NASCAR Dover 2015 results: Kevin Harvick wins AAA 400

Needing a victory to avoid playoff elimination, defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick came through with a dominating performance Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

Harvick cruised to victory, leading 355 of a possible 400 laps to win the AAA 400, the Round 1 elimination race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship playoff. Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray and Aric Almirola completed the top-five finishers.

“We were on the verge of being down and out for this one and to be able to pull this off is just one of those moments that you enjoy,” Harvick said. “I told people before this, this is a lot of fun to be in these situations and succeed. When you don’t succeed it’s not near as much fun, but it just makes them extra special.”

Harvick found himself facing a virtual must-situation Sunday following back-to-back poor finishes where he crashed in the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway and ran out of fuel while leading with three laps to go last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver prevailed in a similar scenario a year ago en route to his first series championship.

Dover was Harvick’s third win of 2015 and reestablished him as a title contender. A victory automatically qualifies a driver for the next round in NASCAR’s playoffs that entails the elimination of the four lowest ranked drivers without a win every three races.

“I think we’re better than we were last year just because of the experiences and things that we’ve had,” Harvick said. “When we look at everything that’s gone on over the last couple of years, it’s just been a lot of fun. So, it’s just that never quit attitude.”

McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer were the four elimination from the 16-driver Chase field. McMurray and Earnhardt tied for the final transfer position, but Earnhardt earned the spot based on posting the best finish within the round (third).

Johnson’s pursuit of a record-tying seventh Cup Series championship will have to wait another year, as a mechanical failure sent him to the garage prematurely for repairs. He would return to competition, but finished 41st on a track where he won’s a record 10 times.

“Definitely disappointed,” Johnson said. “It just shows how critical everything is on a race team. And how important every component is and you can’t take anything for granted. Heartbreaking for sure, but I don’t know what else we can do about it we just have to go on and try to win races and close out the season strong.”

Joining Harvick in filling out the Round 2 bracket are Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon and Earnhardt. The second segment begins Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.