This weekend the Dover International Raceway will debut some of its newest features - a 46 ft. tall concrete Monster Monument, a new entrance for fans that honors past winners and legendary drivers called the Victory Plaza, a brand new media center and an expanded FanZone. Celebrating its 40th year in motorsports, perhaps it is fitting to look back at another milestone year for the Monster Mile.

The 1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500 marked the first time competitors would tackle the concrete Monster. A complete renovation of the track saw the old black asphalt surface turn to white concrete. Other upgrades that year included a completely new "wheel-fence," 7,000 new seats between Turns 3 and 4, new hospitality suites over-looking Turn 4 and a unique cross-over pedestrian bridge over the backstretch.

Keeping up with the changes was not so easy for the competitors - or Goodyear for that matter. The official tire supplier had brought 3,800 tires for both the Busch (now Nationwide) and Cup Series events, but quickly learned their choice was not working out.

Goodyear officials decided to make a change and brought in over 1,000 tires from their factories in Charlotte and Cleveland. Working tirelessly all weekend long, Goodyear workers were able to make the switch and provided each team with six set of tires - a total of 1,008 tires.

NASCAR officials acknowledged teams would need more time to learn how this tire would react to this new racing surface, and in an unprecedented move, allowed a pre-race practice session. The 30-minute Sunday session was held prior to the pre-race activities and gave the 42 teams a better understanding of what they would face.

Unfortunately for many, the Monster was hungry that day as a Lap 2 crash changed the entire complexion of the race. After starting the day from the 4th-position, John Andretti got loose going as he drove off Turn 4. Ricky Craven was right there and made contact with Andretti's No. 37 as he attempted to regain control. As the smoke flew and the rest of the field tried to avoid the incident the track closed up. No extra practice could have saved the twenty cars that piled into one another off the exit of Turn 4.

Jeff Gordon took command of the event following the pile-up, but gave way to Kyle Petty as the race approached the 100-mile mark. Petty took his No. 42 Felix Sebates Coors Light Pontiac to the lead for the first time on Lap 136.

Petty was able to stay out front for much of the afternoon and, in the end, fend off Bobby Labonte and Ted Musgrave for the win. Labonte - fresh off his win in the Coca-Cola 600 the week before - narrowly edged Musgrave for the second spot, just two car lengths behind Petty.

The win marked the first victory for the third generation driver in 59 races and the first time a Pontiac had been to victory lane since November 1993. An exhausted Petty exited his No. 42 after a long, demanding day and reflected on the irony of racing. The week before in the Coca-Cola 600, Petty had driven the same car to a 30th-place finish, twenty-laps down.

"Racing amazes me," he explained "Here we were, totally out of it at Charlotte, and here we are, winning at Dover. Pretty amazing."

Petty celebrated with crew chief Barry Dodson, to whom this win was extremely special. Coming on his 42nd birthday, the victory was the 19th of his career and first since 1990 with Rusty Wallace. Dodson dedicated the emotional win to his two children, Trey and Tia, who had been killed in an automobile accident in Darlington, S.C. the previous November.

As Kyle steps out of the car for the first time in 2008, we at HardcoreRaceFans.com saw it fitting to put the spotlight on one of the sport's most popular drivers. A true winner both on and off the track, Petty has dedicated his life to caring for those in need via the Victory Junction Gang Camp. In addition, Petty will be honored on May 6th, by the National Father's Day Council and the American Diabetes Association as a Father of the Year.

So we say thanks to you, Kyle, for all that you have done and all that you continue to do. Enjoy these next few weeks off and we can't wait to see you back behind the wheel of a race car.