NSCS Recap: Gordon Makes A Statement In Final Challenger Round Race At Dover

Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag in Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, but four other drivers got the axe in the first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup elimination race in the history of the sport.

AJ Allmendinger, 2004 series champion Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola missed the cut for the next round of the Chase, as the field was pared from 16 drivers to 12 following the third and final Challenger Round race.

After the dominant car of Coors Light Polesitter Kevin Harvick had a major issue with the left front wheel on Lap 254 of 400, Gordon took control of the event on Lap 305, passing runner-up Brad Keselowski for the lead on Lap 305.

After a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Gordon led the last 71 laps, pulling away to win by a comfortable 4.352 seconds.

Jimmie Johnson ran third, followed by Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth, as all of the top-five drivers advanced to the Contender Round, a three-race elimination with visits to Kansas Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Harvick (13th Sunday), Kyle Busch (10th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (17th), Ryan Newman (eighth), Carl Edwards (11th) and Denny Hamlin (12th) also advanced to the Contender Round.

The victory was Gordon’s fourth of the season, fifth at the Monster Mile and 92nd of his career, third most all-time behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105).

And victory No. 92 had special significance beyond an automatic ticket to the next round of the Chase—especially after a blown tire last week at New Hampshire produced a 26th-place finish and put the four-time champion one disaster away from elimination from NASCAR’s 10-race playoff.

"I think this is huge," Gordon said in Victory Lane. "We came in here with a little bit of extra pressure because we weren’t guaranteed to be in. If we hadn’t finished where we were running at New Hampshire last week (sixth when the tire blew), it would have been kind of an easy day for us.

"But all we did was focus on executing as a team and trying to win this race and nothing else. It wasn’t about the points; it wasn’t about just squeezing by to get to the next round. It was about making a statement. I don’t know how you make a bigger statement than what this team just did right there."(NASCAR Media)