Kenseth steals victory at Dover

Matt Kenseth celebrates

Jim Garrahan/AR1.com

Matt Kenseth came late to the party — and took home the prize.

A two-tire call late in Sunday's FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway put Kenseth on the front row for a restart on Lap 367 of 400, and that was all Kenseth needed to secure his second Sprint Cup victory of the season and the 20th of his career.

In short order, Kenseth dispatched Mark Martin, who had stayed out on old tires, and maintained a comfortable lead to the finish, as those who had taken four tires under caution on Lap 363 could make little headway against those with inferior rubber. Kenseth led the final 32 laps.

Martin ran second, followed by Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers, as the mixture of tire strategies squelched what had been a heated battle between Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards — and later, Clint Bowyer.

Bowyer came home sixth, Edwards seventh, Martin Truex Jr. eighth and Johnson ninth. Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.

Johnson dominated the early stages of the race, leading 135 of the first 142 laps before Edwards passed him for the top spot through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 143. Johnson beat Edwards off pit road on Lap 165, under caution for a brief rain shower, and regained the lead a lap later, when front-row starter AJ Allmendinger, who had stayed out to lead a lap, took his car to the garage with a blown engine.

Johnson remained out front until Lap 189, when Edwards overtook him again. Edwards was first off pit road for a restart on Lap 223, after NASCAR called the fourth caution of the race on Lap 216 because of debris in Turn 3.

The drivers swapped positions once more during a cycle of green-flag pit stops, with Johnson passing Juan Montoya for the lead on Lap 288. Montoya, who was off sequence on pit stops, had stayed on the track while the rest of the lead-lap cars came to pit road under green.

Johnson had a 1.5-second lead after the exchange of pit stops, but Edwards chopped that down to nothing by Lap 313, when he passed for the lead, albeit briefly. Johnson regained the top spot on Lap 314 and held it under extreme pressure from Edwards and Bowyer until Kasey Kahne's engine failure on Lap 332 caused the fifth caution of the race.

Excellent pit work got Bowyer out in front for a restart on Lap 338, and he held the lead — with Edwards gaining ground — until Juan Pablo Montoya's spin in Turn 3 brought out the sixth caution on Lap 362.

Results

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