Back in 2016, NASCAR fans found themselves caught in a swirl of confusion thanks to what turned out to be one of the sport’s more memorable internet pranks. The culprit? A photoshopped image suggesting that Charlotte Motor Speedway, one of NASCAR’s crown jewel tracks, was about to be renamed “Petty Speedway” in honor of the legendary Richard Petty.

The image looked convincing enough: the speedway’s iconic logo had been altered to display the new name, and within hours, it spread across fan forums, Reddit threads, and even caught attention on X (formerly Twitter). Fans didn’t hold back. Some cheered the idea as a fitting tribute to NASCAR’s “King,” but many were outraged at what they assumed was another corporate rebranding move disrupting the sport’s history. The reaction was loud, emotional, and immediate until official clarification finally hit. Charlotte Motor Speedway was not changing its name, and the viral image was nothing more than a fan-made joke that had spiraled out of control.

The entire episode became a reminder of just how protective NASCAR fans are over their tracks and traditions. Tracks like Charlotte, Daytona, Bristol, and Dover carry deep emotional ties for fans, and any suggestion that those identities could be tampered with sends shockwaves through the community. Even though the “Petty Speedway” prank fizzled out harmlessly, it left a lesson that misinformation, even unintentional, spreads fast in NASCAR circles, especially when it touches on the legacy of key venues. Fast forward to today, and the motorsports world found itself experiencing déjà vu.

This time, the battleground was Dover Motor Speedway, and a “Doval” prank sent NASCAR fans into a near meltdown, reigniting memories of the Charlotte incident. What started as a tongue-in-cheek name mashup on an X post by nascarcasm, blending “Dover” and “oval” to suggest a complete rebranding road course rebranding like the Charlotte Roval, quickly took off, with fans genuinely fearing that the Monster Mile’s identity was being wiped clean for marketing gimmicks.

With the influx of road courses in NASCAR over the last six years and the exit of the Chicago Street Race for 2026, fans would not be surprised if NASCAR tried to create another ‘road course oval’ in Dover, like they have in Charlotte. The backlash that these road courses have received from veteran drivers and former legends alike has been loud, but after seeing this lighthearted prank aimed at NASCAR’s experimental tendencies, fans had the last laugh.

NASCAR fans imagine a world with the ‘Doval’ instead of Dover

The “Doval” prank at Dover Motor Speedway had fans reeling, and the reactions poured in with a mix of shock and hilarity that kept the internet buzzing. One fan tossed out, “Joker lap on the horse track.” This comment taps into the recent trend of incorporating alternate routes or shortcuts in racing, like the “joker lap” seen in rallycross events. Fans imagining a Joker lap using Dover’s infield horse track are drawing on that same idea, breaking up a traditional oval or road course with a chaotic alternate route to add unpredictability.

The Dover Downs complex famously houses both the high-banked concrete oval and a horse racing track inside its infield, typically used for harness racing. Turning that into a Joker lap during a NASCAR race would be wild but visually entertaining, and it plays into the fantasy circuit vibe the “Doval” prank has stirred up. It’s a lighthearted nod to how absurd yet appealing such a twist could be in NASCAR’s mostly conventional layouts.

Another quipped, “Driving thru that packed casino parking lot would actually make me enjoy a road race.” This fan jokes about incorporating the Dover Downs casino parking lot into a makeshift street circuit. The Dover Motor Speedway shares its grounds with the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, and NASCAR fans know that during race weekends, the casino’s parking area gets packed. Imagining a road course that snakes through this congested lot satirizes both the frustration of navigating it and NASCAR’s recent push towards adding more street courses to the schedule, like the Chicago Street Race. Instead of a polished urban layout, fans joke they’d rather watch drivers dodge SUVs and minivans in a casino parking lot, making a playful jab at NASCAR’s expanding road course calendar.

One creative fan suggested, “Why not mix it up with a little dirt track action on the horse track on the inside, too?” This is a callback to NASCAR’s brief dirt track experiment, notably the Bristol Dirt Race held between 2021 and 2023. Here, NASCAR fans are imagining Dover’s horse track being repurposed into a dirt section as part of the “Doval” circuit, essentially turning a harness racing oval into a dirt segment mid-race. It blends elements of rallycross and multi-surface events, parodying NASCAR’s occasional forays into non-traditional formats. Fans half-seriously propose dirt just for the chaos of it. After all, Dover’s infield track is real dirt, ready to cause havoc if included in a race layout.

Then, of course, there were the Shane van Gisbergen references. One fan wrote, “Yep, but SVG runs a pedal car & starts at the back,” while another added, “When did SVG steal your X account?” These comments riff on Shane van Gisbergen’s rapid success in NASCAR road racing, where he’s quickly become a fan favorite after winning races at Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma. SVG has been so dominant in these races, winning Mexico City by nearly 17 seconds, so it’s no surprise that fans want to see him handicapped on a road course. The Kiwi has three road course wins this season, and broke Jeff Gordon‘s record by winning them all consecutively from the pole! There’s no doubt he would have been licking his lips at the prospect of a “Doval.”

Well, as it stands, there is no ‘Doval’ but fans seem to have had their fun on X, imagining a world with the Doval instead! Would you like to see Dover turned into a road course oval? Probably not, but let us know in the comments!