Dover International Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware, United States. Since opening in 1969, it has held at least two NASCAR races. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC^[4] and the IRL IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1 mile (1.6 km) oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track.

Track history[link]

In 1966, Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc.^[3] began construction on Dover Downs International Speedway, which was specialized for horse racing and auto racing.^[2] The race track was completed three years later,^[2] and would have its first race on July 6, 1969.^[5] The inaugural race, known as the Mason-Dixon 300, was won by Richard Petty.^[5]

Dover's asphalt surface in 1985

During the 1971 racing season, the speedway removed all the events not sanctioned by NASCAR to help keep focus on the two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, which were 500 miles each.^[5] Eleven years later, Dover Downs International Speedway added a NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series (now Nationwide Series) event, the Sportsman 200.^[5] In 1986, the speedway added 3,200 seats to it's 10,333 seat^[2] grandstand.^[5] Dover Downs International Speedway continued adding seats each year until 2001.^[5][6] A second Nationwide Series race was also added to the speedway's schedule during the 1986 season.^[5]

Eight years later, Delaware General Assembly passed legislation to allow slot machines at pari-mutuel horse racing venues.^[5] In 1995, Dover Downs International Speedway became the first NASCAR racing venue to be paved with concrete instead of asphalt.^[5] During the same year, Dover Downs slots opened on December 29.^[5] Two years later, the speedway changed the race distances of its Sprint Cup Series races to 400 miles, beginning with the 1997 fall race.^[5] In 1998, Dover Downs International Speedway added a IRL IndyCar Series event to the schedule,^[7] but after two seasons the race was removed after the 1999 season.^[8] During the 2000 racing season, Dover Downs International Speedway added a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series) event.^[5] Kurt Busch won the inaugural Truck Series race from the pole position.^[5]

In the following year, the speedway's capacity was expanded to 135,000 seats, the largest of any mid-Atlantic sport's stadium.^[5] After the gaming side of Dover Downs separated, Dover Motorsports, Inc. was created to operate the speedway, which caused the speedway to become Dover International Speedway in 2002.^[5] Two years later, the speedway announced the completion of the Monster Bridge, which is a glass-enclosed structure that has 56 seats over the third turn, and it's fall Sprint Cup Series race became the second race in the newly formed, Chase for the Sprint Cup.^[5]

Dover International Speedway in 2007

On May 26, 2006, Dover International Speedway announced a multi-year capital improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which would begin after the speedway's June Sprint Cup Series race. ^[9] During the first stage of the improvement project in 2007, the speedway built a new 12-suite skybox complex and a new 2,100 square feet addition to the media center in the infield.^[10] Other improvements included widened walkways behind three grandstands, renovated restrooms, more paved handicapped parking areas, expanded bus parking, as well as a sound system with improved audio quality for the grandstands.^[10]

In 2008, the second stage of the "Monster Makeover" took place. During the stage, the Monster Monument, a 46-feet tall fiberglass structure, was built in the new Victory Plaza, the FanZone area was expanded, and an emergency services building was built.^[11] One year later, the speedway continued the improvement project by replacing the front stretch pit wall to instead a longer SAFER barrier wall that would make a wider and safer pit road, as well as an additional pit stall.^[12][13] On December 30, 2011, Dover International Speedway announced that they will replace the 18 inch wide seats in the grandstands with 22 inch wide ones, reducing the capacity from 140,000 to 113,000 over the next two years.^[14]

Miles the Monster[link]

The speedway's mascot is called "Miles the Monster" which is a concrete monster spawned from the track's nickname, "The Monster Mile."^[15] The monster is featured on the winner's trophy, the track's tickets, memorabilia, website, and the 46-foot (14 m) Monster Monument.^[15] A previous nickname that the track had was the "White Lightning."^[16]

Current Races[link]

• Sprint Cup Series - FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks
• Sprint Cup Series - AAA 400
• Nationwide Series - 5-hour Energy 200
• Nationwide Series - OneMain Financial 200
• Camping World Truck Series - Lucas Oil 200
• NASCAR Camping World East Series

Referenced by ^[17].

