Dover did little to alter the playoff picture

Entering the race, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne were in danger of failing to advance to Round 2 and by the end of the race none of them were able to improve their respective positions.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ended up claiming the 12th and final transfer spot by two points over Newman, with Dillon, Kahne and Busch taking up positions Nos. 14, 15 and 16.

The finish was especially disappointing for Busch, who began the season by winning his first Daytona 500.

“Winning the Daytona 500, you always see the jinx that happens afterwards. We experienced it,” said Busch, who finished 20th in the race. “There’s a lot that goes on with it.

“My car never had the handle in it this year where I was always loose in, tight on exit. Loose in, tight on exit. I don’t know why we had that so bad this year.”

Both RCR drivers out

Newman and Dillon’s victories this season were the first for Richard Childress Racing in the Cup series since the 2013 season, which helped revitalize that organization.

Neither driver was able to make much headway once the playoffs began. Newman finished 23rd, 13th and 13th in the first round while Dillon ended up 16th, 19th and 16th.

“Well, we just weren’t good enough, as simple as that. We didn’t have a fast-enough race car, we didn’t have the right strategy,” Newman said. “We qualified better, that was a plus, but these first three races were a challenge for us.

“It seemed like everybody else stepped up their game and we didn’t.”

Dillon said he thought he may have been able to advance were it not for a pit road speeding penalty at Chicagoland.

“I put it back on myself in Chicago. I got a speeding penalty there where we were going to get Stage points and a top-10 run and that just kind of crushed our points situation,” he said. 

“Congratulations to the No. 17 team (Stenhouse) for moving on. We will just keep working hard and see if we can’t get a win by the end of the year and come back stronger next year.” 

Kahne struggles

Kahne was in the deepest hole entering Sunday’s cutoff race at Dover. He suffered a track bar failure late in last weekend’s race at New Hampshire and ended up finishing 35th.

For all practical purposes, Kahne needed a win at Dover to advance to the Round of 12.

“We didn’t pass really well, but had a pretty decent car, but it was a bit of a struggle to pass guys that were running the same speed,” Kahne said. “We just kind of ran in that spot and tried to use some strategy to get up (front).

“It seemed to really work, but then on the long end of it, it didn’t work out. Darian (Grubb, crew chief) did a good job. The guys worked hard and that was the best we could do.”