Jeff Gordon came out on top to win the AAA 400 at Dover and in further good news for Hendrick Motorsports his team-mate Kasey Kahne advanced to the next round of the Chase.
The battle to remain in The Chase proved the biggest focal point at Dover as the new-for-2014 system saw its first four drivers eliminated.
Kahne secured the final of 12 transfer spots for Round 2 of the Chase for the Sprint Cup as AJ Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola were eliminated.
Four more drivers will be eliminated after the sixth race of the 10-race Chase, at Talladega Superspeedway on 19 October.
After the Dover result, no one was more pleased than team owner Rick Hendrick.
“I think he (Jeff Gordon) found the fountain of youth somewhere,” said Hendrick.
“He wants that fifth championship really bad. This is probably the most — with Kasey trying to get in, Jeff leading — I’m too old for this.”
As well as Gordon and Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports’ other two drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt jr are also through to the next round of NASCAR’s playoffs.
“I didn’t know what happened to (pole-sitter Kevin) Harvick,” said Gordon, who scored his fourth win of the season.
“When I saw him go out, I knew I could compete with the 2 car (Keselowski). I didn’t know if we were going to pull it off, but I’m so proud of this Drive to End Hunger team.
“They have just given me such an awesome race car this year, and I’m having so much fun.”
Kevin Harvick dominated the first half of the race leading the first 147 laps. His only issue was that his front left was bottoming, but it seemed to make no difference as he pulled away out front.
Then during a green flag pit stop the tyre changer had tightened four of the five lug nuts when the car was dropped. As he put the gun towards the final lug the wheel rotated and the gun appeared to strike the valve stem of the tyre. A lap later Harvick had a flat tyre and his chances were over.
Brad Keselowski then inherited the lead and held it until Gordon tracked him down and made a pass for the top position with 94 laps to go.
“We’re handing out early Christmas presents to people winning races that we should be winning,” said Harvick.
“We can beat every car on the race track, we just need some good luck. If we get some good luck, we’ll win races and the championship.”
The long green flag runs that punctuated the race meant that anyone with a poor handling car would be out of the fight. That included Marcos Ambrose who along with that, also battled a right-rear issue to finish in 26th.
As Marcos Ambrose winds down his NASCAR career, the Ford driver finished 26th, two laps behind the leaders.
VIDEO: Gordon wins
VIDEO: Victory Lane
RESULTS: AAA 400 – Dover International Speedway
| POS. | CAR | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | STARTING POS. | LAPS | LAPS LED | FINAL STATUS | POINTS | BONUS POINTS |
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 6 | 400 | 94 | Running | 47 | 4 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 4 | 400 | 78 | Running | 43 | 1 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 8 | 400 | 0 | Running | 41 | 0 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 16 | 400 | 0 | Running | 40 | 0 |
| 5 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 14 | 400 | 2 | Running | 40 | 1 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 7 | 400 | 0 | Running | 38 | 0 |
| 7 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 26 | 400 | 0 | Running | 37 | 0 |
| 8 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 20 | 400 | 0 | Running | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 9 | 400 | 1 | Running | 36 | 1 |
| 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 2 | 400 | 0 | Running | 34 | 0 |
| 11 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 18 | 400 | 1 | Running | 34 | 1 |
| 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 3 | 400 | 0 | Running | 32 | 0 |
| 13 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 1 | 399 | 223 | Running | 33 | 2 |
| 14 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 15 | 399 | 0 | Running | 30 | 0 |
| 15 | 55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 11 | 399 | 0 | Running | 29 | 0 |
| 16 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 19 | 399 | 0 | Running | 28 | 0 |
| 17 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 25 | 399 | 0 | Running | 27 | 0 |
| 18 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 22 | 399 | 0 | Running | 26 | 0 |
| 19 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | 24 | 399 | 0 | Running | 25 | 0 |
| 20 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 12 | 399 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
| 21 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 27 | 399 | 0 | Running | 23 | 0 |
| 22 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 5 | 398 | 1 | Running | 23 | 1 |
| 23 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 28 | 398 | 0 | Running | 21 | 0 |
| 24 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 10 | 398 | 0 | Running | 20 | 0 |
| 25 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 13 | 398 | 0 | Running | 19 | 0 |
| 26 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 17 | 398 | 0 | Running | 18 | 0 |
| 27 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 30 | 397 | 0 | Running | 17 | 0 |
| 28 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 21 | 397 | 0 | Running | 16 | 0 |
| 29 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 23 | 395 | 0 | Running | 15 | 0 |
| 30 | 26 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | 29 | 395 | 0 | Running | 14 | 0 |
| 31 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | 37 | 395 | 0 | Running | 13 | 0 |
| 32 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 33 | 394 | 0 | Running | 12 | 0 |
| 33 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 31 | 393 | 0 | Running | 11 | 0 |
| 34 | 23 | Alex Bowman | Toyota | 34 | 391 | 0 | Running | 10 | 0 |
| 35 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 36 | 391 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | 37 | Mike Bliss | Chevrolet | 40 | 391 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | 33 | David Stremme | Chevrolet | 38 | 389 | 0 | Running | 7 | 0 |
| 38 | 83 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | 42 | 389 | 0 | Running | 6 | 0 |
