Kevin Harvick did what he needed to do at Dover; win and keep his NASCAR title defence alive.
Sitting 15th in points as the first round of the Sprint Cup playoffs rounded out at Dover, Harvick dominated the race leading 355 of the 400 laps and gaining automatic promotion to the next phase of the Chase.
Harvick was unstoppable. Despite starting on the eighth row, he got to the front quickly to take the lead by Lap 26.
It was his first victory at the Monster Mile in any NASCAR national series.
“Obviously we weren’t in a great position coming into today,” said Harvick, “But this is what it’s all about — these big-time moments. We’re better than we were last year just because of all the experiences we’ve had.”
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Good news for Harvick but bad for six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who has been eliminated from championship contention along with Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer.
Johnson, a 10-time winner at Dover, saw his Chase end when his car’s differential fail.
McMurray’s fourth place finish was one place behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. who advanced because of a tiebreaker.
VIDEO: Race wrap
RESULTS: AAA 400 – Dover International Speedway
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MAKE | START | LAPS | LAPS LED | FINAL STATUS | POINTS | BONUS POINTS |
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 15 | 400 | 355 | Running | 48 | 5 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 13 | 400 | 19 | Running | 43 | 1 |
| 3 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 12 | 400 | 0 | Running | 41 | 0 |
| 4 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 11 | 400 | 0 | Running | 40 | 0 |
| 5 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 18 | 400 | 0 | Running | 39 | 0 |
| 6 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 17 | 400 | 0 | Running | 38 | 0 |
| 7 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 1 | 400 | 26 | Running | 38 | 1 |
| 8 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | 27 | 400 | 0 | Running | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 19 | 400 | 0 | Running | 35 | 0 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 4 | 400 | 0 | Running | 34 | 0 |
| 11 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 9 | 400 | 0 | Running | 33 | 0 |
| 12 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 10 | 400 | 0 | Running | 32 | 0 |
| 13 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 20 | 400 | 0 | Running | 31 | 0 |
| 14 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 16 | 400 | 0 | Running | 30 | 0 |
| 15 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | 3 | 400 | 0 | Running | 29 | 0 |
| 16 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 8 | 400 | 0 | Running | 28 | 0 |
| 17 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 7 | 400 | 0 | Running | 27 | 0 |
| 18 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 2 | 400 | 0 | Running | 26 | 0 |
| 19 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 6 | 399 | 0 | Running | 25 | 0 |
| 20 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr | Ford | 26 | 398 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
| 21 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 24 | 398 | 0 | Running | 23 | 0 |
| 22 | 55 | David Ragan | Toyota | 28 | 398 | 0 | Running | 22 | 0 |
| 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 21 | 398 | 0 | Running | 21 | 0 |
| 24 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 22 | 397 | 0 | Running | 20 | 0 |
| 25 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 14 | 397 | 0 | Running | 19 | 0 |
| 26 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 25 | 396 | 0 | Running | 18 | 0 |
| 27 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 30 | 395 | 0 | Running | 17 | 0 |
| 28 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Ford | 31 | 394 | 0 | Running | 16 | 0 |
| 29 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 23 | 394 | 0 | Running | 15 | 0 |
| 30 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 32 | 394 | 0 | Running | 14 | 0 |
| 31 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 29 | 393 | 0 | Running | 13 | 0 |
| 32 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 35 | 393 | 0 | Running | 12 | 0 |
| 33 | 98 | Reed Sorenson | Ford | 40 | 391 | 0 | Running | 11 | 0 |
| 34 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | 37 | 391 | 0 | Running | 10 | 0 |
| 35 | 26 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | 42 | 390 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | 32 | Josh Wise | Ford | 41 | 389 | 0 | Running | 8 | 0 |
| 37 | 46 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 38 | 387 | 0 | Running | 7 | 0 |
| 38 | 33 | Alex Kennedy | Chevrolet | 36 | 386 | 0 | Running | 6 | 0 |
| 39 | 62 | Timmy Hill | Chevrolet | 43 | 380 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 33 | 365 | 0 | Engine | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 5 | 364 | 0 | Running | 3 | 0 |
| 42 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | Ford | 34 | 346 | 0 | Accident | 2 | 0 |
| 43 | 23 | Jeb Burton | Toyota | 39 | 186 | 0 | Accident | 1 | 0 |
STANDINGS
| POS | DRIVER | POINTS | BEHIND | STARTS | WINS | TOP 5 | TOP 10 | DNF |
| 1 | Matt Kenseth | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 2 |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 3 | 17 | 23 | 0 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 1 |
