CONCORD, N.C. -- In one of the most exciting finishes of the season, Chase Elliott and Kasey Kahne took home third and fourth place, respectively, Sunday at Dover International Speedway.
There was plenty to take away from the effort, including an explanation for a late-race incident that collected Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
ELLIOTT 'PROUD' OF CAREER-BEST FINISH
For the final 20 laps Sunday evening, Elliott was teetering between third place and the runner-up position, chasing down the leader in the process.
What resulted was one of the most exciting stretches of racing in the entire NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season to this point.
"Definitely I thought it was hopefully a good day for the fans," Elliott smiled. "I don't know that it gets a whole lot better than that as far as a race to the finish. I’m definitely proud to be a part of it."
With his first career Sprint Cup win in his sights, Elliott piloted the No. 24 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet SS all over the track, looking for the best line as he battled with Kyle Larson and looked to track down leader Matt Kenseth.
When the checkered flag waved, Kenseth took home the win, with Larson and Elliott right behind him in second and third, respectively.
"Unfortunately we couldn't be on the good end of it, but proud of our effort today," said Elliott, who began the race in 13th. "We really started a good ways out of where we needed to be. I thought we made a lot of really, really solid gains throughout the day to get our car better and better. I had a lot of fun racing with those guys at the end there. Like I said, hate to not get the job done and be so close, but we'll keep digging at it and try to get a little better."
HARD WORK NETS KAHNE SECOND TOP-FIVE RESULT
Just behind Elliott was teammate Kahne, who worked his way from an 11th-place starting position to a fourth-place finish.
"We had to work really hard," Kahne said. "The pit crew did great on pit road. We passed a lot of cars there. The adjustments got the car better."
At one point midway through the race, Kahne found himself outside of the top 20. But he kept battling and like teammate Elliott found good fortunate to avoid a late-race incident that collected more than a dozen competitors, including teammates Johnson and Earnhardt.
"It was tough, but we got our Farmers Insurance Chevy better as the race went and then avoided the big wreck on the front stretch and ended up with a top-five," he said.
EXPLAINING THE INCIDENT
With less than 50 laps remaining, Johnson found himself in the lead at a track where his 10 career wins are the most all-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
It looked like a big day could be in store for the No. 48 team. Until the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet SS couldn't get going.
"I got a great start in second gear," Johnson explained. "As I went to put it in third (gear) and came across the shifting gate it never went into third. It actually got locked in the neutral area of the transmission."
The line behind him ultimately ran into him as he couldn't get up to speed, and what followed was a multiple-car incident that affected more than a dozen competitors.
"In my career, I’ve never had a transmission do that to me," he said. "I’ve had them kind of lock out of reverse at a test session or even in the garage area or something, but to lockout and not go across the gate and then no gear available is something I’ve never had before.”
One of the cars caught up in the mayhem was Earnhardt's No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS.
“They started wrecking way up in front of us -- I couldn’t really tell what was going on," Earnhardt recalled. "I thought I was clear on the outside, but the No. 13 got hooked and came into us.”
In the end, it sent Johnson to a 25th-place result and Earnhardt was scored with a finish of 32nd.
"Unfortunately I lost a shot at winning," Johnson said, "and I hate to see all those cars torn up.”