Tires deflate good run for Cassill at Dover

Landon Cassill's first ride along the Monster Mile in the No. 34 Love's Ford Fusion was a bit deflating, literally. Tire troubles landed Cassill in 36th place, out of 39 drivers, in Sunday's AAA 400 Drive for Autism at the Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware.

"I thought we were improving all day. I was really happy with how our Love's Ford was running on the last run. We got the wave-around and were going to benefit from it. I'm not sure why the right-front tire let go. We weren't too aggressive as some of the other guys were, but it caused some damage that we couldn't fix and it ended our day early unfortunately," Cassill said.

Jimmie Johnson won the race, followed by Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman and Chase Elliott. Four of those drivers were in Chevrolets; Truex Jr. drives a Toyota.

Cassill has raced the Monster Mile before, and the Front Row Motorsports driver knew that Dover would be a handful.

"Dover is very intense," Cassill said. "You've got a lot of load on your body. It's really hard to feel the car because the track just feels so rough because of the concrete surface. It's quite a challenge, but I still always look forward to Dover. It's a fun track."

Cassill is back in the Love's car June 25 for the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in California.