Jimmie Johnson snatches victory from Larson in chaotic Dover finish

Johnson’s victory ties him for sixth on the all-time win list with Cale Yarborough. His 11th Dover wins puts the seven-time champion in an elite fraternity of just two fellow champions — Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip with double digit wins at a race track. 

“Congratulations,” Johnson told the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team. 

“I can’t believe it,” replied crew chief Chad Knaus. 

“You’re the restart champ,” team owner radioed the driver. 

The No. 48 Chevy led seven laps, but moved to the point for the final time when the AAA 400 Drive For Autism went into overtime. Johnson took the lead from Larson on the restart and held on when the Nos. 13 and 31 made contact on the backstretch to end the race under yellow. 

“It means a lot to me,” Johnson said of the win. “When I was growing up in southern California racing dirt bikes I was a big Cale Yarborough fan. We travelled across the country to race in the Amateur Nationals heading to Oklahoma, we stopped at a Hardees I walked in thinking I would meet Cale Yarborough and left with a burger. So, it opened my eyes to the world of sponsorship at that point in time, but I was such a fan and it’s been an amazing journey along the way. It was a huge honor to tie him with three consecutive championships a few years back and then to be here at 83 wins and a day where things played out in such an awkward and weird fashion just very happy that we’ve got it done. To my 83 wins, I’m just so proud that it’s come with one owner, one sponsor, one manufacturer, one crew chief, one team, this is a very special journey this whole Hendrick Lowe’s team has been on.”

Larson led a race-high 241 laps to hold onto second.

“I spun my tires pretty bad, I tried to take off without using too much throttle,” Larson said of the final restart. “But my team gave me a great Target Chevy. I thought we had the best car today.”

Martin Truex Jr., who won the first two stages, finished third followed by Ryan Newman, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick. 

Larson elected to take two tires during service between segments and gained the lead for the final stage. Truex restarted second followed by Johnson, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Kahne, Elliott, Jones and Hamlin on Lap 248. 

Truex was jumbled up on the restart and dropped to third. On Lap 257, Kenseth passed Truex for third. Harvick rounded out the top five. 

On Lap 260, Larson’s lead was a mere 0.352-seconds ahead of Johnson. Kenseth, Truex, Harvick, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Erik Jones and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top 10. 

Three laps later, the 11th caution was called for debris on the frontstretch. The top 10 remained the same. Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Trevor Bayne and Austin Dillon rounded out the top 15 drivers. 

The race returned to green with 132 laps remaining. Larson went side-by-side with Johnson on the first lap but pulled out to two-car lengths over the next lap. Truex, Elliott, Kenseth, Harvick, Kahne, McMurray, Kyle Busch and Suarez rounded out the top 10 with 130 laps remaining.

Subbing for Aric Almirola, Regan Smith passed Denny Hamlin for 15th on Lap 273.

Kenseth pit on Lap 286 with a flat tire, then incurred a speeding penalty. Kenseth, who was running fourth, dropped to 25th — two laps down.  

With 100 laps remaining, Larson extended his advantage to 2.124-seconds over Johnson after the No. 48 Chevy was blocked by traffic. Truex was third followed by Elliott, Harvick, Kahne, McMurray, Kyle Busch, Suarez and Jones. 

Truex passed Johnson for second on Lap 303. Johnson brushed the wall, then reported something was wrong with the car as he adjusted his track bar without results. Elliott moved by Johnson on Lap 307 for third. Harvick and Kahne completed the top five. 

On Lap 312, Jones who was running in the top 10, reported a right front flat. Jones dropped to 24th, two laps down. Harvick passed Johnson on 315 for fourth. Kyle Busch followed. 

Kasey Kahne was the next driver to pit. He came in for service on Lap 318. Larson held the point with 75 laps remaining at Truex and Suarez pit. Johnson, who moved up from seventh to fifth through attrition, on Lap 327. Larson came to pit road when Smith brought out the caution on Lap 329.  Larson had led 198 laps before coming to pit road. He was awarded the lucky dog and lined up ninth.

