NASCAR is at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon race (2 p.m. ET on FS1).
This is the lone race at the 1-mile banked concrete oval, which will provide multiple past champions with an opportunity to break winless streaks.
Here are the three things to watch in today’s race:
MORE: Dover starting lineup
MORE: Details for Sunday’s race
1. Getting back on track
Last season, Kyle Busch won twice in his first 10 races with Richard Childress Racing. He added a third win before reaching the midpoint of the season.
This season has been the opposite experience for the two-time Cup Series champion. Busch has only finished inside the top 10 in three races — Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas and Texas. He has finished 20th or worse in five other races while falling to 17th in points.
“I feel like the last couple of weeks, the discussions at RCR, me and Randall (Burnett), everybody, has just kind of been like, ‘Okay, let’s get some sort of a reset going here,’” Busch said after winning the pole.
“We feel like Dover and Kansas are certainly those weeks for us that we definitely want to work towards and put our focus on to get ourselves righted, and it seems to be going well, so far.”
Busch started first for last season’s Cup race at Dover after rain washed out qualifying. He led 25 laps but was penalized for speeding on pit road. He finished 21st.
Sunday is another opportunity for Busch, a three-time Dover winner. He starts from the pole at the track where he has led 1,341 laps in his career.
A strong run could help Busch and Richard Childress Racing get the season back on track. Busch seeks his 64th career win and his 20th consecutive season with a win.
“We already passed the Daytona 500 and I didn’t check that box (of winning), so the next box to check highest on the list is to get a win this year to just continue that streak,” Busch said. “From there, of course you’re never settled or never happy with just one. You want to have more.”
2. A rookie debut
Erik Jones will not be in the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota Camry on Sunday at Dover. He is recovering from a compression fracture in his back. Instead, Truck Series driver Corey Heim will take over and make his Cup debut.
Heim is the simulation driver and reserve driver for Legacy MC. He is the first driver called upon if Jones or John Hunter Nemechek can’t suit up for any reason.
Heim has familiarity with the team but he had no real experience in a Cup car before Saturday’s practice session. Heim also had little national series experience at Dover considering that his two Xfinity starts ended early due to engine failures.
“I would be lying to you if I wasn’t a little nervous about it, because I’ve never sat in one of these cars before, but my job is to do the best I can for this 43 group until Erik comes back,” Heim said Saturday.
Heim completed his first laps around Dover in Saturday’s practice session. He was the 31st-fastest in practice and then qualified 32nd.
The next step is completing the race and gaining more knowledge for the future.
“I don’t know if I will feel that I’ve got it figured out by the end of the weekend, but any advice is super important,” Heim said. “I’ve been reaching out to as many people as I possibly can to try to gather all of the information and try to have a decent idea.
“With these 20-minute practices, it is pretty brutal to wrap your head around a completely different kind of race car within that time frame, but my job is just to do the best I can for this 43 group and move forward from there.”
3. Comfort level
Jimmie Johnson has faced a steep learning curve with the Next Gen car. He failed to finish all three races he started last season and his best finish through two starts this season is 28th.
The seven-time champion spent his career driving off the right-rear tire, achieving a considerable amount of success in the process. That is no longer possible considering that the Next Gen car forces Johnson to drive off the right-front tire.
Johnson has had to alter his approach, something that other Cup drivers did during the 2022 season. This late start meant that he’s a bit behind though the race at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago was a step in the right direction.
“I think I’m making progress,” Johnson said Saturday. “I think running all of the laps at Texas, really taught me a lot. Not only from driving the car, to also improvements we need to make and where we sit as a company right now. “
Dover is Johnson’s next opportunity to grow more comfortable behind the wheel of the Next Gen car and get reps at a track where he has 11 wins. Completing all the laps will only make him better prepared for races at Kansas and Charlotte in the month of May.
More importantly, the extra time in the Next Gen car will benefit all of Legacy MC.
“In the offseason, we focused hard on mile-and-a-halves and the performance gains that we hoped to improve and thought that running a third car at least nine events at basically all mile-and-a-half tracks would help us develop as an organization,” Johnson said.