Dover runs three of our top-selling tier weekends back-to-back this season - Cup on Saturday, Xfinity on Friday night, Trucks on Friday afternoon. Three different cars, three different baselines, one track that punishes every chassis it sees. Here's how the files differ and what stays the same.

What's Shared Across All Three

The track itself dictates a few things you cannot adjust around:

  • Brake bias is rearward of typical. Dover's concrete loads the front tires fast and they overheat in five laps if you keep the bias too far forward. Cup runs 54.5%, Xfinity 54%, Trucks 53.5% to start.
  • Right-rear spring is stiffer than your road-course or short-track default. All three of our Dover files run +50 to +100 lb on the right-rear over baseline. The banking does the work but the spring keeps the corner-exit attitude predictable.
  • Cross-weight slightly higher than default. Settles the car on the long brake into T1.
  • Tire pressures conservative. Hot pressures climb fast at Dover. We start every Dover file 1 psi below default cold and let the tire model bring it up.

Where the Three Differ

The Cup file is the stiffest of the three. Cup cars at Dover live on the banking and the package is designed to put the car at the wall and keep it there. The front end is the most aggressive of the three - we're rotating the car on entry and trusting the banking for exit. This file rewards a driver who can carry brake to apex.

The Xfinity file is softer at both ends. The B-Class car doesn't carry the same downforce numbers and the package is built for a driver who's working harder for rotation. Softer front bar, slightly more cross. If you're running this file and it feels like the car is rotating too much, the answer is brake bias forward not stiffer suspension - the suspension is intentionally compliant.

The Truck file is the softest of the three, and this is where most subscribers ask the same question: "Why softer than Cup if the Truck is more sensitive?" The answer is the Truck tire model. At Dover, the Truck wears the right-rear faster than either Cup or Xfinity. Running a stiffer right-rear gets the tire to peak faster and burns through the window before the first pit stop. Running softer keeps the tire usable through the full stint. We trade peak grip for stint duration. That's the right call at this track and not at most others.

Notes on Running the Files

If you bought all three and you're running them on a Dover triple-header weekend, here's the order of operations that works:

  1. Run the Truck file first (Friday afternoon). Get your brake bias dialed in. Note where it landed by lap 30. Carry that note forward.
  2. Run the Xfinity file Friday night. Brake bias will need to start about 0.5% forward of where the Truck ended up because the Xfinity tire heats slower.
  3. Run the Cup file Saturday. Brake bias starts another 0.5% forward of Xfinity. Once both tires are up, you'll be at 55%.

This is the same progression we follow when we're racing the same weekend. The bias notes for each file flag the lap where we made the last move.

Where to Get Them

All three are in the shop right now. If you're on All Access, all three are unlocked. The per-series tier covers one of the three depending on which one you subscribe to. The Coke Qualifying Program covers all three qualifying packages, but the race files are separate.

If you're running the Dover trio this weekend, hit me up on Discord if anything in the call sheets isn't tracking. There's a thread pinned in #setup-talk.