Rookie Ty Dillon was the first car off of eight cars off of pit road followed by his Richard Childress Racing teammate Ryan Newman, Johnson, Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chris Buescher and Danica Patrick. 

Dillon held the point on the Lap 339 restart with Newman in tow. With 60 laps remaining, Ty Dillon, Newman, Johnson, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard rounded out the top five. Larson moved up seventh on Lap 343 when a wreck occurred between Menard and Buescher on the backstretch. Larson eased down low and through the melee and moved up to fifth as the 13th caution came out. 

Ty Dillon retained the lead followed by Newman, Johnson, Austin Dillon, Larson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray, Kahne, Patrick and Elliott. Harvick, Suarez, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Truex rounded out the top 15 after the No. 78 pitted for service with AJ Allmendinger on Lap 354. 

The race returned to green with 52 laps remaining and 17 cars on the lead lap. Larson moved up to fourth on the restart with Earnhardt moving up to fifth. Larson looked to the inside of the No. 48 on lap 351 but Johnson held him off. However, Larson did move past Newman for third. 

Kyle Busch reported something was wrong with the back of the car and was forced to pit for tires with 45 laps remaining. he dropped to 19th, two laps off the pace.

On Lap 357, Larson passed Johnson on the outside between Turns 1 and 2. With 40 laps remaining, Larson passed Ty Dillon for the lead. Johnson moved passed the No. 13 on the next lap. Newman, Earnhardt, Austin Dillon, Jamie McMurray, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 10. 

With 20 laps remaining, Larson extended his advantage to 1.335-seconds over Johnson. Ty Dillon was third followed by Newman, Earnhardt, Truex, McMurray, Austin Dillon, Elliott and Harvick. 

David Ragan his the wall between Turn 1 and 2 to bring out the fourth caution with three laps remaining and send the race into overtime. 

Larson led followed by Johnson, Truex, Ty Dillon and Newman. Earnhardt, Elliott, McMurray, Kahne, Suarez, Harvick, Allmendinger, Patrick and Austin Dillon pitted. 

Jones moved up to sixth for the restart followed by Elliott, McMurray, Suarez, Austin Dillon, Harvick, Hamlin, Kahne, Allmendinger and Patrick. Earnhardt had a speeding penalty and dropped to 17th, the last car on the lead lap.

When the race returned to green, Johnson passed Larson on the restart before the final wreck occurred on the back stretch. 

“There was a little confusion at the end, coming to the checker under yellow but we won the race,” Johnson said.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Laps Led
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	406		7
2	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	406	0.638	241
3	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	406	1.283	102
4	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	406	1.811	1
5	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	406	2.274
6	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	406	2.507
7	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	406	2.624	2
8	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	406	3.313
9	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	406	3.944
10	10	Danica Patrick	Ford	406	4.461
11	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	406	5.378
12	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	406	6.024
13	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	406	6.832
14	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	406	42.437	27
15	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	406	35.208
16	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	405	1 lap	19
17	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	404	2 laps
18	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	404	2 laps
19	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	404	2 laps	4
20	15	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	403	3 laps
21	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	402	3 laps
22	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	402	3 laps
23	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	402	4 laps
24	23	Gray Gaulding	Toyota	402	4 laps
25	22	Joey Logano	Ford	402	4 laps
26	83	Ryan Sieg	Toyota	400	6 laps
27	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Chevrolet	400	6 laps
28	66	Timmy Hill	Chevrolet	398	8 laps
29	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	397	9 laps
30	38	David Ragan	Ford	393	13 laps
31	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	391	15 laps
32	21	Ryan Blaney	Ford	373	33 laps
33	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	343	63 laps
34	43	Regan Smith	Ford	329	77 laps
35	51	Cody Ware	Chevrolet	283	123 laps
36	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	257	149 laps
37	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	93	313 laps
38	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	66	340 laps
39	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	62	344 laps	3