6. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson has been on fire since the Chase began — if only he were one of the 16 drivers in the field. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender had 37 quality passes, the second-most, according to loop data. In the three Chase races, Larson has an average finish of 3.7. Is there any doubt that his first Sprint Cup win is coming very soon?
7. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. At what is practically the New Jersey-born driver’s home track, Truex posted his best finish in 16 races, which was coincidently a sixth-place finish in the spring race at Dover. Truex had the most green-flag passes in the race with 62, according to loop data.
8. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman’s steady hand helped him advance to the Contender Round of the Chase. He had the fourth-most green-flag passes (58), according to loop data. The eighth-place result was Newman’s second such result at Dover in his past three races there.
9. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer earned his first top-10 finish since Richmond and extended his streak of top-10 finishes at the Monster Mile to eight straight races.
10. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Remember when everyone was worried that "Rowdy" wouldn’t even make it out of the Challenger Round? Three top-10 finishes in the opening round of the Chase have proven that fear to be false. Busch was the third-fastest car early in a run and has looked solid in the Chase.
11. Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. For a brief time, it looked like "Concrete Carl" may not make it out of the Challenger Round as he was running as far back as 23rd on Lap 80. But the veteran stayed after it and worked his way up thanks to making 33 quality passes, the sixth-most in the race, according to loop data.
12. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin entered the race on the outside looking in of advancing to the Contender Round. But a strong starting spot, the least amount of time on pit road and a solid run at Dover moved him through. But one driver had some concerns about Hamlin’s car as Gordon radioed to his team, "11 has his skirt flared out so much he’s going to cut someone’s tire." There were no post-race inspection issues with the No. 11 team. To hear more in-car audio, subscribe to RaceView today.
13. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. The polesitter led a race-high 223 laps and looked downright dominant. There were concerns about a broken left front shock, but it was a left front tire issue that derailed the No. 4 team’s day. "Something had to cut that tire don’t you think?" Harvick asked over the radio. Turned out to be a left front valve stem was knocked out. The team recovered well for a 13th-place finish, but this was the third time in five races that Harvick led triple-digit laps and had no win to show for it. See what happened to Harvick at Dover.
14. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. At a track where he has three career wins, "Smoke" scored his best finish since a seventh-place result at Loudon more than two months ago. He spent all but eight laps in the top 15. Perhaps this is the start of a strong 2014 finish to set up a solid 2015 campaign.
15. Brian Vickers, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Vickers was eighth in the standings when engine trouble derailed his strong start to the season at Dover in the spring. He ran well here Sunday, scoring his fourth top-15 finish in the past five races.
16. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard has struggled to regain the form that saw him roll off four top-10 finishes in five races this spring into summer. The finish may look respectable but Menard ran just four laps in the top 15.
17. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. For the fifth time in six races, Junior finished outside the top 10. In fact, Dale Jr. spent only 40 laps in the top 10 and was never much of a threat to win. While the team moves on to the Contender Round, the results need to improve for a championship run.
18. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. "The Outlaw’s" 500th career Sprint Cup Series start was supposed to be a joyous occasion but it was not as he did not advance to the Contender Round. Busch was battling a tight car most of the race and that affected his position as he went from 12th on Lap 300 to 18th at the finish. Busch took the blame, telling his team over the radio after the race, "It’s all my fault. Put that all on the driver. It’s all my fault." Hear what Busch had to say after the race.
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. This was a markedly better result for the second-year driver than the spring race when a crash ended his day early. Stenhouse recorded the second-most green-flag passes (59), according to loop data.
20. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne battled his butt off to advance to the Contender Round. An unscheduled pit stop for a loose left rear tire on Lap 162 put Kahne two laps down. A green-flag stop on Lap 241 put him four laps down. Yet, at the end of the day, Kahne managed to be just one lap down and advanced in the Chase. Perhaps it was the team’s ability to navigate traffic as Kahne was the seventh-fastest car in traffic (145.619 mph). Watch as Kahne talks about making the next round.
21. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle and the No. 16 team’s performance at Dover was eerily similar to the team’s performance in the first two Chase races. The team struggled to find speed, had a bad starting spot and battled to stay on the lead lap. Those trends can lead to early exit in the Chase, like they did for Biffle this year.
22. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. McMurray carried plenty of momentum into the race with four top-10 finishes in his previous five starts. However, the veteran driver struggled, logging the least amount of laps in the top 15 (87) for a driver that started in the top 10.
23. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger saw his Chase come to an end at a track that was considered to be one of his best in the Chase. The Watkins Glen winner was frustrated with his car all day long, telling his team over the radio on Lap 236, "if we’re going to be competitive dude, you have to find me some grip. I’m getting sick in the car this thing is shaking so bad." He later added on Lap 352, "Evil man! I’m tired of driving evil cars!" He ultimately finished two points behind Kahne for the final Contender Round spot. For more in-car audio with drivers unplugged, subscribe to RaceView today.
24. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing.
Dillon qualified well and started 10th, but couldn’t transfer that success over to the race. Just like in the spring race, the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet finished two laps down.
25. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick’s four-race streak of top-20 finishes came to an end Sunday. Her finish was right at her career average finish of 25.8 at the Monster Mile.
26. Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. The finish may not have been what he wanted, but Ambrose got a shoutout from Dover International Speedway president Denis McGlynn in the driver’s meeting. The RPM driver recorded the fifth-most green flag passes (57), according to loop data.
27. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. For the third straight race, Mears gradually improved on his starting position. During that stretch, he has an average finish of 25th.
28. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola’s first Chase run came to an end with a disappointing run at Dover. The No. 43 team struggled to find a rhythm at this 1-mile track and the result was Almirola’s worst career finish at Dover in six starts. Hear what Almirola said after the race.
29. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. The rookie seems to be having an up-and-down second half of 2014. After earning three top-20 results in four races toward the end of the summer, he has since scored one top-20 finish in the five races since.
30. Cole Whitt, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. The rookie sure loves the 30th position. This was his fifth such result in six races.
31. David Ragan, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. For the second time in three weeks, Ragan finished in 31st. This finish came a week after a 42nd-place result at Loudon.
32. Reed Sorenson, No. 36 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Sorenson had his worse finish in nine races in the AAA 400. He ran better in the spring race at Dover, finishing 24th.
33. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. For the second time in three races, Gilliland finished outside the top 30. This comes on the heels of a stretch where he finished inside the top 30 in the six previous races.
34. Alex Bowman, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Bowman may have finished 34th, but the rookie showed improvement the second time around at the Monster Mile. He finished 40th at Dover in the spring.
35. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Racing. On the bright side, Cassill improve on his starting position to the finish for the seventh time in eight races. The downside: this was his worst finish in that stretch.
36. Mike Bliss, No. 37 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Bliss’ finish at Dover was the second-best finish he has had in six Sprint Cup starts this season and marked the second time this season he was running at the finish.
37. David Stremme, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport Racing. Stremme’s 37th-place finish at Dover was right on par with his average finish for the season, 36.5.
38. Travis Kvapil, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. Kvapil was hit a speeding penalty entering pit road on Lap 65. His 38th-place finish was his second finish in that spot in three races.
39. J.J. Yeley, No. 32 Ford, GO Fas Racing. Yeley started exactly where he finished at Dover, 39th. He was 13 laps down at the finish.
40. Mike Wallace, No. 66 Toyota, Jay Robinson Racing. Making a Sprint Cup Series start for the second straight week, Wallace finished 16 laps down for the No. 66 team’s eighth finish of 40th or worse this season.
41. Michael Annett, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. For the fifth time in seven races, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender finished 37th or worse. An accident left Annett 39 laps down.
42. Josh Wise, No. 98 Chevrolet, Phil Parsons Racing. Wise finished 203 laps down due to an issue with his suspension for his worst finish since the Las Vegas race in March.
43. Timmy Hill, No. 44 Chevrolet, Xxxtreme Motorsport. Making his seventh Sprint Cup start of the season, Hill retired from the race just 11 laps in with a vibration issue.
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