Asterisk Mark Report – Dover (2022)

Martin Truex Jr. – At Dover, Martin Truex Jr. is one of the premier performers and in 4 of the last 6 races he’s finished in the top 2. Last year, Truex was a top 4 contender but crashed on the last lap while battling Ross Chastain for 3rd which led to his 12th. If you credit Truex with a 4th, then in 9 of the last 11 Dover races he would’ve finished in the top 4.

Alex Bowman – Alex Bowman finished 5th last year at Dover but to be picky, you can actually call that an asterisk mark result. On lap 324 while running in 2nd, Bowman was burned by a caution during a green flag pit cycle which dropped him back to the mid-teens since nearly everyone else on the lead lap pitted before he did. Following that, Bowman drove hard to earn his good result.

Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch belongs in the conversation for having the best car last year at Dover and he finished an asterisk mark 7th. In the race, Busch started 10th, finished 9th in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2, led 103 laps but then in the final Stage while leading, Busch was burned by a caution during the pit cycle which dropped him back to 17th. From that point on, Busch drove hard to earn his good result.

Denny Hamlin – Last year at Dover, Denny Hamlin arguably had the best car, but he finished an asterisk mark 21st. In the race, Hamlin started 2nd, led 67 laps, won Stage #1 but then following the Stage #1 pit stops, he lost a wheel which dropped him all the way back to the mid 20’s. Hamlin battled back and was up to 4th on lap 240, but then Cody Ware spun in front of him and clipped the #11. That ended his competitive afternoon but to make things worse, Hamlin later got a speeding penalty.