Track records[link]

NASCAR[link]

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series statistics[link]

* from minimum 5 starts.^[19]

Race results[link]

USAC Championship Car results[link]

Indy Racing League results[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dover International Speedway

• Dover International Speedway Official Site
• Dover International Speedway Page on NASCAR.com
• High Resolution image from Google Maps

Coordinates: 51°07′46″N 1°18′32″E / 51.1295°N 1.3089°E / 51.1295; 1.3089

Dover
Aerial view of Dover Harbour
Dover  Dover shown within Kent
Population	28,156 (2001 Census) Urban area 39,078
OS grid reference	TR315415
- London	77.8mi
District	Dover
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DOVER
Postcode district	CT16, CT17
Dialling code	+44 (0)1304
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Dover
List of places: UK • England • Kent

Dover ( /ˈdoʊvər/; French: Douvres) is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings. The town is the administrative centre of the Dover District and home of the Dover Calais ferry through the Port of Dover. The surrounding chalk cliffs have become known as the White Cliffs of Dover, and the narrow sea passage nearby – the Strait of Dover.^[1] Its strategic position has been evident throughout its history: archaeological finds have revealed that the area has always been a focus for peoples entering and leaving Britain. The name of the town derives from the name of the river that flows through River Dour. The town has been inhabited since the Stone Age according to archeological finds, and Dover is one of only a few places in Britain – London and Cornwall being other examples – to have a corresponding name in the French language, Douvres.^[2]

Services related to the Port of Dover provide a great deal of the town’s employment, as does tourism, although many of the former ferry services have declined. There was a military barracks in Dover, which was closed in 2007.

History[link]

Dover Castle seen from Castle Street.

Dover’s name originated with its river – the River Dour, deriving from the Brythonic Dubrās ("the waters"), via its Latinized form of Dubris. The cliffs also gave England its ancient name of Albion ("white"). The Romans called it ’’Porte Dubris’’; the modern name was in use at least by the time Shakespeare wrote King Lear (between 1603 and 1606), in which the town and its cliffs play a prominent role.

Dover’s history, because of its proximity to France, has always been of great strategic importance to Britain. Archaeological finds have shown that there were Stone Age people in the area; and that by the Bronze Age the maritime influence was already strong. Some Iron Age finds exist also, but the coming of the Romans made Dover part of their communications network. Like Lemanis (Lympne) and Rutupiae (Richborough) Dover was connected by road to Canterbury and Watling Street; and it became Portus Dubris, a fortified port. Forts were built above the port; lighthouses were constructed to guide passing ships; and one of the best-preserved Roman villas in Britain is here.

Dover figured largely in the Domesday Book as an important borough. It also served as a bastion against various attackers: notably the French during the Napoleonic Wars; and against Germany during World War II. It was one of the Cinque Ports during medieval times.

Geography[link]

1945 Ordnance Survey map of Dover, showing the harbour

Dover is near the extreme south-east corner of Britain. At South Foreland, the nearest point to the continent, Cap Gris Nez near Calais is 34 kilometres (21 mi) away, across the Strait of Dover.^[3]

The site of its original settlement lies in the valley of the River Dour, making it an ideal place for a port, sheltered from the prevailing south-westerly winds. This led to the silting up of the river mouth by the action of longshore drift; the town was then forced into making artificial breakwaters to keep the port in being. These breakwaters have been extended and adapted so that the port lies almost entirely on reclaimed land.

The higher land on either side of the valley – the Western Heights and the eastern high point on which Dover Castle stands – has been adapted to perform the function of protection against invaders. The town has gradually extended up the river valley, encompassing several villages in doing so. Little growth is possible along the coast, since the cliffs are on the sea’s edge. The railway, being tunnelled and embanked, skirts the foot of the cliffs.

Climate[link]

Dover has an oceanic climate (Koppen classification Cfb) similar to the rest of England and the United Kingdom with moderate temperatures year-round and light precipitation each month.

Demography[link]

In 1800 Edward Hasted (1732–1812) reported that the town had a population of almost 10,000 people.^[5]

At the 2001 census, the town of Dover had 28,156 inhabitants, while the population of the whole urban area of Dover, as calculated by the Office for National Statistics, was 39,078 inhabitants.^[6]

With the expansion of Dover, many of the outlying ancient villages have been incorporated into the town. Originally the parishes of Dover St. Mary's and Dover St. James, since 1836 Buckland and Charlton have become part Dover, and Maxton (a hamlet to the west), River, Kearsney, Temple Ewell, and Whitfield, all to the north of the town centre, are within its conurbation.

