NASCAR At Dover Race Results: Kurt Busch Wins Third Chase Race

Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards had the dominant cars on Sunday at Dover International Speedway, but Kurt Busch was able to make the right adjustments throughout the race and capitalize on a restart with 35 laps to go to pull ahead and score his second win of the season – his first at Dover.

The victory also moved Busch into fourth in the Chase standings, just nine points behind Kevin Harvick and Edwards. The win was a much-needed rebound race after a disappointing 22nd-place finish last weekend at New Hampshire.

Making adjustments during the course of the race has been a struggle for the No. 22 Penske Racing team throughout the year, but Sunday at Dover, Busch and crew chief Steve Addington were able to turn things around and be there when it mattered most.

Standing in Victory Lane, Busch called Sunday’s performance a “perfect execution” in the Chase.

“To win a Sprint Cup race in the Chase, this is what it’s all about,” he said. “That’s the feeling of the playoffs. We had everything go wrong last week, we had everything go right today. We just need nice smooth races from here.”

Leading a race-high 158 laps, Johnson was forced to settle with a second-place finish. Johnson blamed himself and poor restarts at the end of the race for missing out on the win.

Carl Edwards was also among the most dominant cars in the field, but had to overcome a late-race speeding penalty on pit road – his first of the year. After getting the free pass with 100 laps to go, Edwards worked his way back through the field, chasing down the leaders in the closing laps.

“That was really, really dumb. Luckily we had a caution and I got the lap back,” he said. “We had the car that could win. It was completely my fault we didn’t win.”

Tony Stewart, who won the first two Chase races, struggled all afternoon, finishing 25th. Despite the struggles, Stewart is only nine points out of the Chase lead.

Here is how they finished: