DOVER, Del. – One day after NASCAR Cup Series rival Denny Hamlin swept the proceedings at Dover Int’l Speedway, Kevin Harvick answered with a Monster Mile sweep of his own.
Harvick topped all three stages Sunday en route to winning the Drydene 311 at the one-mile concrete oval, the second half of a weekend doubleheader at the track and the 25th race of the season.
The driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang led six times for 223 of 311 laps en route to his series-leading seventh victory of the season, as well as his third career Dover triumph.
It was also the 700th Cup Series win for Ford as a manufacturer and the 56th of Harvick’s Cup Series career, tying him with Kyle Busch for ninth all-time on the premier series win list.
As if all that wasn’t enough, Harvick also clinched the regular-season championship on Sunday, banking an extra 15 playoff points for his total going into the postseason.
“I have to thank everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang. Congratulations to Ford on their 700th Cup win. I want to thank everyone on this team. Rodney (Childers) and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing overcame what happened yesterday with the track bar and nailed the balance today,” Harvick noted. “I want to thank all the partners: Jimmy Johns, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Busch Beer. … What a year. What a last seven years, really. I’m just really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and proud to drive this car.
“Week after week, these guys put so much effort into making this thing go fast. It has been a great year.”
A caution coming to 22 to go, for an incident involving Corey LaJoie, led to a round of pit stops that saw seven-time champion and 11-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson gamble on two tires in an effort to win his way into the playoffs.
Johnson won the race off pit road and held the lead for the final restart with 17 laps left, choosing the outside lane and leading off turn two, but Harvick dove to the bottom in turn three, powered past and drove on to a 3.525-second victory over runner-up Martin Truex Jr.
Johnson faded to third, with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman filling out the top five.
Sixth through 10th were Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer.
Leaving Dover, thirteen drivers have clinched playoff berths, leaving Clint Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron as the three drivers on the provisional playoff grid in jeopardy heading to the regular-season Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona Int’l Speedway on Aug. 29.
Johnson is the first driver outside the 16-driver cutoff, four points below the transfer line, as he chases a shot at a record eighth Cup Series championship in his final full-time season in the sport.
To view complete race results, advance to the next page.