Jeff Gordon Wins at Dover, Contender Round Set

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Jeff Gordon won the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway as the field for the second round of the Chase was set on Sunday.

 

Photo courtesy Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Gordon led 94 laps on his way to the victory, but he did not have the dominant car for most of the race.  Kevin Harvick led 223 laps before cutting a left-front tire and settling for a 13th place finish.

Gordon took the lead on lap 305 and dominated the remainder of the race, clinching his spot in the next round of the Chase.

“We came in here with a little bit of extra pressure because we weren’t guaranteed to be in,” Gordon said.  “It’s about making a statement, and I don’t know how you make a bigger statement than what this team just did.”

Harvick won the pole for the race, and he led the first 148 laps before giving up the lead to Brad Keselowski.

Keselowski led until debris brought out the caution on lap 171.  Harvick’s team got him off pit road first, and he regained the lead.

Harvick set sail once again when the race restarted, and he led until a round of pit stops on lap 250.  Following pit stops, Harvick was leading when he cut down a left-front tire that ended his chances at the victory.

Keselowski led following a caution for debris, and he led for 45 more laps, before Gordon chased him down and took the lead.  He led throughout the final round of green-flag pit stops, and he won his fourth race of the season.

Unofficial results:

1. Jeff Gordon

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Joey Logano

5. Matt Kenseth

6. Kyle Larson

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Ryan Newman

9. Clint Bowyer

10. Kyle Busch

11. Carl Edwards

12. Denny Hamlin

13. Kevin Harvick

14. Tony Stewart

15. Brian Vickers

16. Paul Menard

17. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

18. Kurt Busch

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Kasey Kahne

21. Greg Biffle

22. Jamie McMurray

23. AJ Allmendinger

24. Austin Dillon

25. Danica Patrick

26. Marcos Ambrose

27. Casey Mears

28. Aric Almirola

29. Justin Allgaier

30. Cole Whitt

31. David Ragan

32. Reed Sorenson

33. David Gilliland

34. Alex Bowman

35. Landon Cassill

36. Mike Bliss

37. David Stremme

38. Travis Kvapil

39. JJ Yeley

40. Mike Wallace

41. Michael Annett

42. Josh Wise

43. Timmy Hill

The Challenger round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup ended on Sunday, setting up the 12 drivers who will compete over the next three races in the Contender round.  AJ Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola were eliminated from the championship hunt following Sunday’s race at Dover.

Below are the 12 drivers competing in the Contender Round.

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Joey Logano

3. Jeff Gordon

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Jimmie Johnson

6. Kyle Busch

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

8. Matt Kenseth

9. Ryan Newman

10. Carl Edwards

11. Denny Hamlin

12. Kasey Kahne

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway.  The Hollywood Casino 400 can be seen next Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Photo courtesy Sarah Glenn/Getty Images