For over 55 years, Dover Motor Speedway has challenged the greatest drivers NASCAR has ever known. Petty, Gordon, Allison, Pearson and of course Johnson all turned The Monster Mile into one of their signature tracks. Johnson's 11 victories remain the most by any driver in Dover history, while Petty and Allison each visited Victory Lane seven times.
Yet despite all of that history, one accomplishment has never happened - no driver has ever won four consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover Motor Speedway.
That's the opportunity awaiting Denny Hamlin when NASCAR returns to The Monster Mile in 2027.
Hamlin enters next year's race having won the last three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover, 2024, 2025 and 2026. His latest triumph added his name to a select group of drivers who have won back-to-back-to-back races at Dover, but a victory in 2027 would put him in a category all by himself.
What's remarkable is the list of drivers who never accomplished the feat.
Jimmie Johnson dominated Dover like no one else, winning a record 11 Cup Series races at The Monster Mile. Richard Petty and Bobby Allison won seven times, while Jeff Gordon had five. Bill Elliott, Harry Gant, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd and Martin Truex Jr. all won four races at Dover during their careers.
None of them ever won four straight. That speaks to just how difficult sustained success at Dover can be.
The Monster Mile has a reputation for rewarding precision while punishing mistakes. The concrete racing surface changes dramatically throughout a race, tire wear becomes a factor and drivers are constantly searching for grip around the World's Fastest One-Mile Oval. Winning once at Dover is an accomplishment in itself. Winning in consecutive years is rare. Winning four years in a row has proven impossible.
At least so far.
Hamlin has become one of the track's modern masters. After once considering Dover one of his worst, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran has transformed it into one of his strongest tracks on the schedule, collecting four career victories at The Monster Mile and entering 2027 with a chance to make track history.
History has a way of finding Dover Motor Speedway. From Richard Petty winning the track's inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race in 1969 to Johnson's record-setting dominance decades later, The Monster Mile has been the backdrop for some of NASCAR's most memorable moments.
In 2027, another chapter could be written.
If Denny Hamlin reaches Victory Lane once again, he won't just add another trophy to his collection, he'll accomplish something no driver—not Johnson, not Gordon, not Petty and not any other NASCAR legend—has ever done at Dover Motor Speedway. And if it isn't done by Hamlin next year, we could possibly never see another driver even come close to the accomplishment.
That possibility alone is one more reason why the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series race at The Monster Mile is already shaping up to be one of the most compelling events of the season. Don't wait to be a part of the history, renew your tickets today to secure your spot!
