Dover Motor Speedway isn’t just another stop on the NASCAR calendar, but a battleground carved into concrete. The “Monster Mile” demands precision, courage, and a whole lot of nerve. With 24 degrees of banking and a surface that bites back, this one-mile oval has delivered some of the most dramatic and destructive crashes in NASCAR history.
For decades, Dover has tested even the toughest drivers. And sometimes, the Monster bites back… hard.
Here’s a look back at the most thrilling, terrifying, and unforgettable wrecks to ever shake the grandstands at Dover. These moments have become part of the track’s legacy, and a reminder that at Dover, nothing comes easy.
- Joey Logano’s 2009 Barrel Roll
Just a few races into his rookie season, Joey Logano found himself living every driver’s worst nightmare. During the 2009 AAA 400, slight contact from Tony Stewart nudged Logano up the steep banking of Turn 3. As his car slid sideways, Reed Sorenson clipped him, and that was the spark that lit the fuse.
Logano’s No. 20 Toyota went airborne and began to roll. Not once, not twice, but eight violent times Logano tumbled! The car cartwheeled down the banking, slamming into concrete as sparks and debris flew like shrapnel. Metal twisted and crunched. The crowd gasped in unison as the wreckage began.
Miraculously, Logano climbed out unscathed. The crash became one of the most replayed and remembered moments in modern NASCAR.
In his own words: “I started rolling and I was like, ‘Damn, please make this thing stop.’ And it wouldn’t. It just kept going and going.”
The wreck served as a wake-up call about roll cage durability, and a brutal reminder of how quickly things can go wrong at Dover.
- “The Little Big One” – 2004’s 19-Car Wreck
Dover isn’t known for Talladega-style pileups, but in the spring of 2004, that’s exactly what happened.
After a routine restart, chaos broke loose in Turn 2 when Michael Waltrip and Dave Blaney made slight contact. Blaney spun up the track and collected Jimmie Johnson, and within seconds the Monster Mile turned into a parking lot.
A 19-car demolition unfolded, with vehicles stacked on top of each other, scattered in clouds of smoke and mangled metal. One car slid nose-first into the wall; another ricocheted back into traffic. The air filled with the smell of burnt rubber, coolant, and adrenaline.
"Half the field, it looks like," said Larry McReynolds on the broadcast — and he wasn’t exaggerating. This was proof that even the slightest contact at Dover can snowball into massive destruction, especially when the field is packed tight.
- Spring 2012 – Stewart’s Early Lap Multicar Melee
Just nine laps into the 2012 FedEx 400, the field had barely gotten into rhythm when disaster struck.
On the backstretch just past Turn 2, Tony Stewart tapped Landon Cassill’s left rear, sending Cassill spinning toward the wall. Regan Smith had nowhere to go and slammed directly into Stewart’s car. That was the ignition point, and what followed was a full-blown pileup.
In a matter of seconds, nearly a dozen cars were swallowed into the chaos. Metal crunched, fenders bent, wheels flew. Some cars skidded sideways into the wall, others ricocheted back into the oncoming pack. Smoke blanketed the track. NASCAR threw the red flag, halting the race for nearly 20 minutes to clear the mess.
Drivers involved included Stewart, Cassill, Smith, Juan Pablo Montoya, David Gilliland, Scott Speed, Joe Nemechek, Reed Sorenson, Michael McDowell, Casey Mears, Travis Kvapil, and others. Some were heavily damaged; others limped to pit road.
Montoya's car crawled back with the hood flopped open like a broken jaw. Stewart’s car, as he put it, was “pretty damn tore up.”
Though no one was seriously injured, it was a clear message: at Dover, it only takes a blink for everything to go wrong.
- 2016 Spring Restart Crash – 18-Car Wreck
With just over 40 laps remaining in the 2016 AAA 400 Drive for Autism, a late-race restart turned into an absolute mess.
Jimmie Johnson, leading the field, had a transmission issue and couldn’t get the car into third gear. Martin Truex Jr. plowed into him, followed immediately by Kevin Harvick. What transpired was a massive accordion effect, and full-blown calamity across the frontstretch.
In total, 18 cars were collected. Cars bounced off each other like pinballs as they drove into the madness. The frontstretch looked like a scrapyard by the time the dust settled.
“As I went to put it in third, it got locked in the neutral area…” Johnson explained afterward.
It was a harsh reminder that even the smallest mechanical failure can trigger widespread disaster, especially to a driver like Johnson, who was unstoppable at Dover at that time.
- The “Spring 2008 Monster Mile Melee” – 11-Car Wreck
Just 17 laps into the 2008 Best Buy 400, Miles the Monster struck early. Elliott Sadler’s No. 19 Dodge got turned after contact with David Gilliland, sliding head-on into the outside wall exiting Turn 2. The trouble started there, but it didn’t end there.
As Sadler’s car drifted back down across the track, Tony Stewart came into the corner blind and had no chance of avoiding him. Stewart’s car slammed full force into Sadler. Seconds later, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Scott Riggs, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and others piled in with nowhere to go.
The carnage was immediate. Sadler and Hamlin were done on the spot. Stewart’s battered machine limped back to the garage, crumpled at both ends.
Afterward, Stewart didn’t mince words: “I take 100 percent responsibility. It’s my fault for being even anywhere close to Elliott [Sadler]… When I hit him, it caused all the guys behind us to wreck.”
It was a textbook Dover crash: fast, violent, and completely unforgiving. When a car blocks the groove at the Monster Mile, there’s nowhere to hide.
The Monster Still Lurks
Dover Motor Speedway has never been a track that forgives mistakes. Whether it’s a rookie barrel-rolling down the banking, a missed shift triggering a junkyard pileup, or a blown tire lighting up the frontstretch — the Monster Mile has a long memory and a nasty bite.
These wrecks aren’t just reminders of how dangerous the sport can be, they’re part of Dover’s DNA. They shaped careers, pushed safety forward, and gave fans unforgettable moments of pure, unfiltered chaos.
Miles the Monster is always lurking – and he is always hungry. Don’t let your shot at attending the 2026 NASCAR All-Star Race crash and burn. Tickets and camping are moving fast, so secure your spot today and be there when chaos comes to concrete on May 17!
