He didn't quite have the best car or the dominating car, but Martin Truex Jr. was there at the end in case Kyle Larson would happen to make a mistake and leave an opening.
After racing his way into Round of 12 on a tiebreaker, Alex Bowman knew he had to have a solid opening race at Dover if he wanted to move forward to the Round of 8 which begins at Martinsville Speedway later this month.
It was a quiet day for Kevin Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing team who had a special paint scheme design on the No. 4 Ford. Harvick was hoping to bring his "Harvick Beer" car to victory lane at Dover, a track that he has been so strong at in the past.
It was a dominating day for Denny Hamlin who was making his 500th career Cup Series start this weekend at Dover. Hamlin made it even more special by qualifying on the pole which gave him great track position to begin the race.
For the first time in over two years, Kyle Larson took the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team to victory lane. It was his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Dover International Speedway and the sixth overall of his Cup Series career.
It was a strange race for Joey Logano and his No. 22 Team Penske team. In fact, Logano did not even make a lap before he suffered his own problems. Just as soon as he rolled off pit road, he had a broken axle and had to take it behind the wall.
With a late-race pass for the lead, rookie sensation Chandler Smith took home the ARCA Menards Series win at Lucas Oil Raceway after the rain started falling on Lap 162.
The 2024 Coca-Cola 600 champion from Norman, Oklahoma, erased a 33-race winless drought and commenced the 2026 Chase with his second career crown-jewel victory, the Southern 500, in Darlington, South Carolina.
Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team started their championship title-defending campaign with a strong top-five finish in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