Economy[link]

Shipping[link]

The Port of Dover and the white cliffs of Dover

The Dover Harbour Board^[7] is the responsible authority for the running of the Port of Dover. The English Channel, here at its narrowest point in the Straits of Dover, is the busiest shipping lane in the world. Ferries crossing between here and the Continent have to negotiate their way through the constant stream of shipping crossing their path. The Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme allots ships separate lanes when passing through the Strait. The Scheme is controlled by the Channel Navigation Information Service based at Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre Dover. MRCC Dover is also charged with co-ordination of civil maritime search and rescue within these waters.^[8]

The Port of Dover is also used by cruise ship passengers, and the old Dover Marine railway station building, together with a newly built one^{[clarification needed]}, cater for those passengers.^[9]

The ferry lines using the port are (number of daily sailings in parentheses):

• to Calais: P&O Ferries (25)
• to Dunkerque: DFDS Seaways (11).

These services have been cut in recent years:

• P&O Ferries sailings to Boulogne (5 daily) were withdrawn in 1993 and Zeebrugge (4 daily) in 2002.
• SNCF withdrew their three train ferry sailings on the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
• Regie voor Maritiem Transport^[10][11] moved their Ostend service of three sailings daily to Ramsgate in 1994; the route now operates as TransEuropa Ferries
• Stena Line merged their 20 Calais sailings into the current P&O operation in 1998.
• Hoverspeed ceased operations in 2005 and withdrew their 8 daily sailings.
• SpeedFerries ceased operations in 2008 and withdrew their 5 daily sailings.
• LD Lines ceased the Dover-Dieppe service on 29 June 2009 and Dover-Boulogne 5 September 2010.

The Dover lifeboat is a Severn class lifeboat based in the Western Docks.^[12]

Transport[link]

Dover’s main communications artery, the A2 road replicates two former routes, connecting the town with Canterbury. The Roman road was followed for centuries until, in the late 18th century, it became a toll road. Stagecoaches were operating: one description stated that the journey took all day to reach London, from 4am to being “in time for supper”.^[13]

The other main roads, travelling west and east, are the A20 to Folkestone and thence to London and the A258 through Deal to Sandwich.

The railway reached Dover from two directions: the South Eastern Railway's main line connected with Folkestone in 1844, and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway opened its line from Canterbury in 1861. A tram system operated in the town from 1897 to 1936.

Dover has two long distance footpaths: the Saxon Shore Way and the North Downs Way. Two National Cycle Network routes begin their journey at the town.

Also, the ferry to Calais is a popular transport. From Dover to Calais it usually take one and a half hours to cross the Strait of Dover. The Strait of Dover is the stretch of water between Dover and Calais, and also the stretch of water the Dover-Calais and Calais-Dover ferries cross.

RNLI[link]

Dover Lifeboat station is based at crosswall quay in Dover Habour. There is a Severn class lifeboat, which is the biggest in the fleet. It belongs to the RNLI which covers all of Great Britain. The lifeboat number is 17-09 and has a lot of emergencies in the Channel. The Severn class is designed to lay afloat. Built from fibre reinforced composite (FRC) the boat is lightweight yet very strong and is designed to right itself in the event of a capsize. There is also a coastguard station in Dover. Based on the top of the white cliffs it has a great over view.

Education[link]

There are nine secondary level schools, 16 primary schools and two schools for special education.

Several of the state secondary schools now specialise: Astor College for the Arts; Dover Grammar School for Girls is a specialist Humanities College; Dover Grammar School for Boys, a Business and Enterprise College; St Edmund's Catholic College for the Performing Arts; and Dover Christ Church Academy, a specialist Maths, ICT and Music Academy.

The Duke of York's Royal Military School, England's only military boarding school for children of service personnel (co-ed ages 11–18), is also located in Dover, next to the military base.

