AAA 400 2013: Start Time, Lineup, TV Schedule and More

With eight races to go in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Matt Kenseth will try to protect his slim points lead in Dover at the AAA 400 on Sunday.

After winning both of the Chase's first two races, Kenseth holds a 14-point lead over Kyle Busch and is 18 points ahead of third-place Jimmie Johnson. 

The standings are tight, and this is still anyone's championship. For instance, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in 11th place, but he is trailing the points leader by just 62 points. Also, Earnhardt managed to snag the pole at Dover, and he did so in record fashion: 

Of course, Kenseth is right alongside him. NASCAR's hottest driver will start in second. 

All of this sets up for what should be an exciting race—it always is in Dover anyway. 

When: Sunday, Sept. 29, 2 p.m. ET

Where: Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: ESPN3

Starting Lineup (via NASCAR.com)

POS	driver	Car #	Make	Sponsor	Best Speed	Best Time	Behind
1	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	National Guard	161.849	22.243	Leader
2	Matt Kenseth	20	Toyota	No. 20 Home Depot "Let's Do This" Toyota	161.805	22.249	--0.006
3	Ryan Newman	39	Chevrolet	State Water Heaters	161.740	22.258	--0.015
4	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	Fastenal	161.609	22.276	--0.033
5	Aric Almirola	43	Ford	Smithfield	161.609	22.276	--0.033
6	Brad Keselowski	2	Ford	Miller Lite	161.594	22.278	--0.035
7	Jamie McMurray	1	Chevrolet	LiftMaster	161.493	22.292	--0.049
8	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	Lowe's / Kolbalt Tools	161.341	22.313	--0.070
9	Kurt Busch	78	Chevrolet	Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet	161.326	22.315	--0.072
10	Martin Truex Jr.	56	Toyota	NAPA Shocks	161.204	22.332	--0.089
11	Joey Logano	22	Ford	Shell Pennzoil	161.023	22.357	--0.114
12	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	Budweiser	160.800	22.388	--0.145
13	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Chevrolet	Target	160.736	22.397	--0.154
14	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	Interstate Batteries	160.721	22.399	--0.156
15	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	17	Ford	FORD ECO BOOST	160.714	22.400	--0.157
16	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	Axalta	160.664	22.407	--0.164
17	AJ Allmendinger	47	Toyota	House-Autry	160.650	22.409	--0.166
18	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	FedEx Freight	160.557	22.422	--0.179
19	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	Filtrete	160.542	22.424	--0.181
20	Kasey Kahne	5	Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance	160.371	22.448	--0.205
21	Paul Menard	27	Chevrolet	Menards / CertainTeed	160.249	22.465	--0.222
22	Brian Vickers	55	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	160.100	22.486	--0.243
23	Clint Bowyer	15	Toyota	Raspberry 5-Hour Energy benefiting Living Beyond Breast Cancer	159.851	22.521	--0.278
24	Marcos Ambrose	9	Ford	Stanley	159.645	22.550	--0.307
25	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	158.779	22.673	--0.430
26	Casey Mears	13	Ford	No. 13 GEICO Ford Fusion	158.611	22.697	--0.454
27	David Ragan	34	Ford	Taco Bell	158.451	22.720	--0.477
28	David Gilliland	38	Ford	Long John Silver's	158.263	22.747	--0.504
29	Mark Martin	14	Chevrolet	Mobil 1 / Bass Pro Shops	157.992	22.786	--0.543
30	Travis Kvapil	93	Toyota	Burger King-Dr. Pepper	157.929	22.795	--0.552
31	Danica Patrick	10	Chevrolet	GoDaddy	157.563	22.848	--0.605
32	J.J. Yeley	36	Chevrolet	Drive Sober Arrive Alive	157.549	22.850	--0.607
33	Cole Whitt	30	Toyota	Swan Energy	157.336	22.881	--0.638
34	Michael McDowell	98	Ford	Phil Parsons Racing	156.883	22.947	--0.704
35	Reed Sorenson	95	Ford	Leavine Family Racing	156.692	22.975	--0.732
36	Ryan Truex	51	Chevrolet	Shooters Sporting Center	156.644	22.982	--0.739
37	Landon Cassill	33	Chevrolet	Little Joe's Autos.com	156.495	23.004	--0.761
38	Josh Wise	35	Ford	MDS Transport	156.203	23.047	--0.804
39	David Reutimann	83	Toyota	Burger King-Dr. Pepper	155.595	23.137	--0.894
40	Dave Blaney	7	Chevrolet	TBA	155.501	23.151	--0.908
41	Joe Nemechek	87	Toyota	TBA	154.832	23.251	--1.008
42	Timmy Hill	32	Ford	U.S. Chrome	154.526	23.297	--1.054
43	Tony Raines	40	Chevrolet	TBA	153.551	23.445	--1.202

Drivers to Watch

Matt Kenseth

Kenseth has to be encouraged by his strong qualifying run. But while the 41-year-old has to be brimming with confidence due to his recent form, the Monster Mile might just knock it right out of him.

He was 40th in Dover earlier this year and was able to run just 159 laps. In this race last year, he went 371 laps and finished just 35th. If he suffers another showing like that, the points race is going to look far different. 

However, it isn't all demons at Dover for Kenseth—far from it. He's won there twice and has finished in the top five in eight of his past 11 starts.

Kenseth's start to the Chase, while impressive, certainly doesn't mean he will go onto win the Cup. Greg Biffle pulled off back-to-back wins to start the Chase in 2008 and wound up finishing in third place. Then again, Tony Stewart pulled off double wins to start the Chase in 2011 and he did win the Cup that year. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

Earnhardt's Chase got off to a terrible start when car troubles knocked him out of the Chicagoland race. So, after the first race of the Chase, Earnhardt already had very little margin for error.

Despite the poor start, he is proving that it's far too early to count him out of this race. He was sixth last week, and now he posted his record qualifying bid.

Now, Earnhardt has to try and improve on that result—and he is in good shape to do so. His car obviously has the speed, and he's been solid at the Monster Mile recently. He was 10th here earlier in the year and 11th in this race last year. 

Kyle Busch

For a driver that has spent his career racking up victories but never showing the consistency needed to win a championship, Kyle Busch's start to the Chase must be accounted for. He has back-to-back second-place finishes, which is a great sign for Busch's mentality.

There were times in Busch's career where staring at the back of Kenseth's car for two consecutive seconds would have turned him into Goofy in traffic. Busch is serious about winning his first Cup, though, and he's showing he has the maturity to pull that off.

He also has been in great form at Dover as of late. He was fourth earlier in the year there and was seventh in this race last year. 

After a solid qualifying run, Busch will be near the front, starting in 14th, and he should be headed towards another top finish.