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Dover International Speedway
Located in Delaware, Dover International Speedway is known to the racing community as "The Monster Mile." In 1969, this multi-purpose facility was originally designed to accommodate everything from horse to auto racing. The inaugural event, which was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now known as Nextel Cup) race, was held on July 6 and ended with Richard 'The King' Petty taking a drive into victory lane. By 1971, all motorsports competitions were removed from Dover International Speedway's schedule in order to concentrate solely on two annual NASCAR Winston Cup Series events. With very few exceptions, this schedule remained constant throughout the 26 years that followed.
In 1982, NASCAR brought it's Busch Grand National competitors to The Monster Mile as an added attraction for race weekends. Very soon after their arrival, the Busch Grand National races began drawing large crowds and became a regular stop for the series. With the addition of more race fans, Dover International Speedway decided that it was time for an expansion. In 1986, an additional 3,200 grandstand seats began to be added. By 2001, the construction was complete.
In 1994, the Delaware General Assembly passed legislation allowing slot machines to be placed at horse racing facilities. By the end of 1995, constant construction revealed the addition of Dover Downs Slots. This brought even more excitement to Dover International Speedway as fans could now enjoy a quick roll of the dice before the green flag waves.
In 1995, Dover International Speedway received much recognition as it became NASCAR's first concrete paved super speedway. After the surface change, the races were cleaner, faster and even more competitive than before. By 2000, after 15 years of grandstand expansion, the seating capacity at Dover International Speedway rose to 133,000, which was the greatest capacity of any sports facility in the mid-Atlantic region. In September of that same year, NASCAR's Craftsman Truck series debuted at Dover in which Kurt Busch became the first to take the checkered flag in a Craftsman Truck race at this facility. With the gaining popularity, Dover decided to continue the seating expansion to 140,000 in 2001.
In 2004, the Dupont Monster Bridge was unveiled. This brand new structure features a glass-enclosed seating facility that extends over the track in Turn 3. Of course, it's only fitting that The Monster Mile would produce a Monster Bridge. After all, race fans would expect nothing less from this modern, state-of-the-art monster racetrack.
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