AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 Preview

Winning the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway—”The Monster Mile”—demands a gritty combination of raw speed, precise car control, and relentless consistency. This one-mile concrete oval features 24 degrees of banking in the turns and 9 degrees on the straights, creating a rollercoaster rhythm that exposes even the smallest driver or setup error. 

Unlike smoother asphalt tracks, Dover’s high-banked concrete surface can chew through tires quickly and test a driver’s discipline over long green-flag stints. Managing tire falloff, maintaining momentum through the high-speed corners, and executing quick, clean pit stops are all crucial to staying in contention.

Dover’s narrow racing lanes and intense banking punish overdriving. Precision in throttle input and car placement becomes essential, especially when dealing with traffic or late-race restarts. 

A driver’s mental toughness is tested just as much as their mechanical grip—the slightest miscalculation on entry or exit can send a car up into the wall, ending a promising run in seconds. To win here, a team must deliver on strategy while the driver remains calm and committed across every lap of the 400-lap gauntlet.

While Dover looms ahead, last year the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway produced one of the season’s most thrilling finishes on April 14, 2024. Denny Hamlin claimed his second win of the year and the 53rd of his career with a clinical overtime restart that sealed the race after it was extended to 276 laps. 

Hamlin led 27 laps in total, including the final stretch that mattered most. Chase Elliott finished just 0.206 seconds behind, while Ross Chastain took third, followed by William Byron in fourth and Ty Gibbs in fifth.

Shane van Gisbergen continued his road course mastery with a win at the 2025 Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday. Starting from pole, he led 97 of 110 laps at Sonoma and survived four late restarts to fend off a charging field on old tires. The win marked his third road course victory of the season and his fourth overall, tying Jeff Gordon’s modern-era record for Cup road wins.

In the championship hunt, William Byron leads with 668 points, with Chase Elliott close behind at 654 and Kyle Larson at 624. Elliott’s consistency has been a major reason he’s stayed firmly in the title conversation.

Elliott remains one of the most technically sound drivers in the Cup Series, with elite adaptability across different types of tracks. His smooth throttle application and rhythm through high-speed corners make him a perennial threat on 1.5-mile layouts like Texas. He’s particularly effective at conserving tires over long runs, crucial at Texas Motor Speedway where grip fades quickly. 

That skill, paired with his Hendrick Motorsports crew’s ability to fine-tune competitive setups, keeps Elliott in the hunt every time the Cup Series hits a high-speed oval.

What separates Elliott even further is his composure in late-race scenarios—an increasingly important skill as races are frequently decided on restarts and pit strategy. His ability to make clean, decisive moves through traffic while balancing risk and reward is one of his trademarks. That talent was on full display at this year’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 last year, where he nearly edged out Hamlin at the line. 

With his form in 2025 already including multiple podiums and a runner-up at Texas, Elliott enters future intermediate-track races with the momentum, tools, and team chemistry to land back in the top three—or better.

Pick: Chase Elliott | Dafabet