NASCAR Dover 2016 results: Full finishing order for Citizen Soldier 400

Further asserting his status as championship favorite, Martin Truex Jr. won for the second time in three playoff races with an overpowering victory Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

Truex led an event-high 181 laps, easily outrunning second-place Kyle Busch to win the Chase for the Sprint Cup Round 1 elimination race. It was Truex’s fourth overall victory of the season, second within the three-race opening playoff segment, and the third time he’s led at least 140 laps in the past four races.

“We’re not messing around,” Truex said. “We are here to get it done.”

Rookie Chase Elliott finished third, followed by Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth. Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top 10 finishers. Only six cars completed all 400 laps.

“Just awesome,” Truex said. “Just an awesome day for all of us and looking forward to keeping this momentum going man. The sky is the limit with this team.”

Johnson was one of the few who could keep pace with Truex, leading 90 laps during the middle portions. His bid for victory came undone when a crew member stepped over the pit wall prematurely when Johnson was pitting. That earned the six-time series champion a penalty, which cost him a lap he never got back.

Dillon’s eighth-place effort advanced him to the quarterfinal Chase round. Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Truex, Kenseth, Logano, Elliott, Keselowski, Hamlin, Edwards and Johnson are also moving on. Harvick won a week ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, and rookie Chris Buescher failed to qualify for Round 2. Stewart, who is retiring from full-time NASCAR competition at the end of the season, entered Dover needing to overcome an 11-point deficit or earn a win. But he never had much of a chance, as he finished an uncompetitive 13th.

“We kept making it better all day,” Stewart said. “That is good as we had.”

Buescher placed 23rd, six laps behind Truex.

Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Larson and McMurray were each positioned to move on until encountering separate mechanical failures. For Larson, who had been one of the fastest on the track, it was an electrical issue. That dropped him a lap behind, and he lost two additional laps after his No. 42 crew incurred a penalty for too many men over the wall.

“We’ll come back next year and go for a championship,” Larson said. “Our team came a long way this year from where we started the season.”

Larson’s problems elevated McMurray provisionally above the cutoff to advance. That was short-lived when the engine on the No. 1 car initially went sour and later expired altogether. He finished 40th (last place).

The remaining 12 Chase drivers will begin Round 2 of the postseason Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

CITIZEN SOLDIER 400 RESULTS