Not only has this week’s venue, Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway been an iconic location for NASCAR racing for more than seven decades, it holds a special place in the celebration of the sport’s 75-year history.
As with so many longtime facilities on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Dover’s very first race trophy went to NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, who hoisted three of the first four and seven total in his 200-win, seven-championship career. But unlike so many of the sport’s other longtime stops on the schedule, the one-mile Dover facility was not the idea of — or built by — one of the more traditional track owners in NASCAR’s long history.
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