The third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup was a refreshing change of pace from the first two, as fuel mileage wasn’t the deciding factor this time around.
Kurt Busch won the AAA 400 Sunday at Dover International Speedway, holding off Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards in a 34-lap dash to the finish following the 10th and final caution of the race – a Greg Biffle crash on Lap 362.
It was the second win of 2011 for the No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge, the first coming at Infineon Raceway in June.
Sunday’s race at the “Monster Mile” was chock full of great storylines, such as:
A.J. Allmendinger’s seventh-place finish. The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford faced adversity very early in the race, after contact with Denny Hamlin caused Allmendinger to nearly spin and bring out the first caution of the day on Lap 5. However, Allmendinger’s prowess at Dover continued to shine through as he eventually fought back for his seventh top-10 finish of 2011.
Rain, rain that wound up coming another day. For a few minutes in Sunday’s race, it appeared as if rain would wreak havoc on a Sprint Cup race for the third time in five weeks. Overnight showers had already cleaned the track of rubber laid down throughout the weekend, and a caution for rain came out on Lap 19. On Lap 256, light rain dampened the track once again. Luckily, the race ended before any more precipitation came out of the industrial grey skies.
Brad Keselowski loses power steering, still manages top-20 lead lap finish due to some “luck.” At some point in the second half of the 400-lap event, the “Blue Deuce” lost power steering, causing Keselowski to promptly fall off the lead lap in fighting a very tight Dodge. Late cautions worked to “Special K”’s benefit, as the No. 2 Dodge ended with a 20th-place finish.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. loses sway bar early and never really recovers. The caution for rain on Lap 19 was a huge benefit for the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team, fixing the situation – or so they thought. Junior struggled for most of the afternoon before ending with a 24th-place finish, two laps behind Busch.
Carl Edwards speeds exiting pit road, rebounds to contend for the win. Cousin Carl dominated a great deal of this race, leading 116 laps (Johnson led the most with 157) and taking off in a similar fashion as Saturday’s Nationwide Series win. His day was seemingly derailed on lap 249, while he was nailed with speeding off pit road and a pass-through penalty. Once again, cautions worked out in Edwards’s favor, allowing him to flex some muscle and finish in third.
Finishing behind the top three were Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Marcos Ambrose and Kevin Harvick.
Nine drivers are now within 19 points of the lead, shared by Harvick and Edwards. Stewart and Kurt Busch are tied for third, nine points behind. Jimmie Johnson is fifth (-13), Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth in a tie for sixth (-14), Kyle Busch eighth (-15) and Jeff Gordon ninth (-19).
Next up for the Sprint Cup Series is the Hollywood Casino 400 Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
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