Storylines: Dover Tripleheader Week

Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware – aka "The Monster Mile" – hosts a NASCAR national series tripleheader this weekend, with these events:
• On Friday, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, the AAA Insurance 200
• On Saturday, in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the Heluva Good! 200.
• On Sunday, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Best Buy 400 benefiting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks

A list of storylines for this jam-packed weekend follows.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

Kyle Busch-Jeff Gordon: A Rivalry Brews
After 600 grueling miles Sunday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway, the hottest driver in NASCAR had an "exchange" of words with the most-accomplished driver in NASCAR.

Thus, a good-old fashioned rivalry apparently brews between series point leader Kyle Busch and four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, who were Hendrick Motorsports teammates last season before Busch left for Joe Gibbs Racing.

The point of contention this past week was the result of intense, close racing between the two. That sort of competition will continue this weekend at the challenging Dover oval.

Said Gordon: "I guess he doesn't like people to race him.

Busch, meanwhile, declined to discuss the matter.

Kahne Capitalizes, Connects – And Is A Contender Again
Kasey Kahne rode two weeks of good luck and great performances to consecutive victories the last two weeks at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

First he qualified for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race by winning the wild-card berth awarded via the annual fan vote. He capitalized on that by winning the All-Star event.

Sunday, when leader Tony Stewart suffered a flat tire late in the Coca Coca-Cola 600, Kahne was in position to capitalize again, and did just that.

Suddenly, a driver who was struggling with a 52-race winless streak is up to 12th in the series standings, clearly a contender again, as he was two seasons ago when he won a series-high six events and finished eighth in the final standings.

A Monster Indeed: Dover Concrete Is Hard On Drivers
Things get no easier for drivers this week, after last week's Coca-Cola 600. The season's longest race is followed by what many consider one of the toughest – 400 laps at the one-mile concrete Dover oval – a track at times likened to a "big Bristol."

Truex Back at "Home Track" – As Defending Race Champion
Martin Truex Jr. got his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win in last year's Dover spring race, which was both exciting and appropriate as Truex, from Mayetta, N.J., consider Dover his "home track."

Truex, the two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, used that Dover win as a springboard into qualifying for the Chase for the NASCRA Sprint Cup. He finished the season 11th in the series standings.
Truex could use a similar boost right about now. He hasn't won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race since last year at Dover and he comes in this week 15th in the standings.

Coming Around: Hornish Looks Increasingly Comfortable
Sam Hornish Jr., used to having success on Memorial Day Weekend, continued that trend this past Sunday. He notched a career-best 13th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600.

Hornish, a rookie in NASCAR this season, is a three-time IndyCar Series champion and the 2006 winner of the Indianapolis 500. He comes into Dover in second place in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, trailing Regan Smith by only one point. His best finishes this year have been under some of the biggest spotlights, so to speak:

• Daytona 500 – 15th
• NASCAR Sprint Showdown – 2nd
• NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race – 7th
• Coca-Cola 600 – 13th

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

Finally! Logano Set For Series Debut
Like any other teenager, Joey Logano could hardly contain his excitement last Saturday when he turned 18. But for the Middletown, Conn., native his best present comes one week later when he prepares to make his much-anticipated debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Dover.

The 2007 NASCAR Camping World Series East champion will drive the No. 20 GameStopToyota for Joe Gibbs Racing – the same car that has registered six wins this season. Logano hopes to follow in the footsteps of anther Northeast native – Mayetta, N.J.'s Martin Truex Jr. also made his series debut at Dover (2001) and went on to win two consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series titles (2004-05).

‘Shrub' Grows Into A Factor
Kyle Busch (nicknamed ‘Shrub') has yet to declare his intentions to run a full season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series but he's building a case to do so. His fourth win of the year last week at Charlotte (tied for the series lead with Tony Stewart) moved him to second in the standings, 67 points behind leader Clint Bowyer.

Busch, who leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, climbed the NASCAR ladder through the Nationwide Series like the majority of today's young stars in the premier series. In his first full season in NASCAR national series competition in 2004, he had five wins, five poles and was the first rookie to lead the point standings. He finished second in the championship and captured rookie of the year honors setting or tying the majority of the series' rookie records.

Keselowski Continues Strong Season
Series-only regular Brad Keselowski is two months away from marking his first full season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series – he made his debut for JR Motorsports last year at Chicagoland. But in that short span, the 24-year-old native of Rochester Hills, Mich., has blossomed.

Last Saturday at Charlotte, Keselowski challenged for the lead, stood up to hard racing with Denny Hamlin and posted his best career finish – third. He also moved to his highest ranking in the standings, fifth, which is the highest spot for any of the five series-only regulars in the top 10 this week. Keselowski was 24th in this race last year driving for his former team but improved to seventh in the fall race driving the No. 88 Chevrolet.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES

Crowded At The Top
There's a different driver atop the point standings (Todd Bodine) for the third time in four races. Rick Crawford, who hasn't led, is eight points back and Lowe's winner Matt Crafton stands a career-high third, just 45 markers out of the lead.

New Faces Of The Series
Donny Lia, 27, wins at Mansfield in eighth series start – the first Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate to win since August 2003 (Carl Edwards). Shelby Howard (22) gets first career top-10 at Mansfield; so does Sean Murphy (23).

Concrete Concept
Dover is the series' first concrete surface test of the season. Ron Hornaday Jr. is the defending race winner and has the most concrete wins (three) among active drivers. Travis Kvapil, with wins at Bristol and Nashville, goes for an unprecedented series concrete sweep.