| 4 | Carl Edwards | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 2 |
| 6 | Kurt Busch | 3000 | Leader | 26 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 1 |
| 8 | Brad Keselowski | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 1 |
| 9 | Kyle Busch | 3000 | Leader | 18 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 |
| 10 | Ryan Newman | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 2 | 13 | 18 | 1 |
| 12 | Kevin Harvick | 3000 | Leader | 29 | 3 | 19 | 23 | 1 |
| 13 | Jamie McMurray | 2098 | -902 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 14 | Jimmie Johnson | 2086 | -914 | 29 | 4 | 11 | 18 | 0 |
| 15 | Paul Menard | 2075 | -925 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 16 | Clint Bowyer | 2048 | -952 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| 17 | Kasey Kahne | 770 | -2230 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| 18 | Aric Almirola | 767 | -2233 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 19 | Kyle Larson | 718 | -2282 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| 20 | Greg Biffle | 706 | -2294 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | 647 | -2353 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 22 | Casey Mears | 624 | -2376 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 23 | AJ Allmendinger | 600 | -2400 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 24 | Danica Patrick | 597 | -2403 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 25 | Tony Stewart | 581 | -2419 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 26 | David Ragan | 576 | -2424 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 27 | Sam Hornish Jr | 570 | -2430 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 561 | -2439 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 29 | Trevor Bayne | 530 | -2470 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 30 | Justin Allgaier | 482 | -2518 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 31 | Cole Whitt | 446 | -2554 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 32 | David Gilliland | 433 | -2567 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 33 | Brett Moffitt | 352 | -2648 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | Alex Bowman | 352 | -2648 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 35 | Matt DiBenedetto | 319 | -2681 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Michael Annett | 309 | -2691 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Josh Wise | 234 | -2766 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 38 | Jeb Burton | 172 | -2828 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 39 | Michael McDowell | 163 | -2837 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 | Alex Kennedy | 99 | -2901 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Reed Sorenson | 59 | -2941 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Bobby Labonte | 39 | -2961 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 43 | Brian Vickers | 32 | -2968 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Michael Waltrip | 26 | -2974 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Ryan Preece | 12 | -2988 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Mike Wallace | 8 | -2992 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | T.J. Bell | 7 | -2993 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | Eddie MacDonald | 7 | -2993 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | Will Kimmel III | 6 | -2994 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | Ron Hornaday Jr | 2 | -2998 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | -3000 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 52 | Landon Cassill | 0 | -3000 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 53 | Brian Scott | 0 | -3000 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 54 | Ty Dillon | 0 | -3000 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | J.J. Yeley | 0 | -3000 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 56 | Regan Smith | 0 | -3000 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | Chase Elliott | 0 | -3000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 58 | Matt Crafton | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | Johnny Sauter | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | Chris Buescher | 0 | -3000 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | Boris Said | 0 | -3000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | Brendan Gaughan | 0 | -3000 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 63 | Justin Marks | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | Mike Bliss | 0 | -3000 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | Travis Kvapil | 0 | -3000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | B J McLeod | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 0 | -3000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | Timmy Hill | 0 | -3000 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 70 | Joey Gase | 0 | -3000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 71 | Derek White | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | Jeff Green | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 | Erik Jones | 0 | -3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | Tanner Berryhill | 0 | -3000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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