Qualifying at Dover may be the most important session of the season. Qualifying determines pit selection and no where is that more important than on “The Monster Mile“.

The Dover track only has 42 pit stalls for 43 cars, meaning that the two drivers who qualify in the 42^nd and 43^rd positions have to share a stall until someone drops out of the race. Attrition has been very low this season for the most part, so it could be that those two teams might be sharing a pit space for the entire race.

The track is due to be renovated in the near future in order to correct this problem. However, this should have been taken care of long ago. There should never be a race on a facility that is not properly equipped for the event. This creates a situation that is unfair and potentially even dangerous. And besides, it just looks minor league.

Aside from not having enough pit stalls, the Dover pit road is one of the most difficult on the circuit to get onto without incident during green flag stops. And, the pit road is very narrow, which can lead to cars getting together entering and exiting the pits during cautions.

One scenario that likely will not play out would be the possibility of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch having to share a pit stall. That would make for some interesting pit road action.

So, it is important to qualify well at Dover in order to get a good pit selection. It is especially important to be better than 42^nd.

Richard Allen is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association. His weekly column appears in The Mountain Press every Wednesday.