Harvick Dominates in Dover

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the Drydene 311 from Dover International Speedway on Sunday afternoon in the second half of a doubleheader weekend.

Harvick was strong throughout the day, and led the most laps and won both stages on his way to a series-leading seventh victory.

Jimmie Johnson took the lead using pit strategy following a late caution, but he was not a match for Harvick on the restart.  When they took the green flag for the final time with 17 laps to go, Harvick was able to get around Johnson and pull away on his way to the checkered flag.

Harvick said his team worked overnight to help make the adjustments needed to win on Sunday.

“Really got to thank everybody on this team,” Harvick said.  “[Crew Chief] Rodney Childers and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for overcoming what happened yesterday with the trackbar and being able to nail the balance today.”

After he won the first stage, Harvick clinched the regular season championship, which awards him an additional 15 Playoff Points.  With the Playoffs set to begin in two weeks, Harvick will now have 57 bonus points when it begins.

Harvick said his team must continue to push forward, especially after Denny Hamlin picked up his sixth win on Saturday.

“With Denny winning yesterday, we needed to win today and we’re going to need all the points we can get,” Harvick said.  “As you look at these Playoffs, you just never know what to expect.”

For the second day in a row, Martin Truex Jr. finished second.  With the finish, Truex extended his streak to seven-consecutive races finished inside the Top 3.

Truex said the car was worse Sunday than it was on Saturday, but his team worked hard to challenge for the win.

“We tried some things overnight; definitely didn’t do what we hoped it would do,” Truex said.  “We fought hard…we executed well and came home with a good result.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. William Byron

5. Alex Bowman

6. Joey Logano

7. Aric Almirola

8. Brad Keselowski

9. Austin Dillon

10. Cole Custer

11. Kyle Busch

12. Ryan Blaney

13. Kurt Busch

14. Chris Buescher

15. Matt Kenseth

16. Clint Bowyer

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Tyler Reddick

19. Denny Hamlin

20. John Hunter Nemechek

21. Bubba Wallace

22. Erik Jones

23. Corey LaJoie

24. Ryan Newman

25. Michael McDowell

26. Ryan Preece

27. Christopher Bell

28. Daniel Suarez

29. Ty Dillon

30. Brennan Poole

31. BJ McLeod

32. Josh Bilicki

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Quin Houff

35. Garrett Smithley

36. Timmy Hill

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

38. JJ Yeley

39. Chase Elliott

40. Joey Gase

Photos courtesy Jared C. Tilton (Getty Images)