DOVER, Del. – Sunday afternoon at Dover International Speedway, Jimmie Johnson joined some select company.
The all-time wins leader at the track added to his record with his 10th trip to Victory Lane at Dover. The victory made Johnson one of just five drivers with double-digit Sprint Cup Series wins at a single track.
He joined Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and David Pearson.
“Yeah, it’s crazy for me to have this reality. It’s nothing that I thought would happen,” Johnson said of the possibility of joining that elite club before the race began. “If I was able to accomplish it, I’d just be honored to be in that same situation that had been done by Dale Earnhardt, Sr.”
Johnson took the lead for the first time all race with 17 laps remaining and held on through another restart to take the win – his fourth of the 2015 season. It marked his sixth top-three finish in seven races, with three of his four wins coming in that span.
Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne followed Johnson to the checkered flag in fourth place.
“We had a pretty good car,” Kahne said. “We made good adjustments – the guys did a really nice job, (crew chief) Keith (Rodden) did. Wanted more – it’s cool Hendrick Motorsports won.”
Jeff Gordon joined his teammates in the top 10 in 10th – his eighth top-10 finish of the season – and Dale Earnhardt Jr. left with a 14th-place result.
“Just an awesome day here at the racetrack,” Johnson said. “We’re going to enjoy this.”
Below is a look at how all four drivers fared throughout Sunday’s race at Dover.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 4th
STANDINGS: 8th
RECAP: Beginning Sunday’s race 25th, Kahne cracked the top 20 on Lap 30. Following the longest green-flag run to start a race so far in the 2015 season, the driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS cracked the top 15 on Lap 100. During green-flag pit stops, Kahne cracked the top 10, and found himself in ninth for a restart on Lap 168 following a caution flag. When he and the No. 5 team elected to head to pit road on Lap 180 during the next caution, it set him up to line up 15th for the ensuing restart. That’s where he continued to run just past the midway point of the race, but on a restart after a Lap 261 caution, Kahne pushed his way up to 11th. On Lap 282, he once again found the top 10, moving up to seventh 30 laps later. After a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Kahne found himself in eighth with 40 laps remaining. When a caution flag waved with 25 laps to go, Kahne elected to head to pit road for just two tires, allowing him to restart fourth. After the sixth caution flag of the day was thrown, Kahne got a great restart and moved into second behind teammate Johnson. On the green-white-checkered finish, Kahne fell back to fourth and held on to take home the top-five finish.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 3M CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 10th
STANDINGS: 9th
RECAP: Gordon rolled off the grid 22nd, but by Lap 16 he was inside the top 15. Following a caution flag at Lap 74 – which ended the longest green-flag run to start a race so far in the 2015 season – Gordon lined up 15th for the restart. He gained a position on the restart on Lap 80, but on Lap 112 he fell back to 16th and informed the No. 24 crew that his 3M Chevrolet SS might have a tire going down due to how loose the car became. But the tires proved OK and Gordon recovered to find his way back to 14th before green-flag pit stops began. “As soon as that shade came out, my car just came to life,” Gordon said over the radio. He continued to ride in that range, finding 12th on Lap 185. Battling tight handling, however, Gordon fell back outside the top 15 just past the midway point of the race. He kept working, however, and by waiting to pit during a cycle of green-flag pit stops, found himself all the way in second place. After he pitted and the field cycled through, Gordon was running 12th with 40 laps remaining. In the lucky dog position one lap down, Gordon was the beneficiary when a caution flag flew with 25 laps remaining, moving back onto the lead lap. After the sixth caution flag of the day was waved with 14 laps to go, Gordon lined up to restart 10th. After a green-white-checkered finish, that is exactly where Gordon would finish.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PROSERVICES CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 1st
STANDINGS: 3rd
RECAP: Starting 14th, Johnson cracked the top 10 just 12 laps into the race. And on Lap 53, he turned that into the top five. When a caution flag waved for debris on Lap 74 – ending the longest green-flag run to start a race so far in the 2015 season – Johnson entered pit road fifth and left it fifth. He fell back to sixth on the restart, but after a green-flag pit stop just after Lap 150 he found himself in fourth when a caution flag flew on Lap 163. He continued to run in that range, again falling back to sixth on Lap 185 before finding the top five once again just three laps later. Following green-flag pit stops, which Johnson began on Lap 247, he cycled into third place. On Lap 316, he moved into the runner-up position. After another set of green-flag pit stops, when the field finally cycled through with 40 laps remaining, Johnson was once again in second. On a restart following a caution with 25 laps to go, Johnson jumped into the lead for the first time all race. But just three laps later, an incident caused the sixth caution of the day. Taking the restart as the leader, Johnson was able to hold off all competitors – and did so again for a green-white-checkered finish after a seventh caution -- to earn his fourth trip to Victory Lane of the 2015 season.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 14th
STANDINGS: 5th
RECAP: Despite qualifying 16th, Earnhardt began Sunday’s race from the back of the field after No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives determined that the rear gear needed to be changed. The move to the back was a result of a new rule implemented this season. But the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS got to work quickly, moving all the way up to 28th on Lap 12. He then settled into the 26th position, but was passed by the leader to go a lap down on Lap 57. On Lap 91, Earnhardt raced his way into the lucky dog position in 22nd, and continued to race hard to hold onto it, even squeezing between three cars for a three-wide pass. As cars began to head to pit road for green-flag stops at around Lap 150, Earnhardt stayed out as long as possible. He was rewarded with the race lead on Lap 163, and when a caution flag waved on the same lap, he found himself back on the lead lap. He made it to pit road during the caution and restarted 19th. He kept pushing, and even after Earnhardt headed back to pit road at Lap 180 during a caution when some of the competitors at the top of the field stayed out, he pushed up to 12th by Lap 200, and 18 laps later he’d cracked the top 10. He made it all the way to sixth when he headed to pit road for a green-flag pit stop but was hit with a penalty for speeding, which cost him 20 positions and two laps. Earnhardt returned to the track in 26th down two laps. By the next caution, he had fought up to 22nd, just one lap down in the lucky dog position. He pushed all the way into the top 10 by once again waiting to pit during a long green-flag run, but after making his stop with 47 laps to go, he found himself in 20th down a pair of laps when the field had fully cycled through. He worked his way through as much of the field as he could, taking home a 14th-place finish.