Dover College, a public school was founded in 1871 by a group of local business men.^[14]

Public services[link]

Dover has one hospital, Buckland Hospital^[15] located in a former Victorian workhouse on Coombe Valley Road. The town once had four hospitals, Buckland, Royal Victoria, Isolation and the Eye Hospitals located at various points across the town. Buckland Hospital is currently (2008) threatened with closure and various local organisations are trying to stop the cuts facing the hospital.^[16] Astor College for the Arts federated with St Radigunds Primary School (then renamed White Cliffs Primary College for the Arts) to form the Dover Federation for the Arts (DFA). Subsequently Barton Junior School and Shatterlocks Nursery and Infant School joined the DFA. It has been a very successful Federation recognised by OFSTED with two schools rated as Outstanding and two being Good with outstanding features. Currently (November 2011)the DFA have applied to become a Federation of Academies.

Local media[link]

Television[link]

Dover was the home to television studios and production offices of Southern Television Ltd, the company which operated the ITV franchise for South and South East England from 1958-1981. The studios were located on Russell Street and were home to programmes like 'Scene South East', 'Scene Midweek', 'Southern News', 'Farm Progress' and the nightly epilogue, 'Guideline'. The studios were operated by TVS in 1982 and home to 'Coast to Coast', however they closed a year later when the company moved their operations to the newly complete Television Centre in Maidstone.

Newspapers[link]

Dover has two paid for newspapers, the Dover Express (published by Kent Regional News and Media) and the Dover Mercury (published by the KM Group). Free newspapers for the town include the Dover and Deal Extra, part of the KM Group; and yourdover, part of KOS Media.

Radio[link]

Dover has one local commercial radio station, KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country, broadcasting to Dover on 106.8FM. The station was founded in Dover as Neptune Radio in September 1997 but moved to Folkestone in 2003 and was consequently rebranded after a takeover by the KM Group. Dover is also served by the county-wide stations Heart, Gold and BBC Radio Kent.

The Gateway Hospital Broadcasting Service, in Buckland Hospital radio, closed at the end of 2006. It was the oldest hospital radio station in East Kent being founded in 1968.^[17]

Dover Community Radio (DCR) currently offer internet programming and podcasts on local events and organisations on their website. The online station of the same name launched on 30 July 2011 offering local programmes, music and news for Dover and district.^[18]

Culture[link]

There are three museums: the main Dover Museum,^[19] the Dover Transport Museum,^[20] and the Roman Painted House.^[21]

International relations[link]

Twin towns / Sister cities[link]

Dover has three twin towns:

• Calais, France
• Huber Heights, Ohio, United States
• Split, Croatia

Sports[link]

Dover Leisure Centre, is operated by Vista Leisure, a not for profit charitable trust,^[22] caters for a wide range of sports and activities including a 25m swimming pool, teaching pool, sports hall, gym, fitness classes, sauna and steam room, is located on Townwall Street.

There are sports clubs catering for the usual range of sports, among them football (Dover Athletic F.C.); rugby; rowing; swimming; water polo and netball (Dover and District Netball League).^[23]

One event which gets media attention is that of swimming the English Channel.^[24]

Sea fishing, from the beach, pier or out at sea, is carried out here.^[25] The so-called Dover sole (solea solea) is found all over European waters.

Places of interest[link]

• Blériot memorial: the outline of Blériot's aircraft marked with granite setts at the exact spot where Blériot landed after the first cross-Channel flight, 1909^[26]
• Connaught Park
• Cowgate Nature Reserve
• Dover Castle
• Dover Museum
• Kearsney Abbey
• Russell Gardens
• Samphire Hoe Country Park
• Seafront promenade
• South Foreland Lighthouse
• St Edmund's Chapel
• Dover Transport Museum
• Roman Painted House Museum

Notable people[link]

Gallery[link]

Dover Harbour, from the cliffs above.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

References[link]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Dover

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Statham, S.P.H. (1899). The history of the castle, town, and port of Dover. London: Longmans Green & Co.. pp. 462 p.. 
• Foot, William (2006). Beaches, fields, streets, and hills ...: the anti-invasion landscapes of England, 1940. CBA research report 144. York: Council for British Archaeology. ISBN 1-902771-53-2. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dover

• Official site
• Dover Latest News
• Dover Street Map
• The Dover War Memorial Project
• Dover Locals
• Dover Soul Local Community Website
• Western Heights Preservation Society
• Friends of Dover Castle A scheme for the local people of Dover to contribute and benefit from their Castle.
• Dover Community Radio Dover District's podcasting service, an online radio service for the town and surrounding area.

