NASCAR Dover 2017 results: Jimmie Johnson wins AAA 400 Drive for Autism

Jimmie Johnson passed Kyle Larson on an overtime restart, which was all the advantage he needed to win Sunday at Dover International Speedway when an eight-car accident ensued on the backstretch ending the AAA 400 under caution.

Larson finished second, with Martin Truex Jr. in third, Ryan Newman in fourth, and Chase Elliott in fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were rookie Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Danica Patrick.

Johnson won his third Monster Energy Cup Series race of the 2017 season, his 11th at Dover, and the 83rd of his career overall to tie Cale Yarborough for sixth on the all-time list. Johnson, the defending and seven-time series champion, debuted a helmet with Yarborough’s likeness on Sunday.

When Johnson was growing up in Southern California, Yarborough was his favorite NASCAR driver. He even once stopped at Hardee’s, Yarborough’s sponsor, believing the fast-food eatery was the headquarters for Yarborough’s team. The 78-year-old NASCAR Hall of Famer is the only driver besides Johnson to win three consecutive Cup titles.

“To be here and tie him at 83 wins is amazing,” Johnson said. “We just got the tribute helmet. I wasn’t sure how quickly we’d be, or if we’d be able to go there, and get it done. But, Cale, you’re the man. Thank you for all you have done for our sport.”

Larson, who led a race-high 241 laps, was leading comfortably over Johnson when David Ragan suffered a tire failure and crashed to bring out a caution with four laps remaining.

On the subsequent restart, Johnson got the jump on Larson and completed what proved to be the winning pass when half a lap later a nine-car accident broke out on the backstretch just after Johnson had already passed the overtime line guaranteeing there would be no further restarts and making the race official.

Larson has finished second five times in 13 races this season. He took the latest runner-up particularly hard, blaming himself for not getting a better restart despite being positioned in the more favorable outside groove, with Johnson to his inside.

“Obviously, I didn’t need that last caution,” Larson said. “Jimmie is the best of our time, probably the best of all time. He just has obviously a lot more experience than I do out on the front row late in races and executed a lot better than I did. I’ve got to get better at that and maybe get some more wins.”

Larson, who won at Auto Club Speedway in March, trails championship leader Truex by nine points at the halfway point of the regular season.

Truex, who scored a dominating victory at Dover last fall, won the first two stages on Sunday, but an untimely caution while making a late green-flag pit stop cost him valuable track position. The Furniture Row Racing driver leads the series with eight stage wins, and he’s picked up 18 additional bonus points that will apply to his playoff total.

“We had a good car and just got caught by that caution when we pitted and lost our shot at the win,” Truex said. “I don’t know that we had the best car, but we had a good car for sure. Just not the finish we hoped for, but still when you’re this disappointed with third, it speaks volumes about your team and where you’re at and what’s going on.”