| 39 | 32 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | 39 | 387 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | 66 | Mike Wallace | Toyota | 41 | 384 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | 7 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 35 | 361 | 0 | Accident | 3 | 0 |
| 42 | 98 | Josh Wise | Chevrolet | 32 | 197 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 43 | 44 | Timmy Hill | Chevrolet | 43 | 11 | 0 | Vibration | 1 | 0 |
STANDINGS
| POS | DRIVER | POINTS | BEHIND | STARTS | WINS | TOP 5 | TOP 10 | DNF |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 1 |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 4 | 13 | 18 | 4 |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 2 |
| 4 | Jimmie Johnson | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 3 | 10 | 18 | 3 |
| 5 | Jeff Gordon | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 0 |
| 6 | Kyle Busch | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 4 |
| 7 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 2 |
| 8 | Matt Kenseth | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 0 | 11 | 18 | 2 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 1 |
| 10 | Carl Edwards | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | 3000 | Leader | 28 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 2 |
| 12 | Kasey Kahne | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| 13 | AJ Allmendinger | 2077 | -923 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 14 | Kurt Busch | 2073 | -927 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 5 |
| 15 | Greg Biffle | 2072 | -928 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| 16 | Aric Almirola | 2061 | -939 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 17 | Kyle Larson | 859 | -2141 | 29 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| 18 | Clint Bowyer | 817 | -2183 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 3 |
| 19 | Jamie McMurray | 805 | -2195 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 3 |
| 20 | Paul Menard | 781 | -2219 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | 779 | -2221 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | Brian Vickers | 765 | -2235 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| 23 | Marcos Ambrose | 702 | -2298 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 24 | Martin Truex Jr | 679 | -2321 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 25 | Casey Mears | 653 | -2347 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | Tony Stewart | 639 | -2361 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 27 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 613 | -2387 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 28 | Danica Patrick | 597 | -2403 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 29 | Justin Allgaier | 515 | -2485 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 30 | David Gilliland | 446 | -2554 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 31 | Michael Annett | 422 | -2578 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 32 | David Ragan | 409 | -2591 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 33 | Cole Whitt | 401 | -2599 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 34 | Reed Sorenson | 395 | -2605 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 35 | Alex Bowman | 345 | -2655 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 36 | Josh Wise | 343 | -2657 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Ryan Truex | 193 | -2807 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 38 | Michael McDowell | 178 | -2822 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 39 | Travis Kvapil | 173 | -2827 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 | Jeff Burton | 87 | -2913 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Terry Labonte | 77 | -2923 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | David Stremme | 75 | -2925 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 43 | Bobby Labonte | 54 | -2946 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 44 | Parker Kligerman | 54 | -2946 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 45 | Michael Waltrip | 48 | -2952 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 46 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 47 | -2953 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Alex Kennedy | 47 | -2953 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 48 | Dave Blaney | 46 | -2954 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 49 | Brett Moffitt | 44 | -2956 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 50 | David Reutimann | 37 | -2963 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | Timmy Hill | 32 | -2968 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 52 | Boris Said | 28 | -2972 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | Nelson Piquet Jr | 18 | -2982 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | Eddie MacDonald | 9 | -2991 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | Tomy Drissi | 6 | -2994 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | Clay Rogers | 1 | -2999 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 57 | Landon Cassill | 0 | -3000 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 58 | Sam Hornish Jr | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | Trevor Bayne | 0 | -3000 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 60 | Brian Scott | 0 | -3000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 61 | Ty Dillon | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -3000 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 64 | J.J. Yeley | 0 | -3000 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 65 | Blake Koch | 0 | -3000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Mike Wallace | 0 | -3000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | Mike Bliss | 0 | -3000 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 68 | Regan Smith | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 69 | Joey Gase | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | Morgan Shepherd | 0 | -3000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 71 | Corey Lajoie | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | Johnny Sauter | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 73 | Eric McClure | 0 | -3000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | Matt Crafton | 0 | -3000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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