International Speedway Corporation

File:Iscmotorsportslogo.png
Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: ISCA OTCBB: ISCB
Industry	Motorsports
Founded	1953 (as Bill France Racing, Inc.)
Headquarters	1 Daytona Boulevard Daytona Beach, Florida 32114-1243
Key people	Bill France, Sr., founder Jim France, CEO Lesa Kennedy, president
Products	Sporting events
Revenue	$633.91 million USD (2010, November)
Operating income	$115.64 million USD (2010, November)
Net income	$54.53 million USD (2010, November)
Employees	1,000 (full time)
Website	www.iscmotorsports.com

International Speedway Corporation (ISC) is a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of NASCAR race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International Speedway and in 1999 they merged with Penske Motorsports to become one of the largest motorsports companies in North America.^[1][2] The company has played an important, though controversial, role in the modernization of the sport. It has worked with NASCAR to create new tracks and update older ones in an effort to improve the racing and the experience for spectators (though because both companies have several members of the France family in top positions, ISC's competitors have filed multiple lawsuits on antitrust grounds) and has constructed popular new tracks in regions previously thought uninterested in NASCAR (though this has upset some residents of nearby towns who do not want a NASCAR track in their back yard).^[1][3][4]

History[link]

Bill France Racing[link]

International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was founded as Bill France Racing, Inc. (later Daytona International Speedway Corporation) in 1953 and in 1957 the company signed a contract for the use of land on which to build Daytona International Speedway, one of the world's first superspeedways.^[1] A decade later, France decided to build another superspeedway, this time on a 2,000-acre (8 km²) site near Talladega, Alabama and after its completion Talladega Superspeedway became NASCAR's fastest track. These two tracks were the fastest on the series schedule until the advent of restrictor plates in 1988. In 1968, the company assumed its current name to reflect its more ambitious scope.^[2] Two years later, ISC created the Motor Racing Network, a play-by-play radio network for NASCAR races, with MRN's first race coverage coming at the 1970 Daytona 500.^[5]

Transition[link]

The early 1980s saw NASCAR's popularity increase, not only among fans, but also with sponsors. Companies like Ford, General Motors, Winston and Gatorade were willing to put up advertising dollars and holding auto races became a much more profitable venture.^[2] To capitalize on this, the company began pursuing expansion through the purchase of existing tracks. In 1982, the company bought one of the series' most popular and traditional ones, Darlington Raceway which has been in operation since 1950, as well as Tucson Raceway Park, a .375 miles (0.604 km) dirt oval (since paved) in Arizona.^[1][2] The following year they partnered with Corning Glass Works to purchase the Watkins Glen International road course in upstate New York.^[1] In 1987, Bill France, Sr. stepped down as president of the company with Jim France replacing him.^[5] Two years later, ISC incorporated its food service company, Americrown.^[5]

Penske merger[link]

By this time ISC was profitable, but most of their races were still in the South and in mostly rural areas, with many of the country's major cities like Los Angeles, Detroit, Miami and Chicago lacking a nearby track. ISC began looking for ways to change this in the late 1990s. Homestead-Miami Speedway was built in 1995 by Ralph Sanchez and Wayne Huizenga and in 1997 ISC and Penske Motorsports (owned by motorsports magnate Roger Penske) partnered with the track's owners.^[6] In 1999, the company continued its push into the country's urban centers when it merged with Penske, who at the time owned four speedways: Nazareth Speedway, North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, Michigan International Speedway and the newly-constructed Auto Club Speedway| (which opened as California Speedway).^[7] Chairman Bill France, Jr. cited the company's "attractive markets" as one of the major reasons for going ahead with the deal.^[7] The new company retained the ISC name, with Penske's son Gregory Penske joining the board of directors.^[7] Not all of the new tracks from the Penske merger fit into the company's plans however, as Nazareth was soon closed down and Rockingham was sold. The merger also gave ISC a 90% stake in Homestead-Miami Speedway and the company soon bought out the final 10% to acquire complete control over the track.^[7]