Kevin Harvick sweeps stages in AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover
Staff Report
Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
Stage 2
Kevin Harvick earned his sixth stage victory of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season in Stage 2 of Sunday's AAA 400 Drive for Autism, completing a sweep of both stages at Dover International Speedway.
Harvick led the field early in the stage, but Brad Keselowski took the lead from Harvick following a restart on Lap 39 of the 120-lap segment after a caution for a Derrike Cope wreck.
Harvick then passed Keselowski back with 40 laps to go, leading a total of 71 laps in the second stage.
Keselowski finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer in the top five.
Kyle Larson made his way from the back of the field to crack into the top 10 during Stage 1, but an uncontrolled tire during a stage break pit stop put the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team one lap down. He finished 22nd in Stage 2.
Martin Truex Jr. rallied for a seventh-place result in Stage 2, recovering from an unscheduled stop in Stage 1 for a flat right-front tire.
RELATED: Stage 2 results
Finish
Driver
Team
Race points
1
Kevin Harvick
Stewart-Haas Racing
10
2
Brad Keselowski
Team Penske
9
3
Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing
8
4
Jimmie Johnson
Hendrick Motorsports
7
5
Clint Bowyer
Stewart-Haas Racing
6
6
Daniel Suarez
Joe Gibbs Racing
5
7
Martin Truex Jr.
Furniture Row Racing
4
8
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
3
9
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
2
10
Joey Logano
Team Penske
1
Stage 1
Kevin Harvick led 36 of the 120 circuits to win Stage 1 of Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway.
Harvick took the lead from Brad Keselowski with 13 laps to go for the stage victory. Keselowski led a stage-high 60 laps but started running out of fuel at the end of Stage 1.
Keselowski and Truex were battling hard for the lead until Truex was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop with 24 laps to go for a tire that went down on the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.
After starting in the back due to pre-race inspection issues, Busch Pole Award winner Kyle Larson cracked the top 10 by using pit strategy early in the stage, but the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team was penalized for an uncontrolled tire with less than 20 laps remaining.
Alex Bowman, also forced to start at the rear of the field for pre-race inspection issues, led 26 laps after taking two tires during early rounds of stops to work his way up to the front.
RELATED: Stage 1 results