Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton were giving each other plenty of racing room but neither driver was willing to give up the win without a fight. This was a thrilling battle as Jeff Burton took the popular victory in Dover. Burton also took over the NEXTEL Cup point lead.
Qualifying
Jeff Gordon took the pole in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Scott Riggs had a very impressive qualifying run to start second. Matt Kenseth came into the race third in points and qualified third for the race. Ryan Newman and Joe Nemechek rounded out the top five.
Drop The Green Flag
Ryan Newman got a great start from the outside of the front row and took the early lead.
Some big news early in the race as Kasey Kahne's Chase hopes are done. Kahne was collected when Tony Stewart lost control early in the race. Kasey Kahne just had no lace to go. Kahne was already deep in The Chase points coming into the race and really could not afford another bad finish.
After a couple of early cautions Carl Edwards made the pass on Newman to take his turn at the front. Matt Kenseth would also get a chance to establish himself out front before the race was 100 laps old.
Storylines
Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne have driven the final nail in their 2006 Chase hopes. Kyle Busch's motor troubles in Dover relegated him to a 40th place finish. Combine that with his 38th place effort in New Hampshire and Kyle Busch's 2006 title hopes are gone.
Kasey Kahne finds himself in ninth after Dover after his incident with Tony Stewart. Kahne also had a flat tire in New Hampshire that hurt his final finishing position. Kahne is 182 points out of the lead and is not going to have time to make it up this year.
Chasing The Checkers
This was a thrilling finish as Matt Kenseth had dominated most of the day. Late in the race Kenseth's tires had faded and he was battling a push. His car just did not want to turn. Jeff Burton was running second and clearly had the faster car. Burton closed the gap and started working to get past Kenseth for the win.
Lap after lap Jeff Burton was able to get under Kenseth for the lead. However, Kenseth had just enough to hold Burton behind him. This great battle lasted for more than twenty laps. Then finally, with just five laps to go Matt Kenseth slipped and Jeff Burton was able to get past cleanly for the lead and the win.
Top Ten
- Jeff Burton
- Carl Edwards
- Jeff Gordon
- Kurt Busch
- Greg Biffle
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Bobby Labonte
- Clint Bowyer
- Denny Hamlin
- Matt Kenseth
The Points
Jeff Burton's Dover win moved him up into the NEXTEL Cup point lead. Burton leads by just six points over four-time Champion Jeff Gordon.
Last week's point leader Kevin Harvick blew the motor in Dover. Harvick fell four spots in the standings back to fifth. Harvick is just 54 points off the lead.
The top ten in points are now:
- Jeff Burton -0
- Jeff Gordon -6
- Matt Kenseth -18
- Denny Hamlin -18
- Kevin Harvick -54
- Mark Martin -75
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -102
- Jimmie Johnson -136
- Kasey Kahne -182
- Kyle Busch -224
Next Week
Next week the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup visits Kansas Speedway for race number three of the ten race Chase. Last year Mark Martin scored his only win of the season in Kansas. Mark still hasn't won this year and a win in Kansas would put him firmly in the thick of the battle.
