NASCAR Cup Series

With advancement into the Contender Round for the NASCAR championship on the line, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 45th annual AAA 400 at Dover international Speedway.

Well, I mean, we've been racing since Atlanta, obviously, but it's not been business as usual by any means, and this is going to be a healing process for me. It makes you think about a lot of things other than driving race cars, but the one thing that's probably helped me more than anything is being back at the racetrack and being around my racing family and remembering that I have a passion for what I do.

Thank God for Kasey Kahne. With no Kahne, the broadcast of the Dover race would have been about as exciting as watching a Soap Box Derby contest in Saskatchewan, or a downhill ski event in Saskatchewan, or an outdoor performance of the Sound of Music...in Saskatchewan.

“This one’s over. It's all back to zero. Can't quit. Won't. This team ain't done yet. Gotta keep working hard. Smart. All the way to Homestead.”

While his teammate Jimmie Johnson has traditionally dominated at the Dover Monster Mile, it was Jeff Gordon scoring his 92nd win, his fifth win at Dover, and his fourth win of the season. Gordon also punched his ticket to the next round in NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship.

All three Camry drivers in the Chase -- Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth -- advanced to the second round of the championship playoffs following Dover. Four drivers were eliminated from the 16 driver field following today's race.

Jeff Gordon won the AAA 400 at Dover Delaware and sealed his transfer to the next round of the Chase. Gordon came home ahead of Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson. It is his fourth victory of the season and his 92nd Sprint Cup career win.

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNER - DESCRIBE YOUR DAY, WHAT A GREAT PERFORMANCE - “I don’t know what happened to Kevin Harvick. It was unfortunate for him. He was the class of the field. We were tuning on it to try to keep even with him. When I saw him go out, I knew we could compete with the No.2 (Brad Keselowski) car. The No. 2 was really good on short runs, but we could run him down. Of course he made us work for it there at the end because he was so good on short runs and he got to me."

Martin Truex Jr. continues to show performance improvement as the Furniture Row Racing driver poured it on at the end to finish seventh in Sunday’s AAA 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway.

“We’ve had a really good start. I guess we can’t really complain that much having won a race, a second and a seventh, but it’s hard to look at that. All I could think about is how I wanted to win all three races and now it’s time to move forward.