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Rundown: Analysis of all 43 cars at Dover

Below is a breakdown of how the full 43-car field fared at Dover International Speedway.

 

1. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick scored his spot in the Round of 12 in dramatic fashion by leading a career-best 355 laps and notching the 750th victory for manufacturer Chevrolet.

 

2. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Post-race, Busch said he was pleased with where his team finished, citing it had a second-place car, but also adding it had quite a bit of ground to make up to catch the "lightning-fast" No. 4 team.

 

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The final caution flag was a lucky break for Earnhardt, who took the opportunity to address a loose wheel. He then used a solid restart to slip past fellow Chase contender Jamie McMurray and punch his ticket to the next round.

 

4. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. "Nice work guys. Nothing to be ashamed of," McMurray radioed his team after just missing the cut for Round 2. For more in-car audio, sign up for RaceView.

 

5. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola was posting top-five lap times with 55 laps to go, but needed those remaining circuits to pick up seven spots and match his best Dover result.

6. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The decision to stop twice during the fifth caution period to ensure the No. 5 was full of fuel didn't hurt Kahne, who earned his seventh Dover top 10.

 

7. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth, already a Round 2 contender thanks to his Loudon victory, spent the remaining 125 laps on Sunday looking for more corner speed.

8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse restarted 10th after the fifth caution flag, and he held on for his best Dover finish.

 

9. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson looked to play the spoiler when he moved into the top three in the final 100 laps, but a decision to stay out during the final caution flag hurt his chances.

 

10. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Logano advances to the next round of the Chase with his ninth Dover top 10.

11. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. Truex, a Round 2 contender, climbed through the field after starting from the rear when NASCAR had a post-inspection issue with the flare on his side skirt.

 

12. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. "Man, it's never easy," Gordon told his team after a rough final restart. "I know that wasn't easy," spotter Eddie D'Hondt said. "But we did what we needed to" (to advance). For more in-car audio, sign up for RaceView.

 

13. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing. Biffle got sideways with 11 laps to go, but saved his car while running 15th.

 

14. Clint Bowyer, No. 15, Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer recovered after dropping from eighth to 25th when he made an unscheduled stop on Lap 175 for a loose wheel.

15. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Crew chief Darian Grubb didn't want to risk the No. 19's spot in the next round of the Chase so he called his driver back down pit road during the sixth caution flag for a right-front tire issue.

16. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Around Lap 60, Keselowski was running 16th when he reported that his engine temperatures were dropping. He maintained and will compete in the second round of the Chase.

17. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. An issue with the left-front jack bolt caused Busch to lose ride height late in the race. The team corrected the issue but still had to make additional repairs during the Lap 374 stop under caution.

 

18. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin won the race off pit road after a four-tire stop during the competition caution, but his forward momentum was stalled because he was tagged for speeding. A second penalty sealed the deal, but he still advanced because he won Chicagoland.

19. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman earned the beneficiary pass after the third caution flag and managed to stay only one lap down as the race progressed. He advanced to the second round of the Chase.

 

20. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Hornish and his team chased the handling of his No. 9 Ford all day, even as the track took on rubber.

21. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick worked with her team to help her No. 10 Chevy take off better around Dover's 1-mile oval.

22. David Ragan, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Ragan, who fell off the lead lap by Lap 105, had previously told his team he was "too free on exit and pretty snug in the center."

 

23. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon's team made several chassis adjustments during the second half of the race to help him get into the corner better.

 

24. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears was running 25th during the first half of Sunday's race when he was hooked in the right rear and saved his car from spinning on-track.

 

25. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing.  Menard rolled off the grid 14th and almost immediately went backward as he watched his first Chase run fade.

 

26. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart recently announced he'd retire from driving after 2016 to focus on ownership. But on Sunday, the driver of the No. 14 focused on pit strategy to improve his track position.

 

27. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier received the beneficiary pass during the competition caution, but spent much of the race looking for mid-corner grip.

28. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports.  Like his teammate Brett Moffitt, Whitt discovered that his car improved around Dover as the 1-mile concrete oval took on rubber.

29. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger was going too fast trying to get onto pit road when he spun up the track on Lap 311.

 

30. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Gilliland reported a tight-handling condition during the final 60 laps of Sunday's race, which his team worked to address.

31. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Halfway through a fuel run when the fifth caution flag was waved, Bayne elected to take the wave-around like most cars one or more laps down.

32. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Bowman and his team continually made adjustments on the No. 7 Chevy throughout Sunday's race trying to find balance.

33. Reed Sorenson, No. 98 Ford, Phil Parsons Racing. Already three laps down and in 36th, Sorenson told his team that he was "just racing the track right now" when they informed him leader Kevin Harvick was bearing down.

34. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. "Holy crap," DiBenedetto said while running 37th on Lap 101 when he learned leader Kevin Harvick was on his bumper -- again.

35. J.J. Yeley, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. Long green-flag runs were a struggle Sunday for Yeley.

 

36. Josh Wise, No. 32 Ford, Go FAS Racing. Wise sustained minimal nose damage after making contact with Jeb Burton on Lap 3.

 

37. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. During the fifth caution flag, Annett reported that his entry was neutral and he couldn't pick up the gas when he wanted to.

 

38. Alex Kennedy, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport. Kennedy rolled off the grid 36th in his Dover debut.

39. Timmy Hill, No. 62 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports.  Starting 43rd at the fast 1-mile oval made forward progress an immediate issue for Hill in his fourth Dover appearance.

40. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Cassill's fear that his engine was "letting go" was realized on Lap 372 and prompted the eighth caution flag.

41. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick MotorsportsA torn rear axle seal sidelined Johnson in his 500th Cup start and ended his quest for a seventh championship.

42. Brett Moffitt, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Moffitt's lap times were improving as the track picked up rubber, but his car was "killed" when he blew a right-front and made hard contact with the wall to bring out the seventh caution flag.

43. Jeb Burton, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Burton spun on Lap 3 and cut a tire on Lap 192 to bring out the caution flag twice on Sunday.