NASCAR returns to the Monster Mile

NASCAR thundered back to town at Dover Motor Speedway April 20-May 2, but Mother Nature had other plans for Sunday. The weather held off for Jimmie Allen’s pre-race concert, but after only 78 of 400 laps, the race was stopped due to rain. Rain wouldn’t let up in time to dry the track with enough daylight left to complete at least 200 laps, forcing NASCAR to push the finish to Monday at noon. While recent Dover races haven’t seen a lot of cautions, there were 13, including a 15-lap caution for rain Sunday. There were 17 lead changes among 10 drivers.

Chase Elliott was ninth fastest in Saturday’s final practice and ran the third-fastest 10 consecutive laps. After starting fourth Sunday, Chase was strong throughout the race. While Denny Hamlin jumped to an early lead, a mistake on pit road proved costly. Ross Chastain led for a while, and later Kyle Busch appeared to be primed for a win as he led the most laps on the day. But Chase capitalized in the later portion of the race after the top two drivers, Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman, had the misfortune of pitting when a caution came out, each losing a lap. Elliott pulled away for the victory, the 14th of his cup career. The win snaps a 26-race winless streak and is his first win on an oval since winning Phoenix in 2020 to take the cup championship.

NASCAR will not return to Dover until 2023, as Nashville now has what was Dover’s second race. Drivers and their teams head to Darlington next week for a Mother’s Day race. Elliott leads in points leaving Dover and secured a spot in the playoffs with his first win, giving all four Hendrick Motorsports cars at least one win this year.

Jimmie Allen concert

Milton native Jimmie Allen played a rousing concert near the Miles the Monster statue in a packed lawn area just off Route 1. Jimmie played at 12:45 p.m., and the rain held off, to the delight of the fans who flocked to the concert. Jimmie brought a lot of energy to the stage and played several songs, including a song he wrote about his dad called “Down Home.” Local Cape sports legend and Jimmie’s brother Brian “Moose” Mifflin attended the concert. Sunday’s honorary pace car driver and New Castle native Ryan Phillippe was also backstage for the concert. Jimmie promoted his upcoming second annual Bettie James Fest at Hudson Fields, which is set for Aug. 13. Tickets recently went on sale.

Xfinity Series Race

Josh Berry won Saturday’s Xfinity Series.  Sam Meyer won Stage 1, while Justin Allgaier won Stage 2. With 55 laps to go, Allgaier and Berry battled for the lead. After a caution when Baylee Curry had rear-end issues, Berry took the lead. With 20 to go, Barry had a 1.5-second lead over Allgaier and worked his way through lapped traffic to seal the victory.