’t even realize until we’re in that challenging moment.”
Johnson was challenged in qualifying Friday – finishing 14th after posting the top practice time earlier in the day.
Denny Hamlin won the pole Friday – his first pole of the season and third career pole at Dover.
Martin Truex Jr. qualified second.
Truex is second in the points’ race. He says his strong start this year, combined with his affinity for the Monster Mile give him confidence this weekend.
“I felt like last year we were off quite a bit and we came here and ran top 10 in both races," said Truex Jr. "And so, I was kind of looking back at that and thinking about that and thinking, ok, imagine what we can do here now.”
Kevin Harvick currently tops the Sprint Cup standings. Harvick will start in the third row Sunday at 1 pm when the FedEX 400 gets the green flag.
