Gordon wins Challenger round finale; first four Chasers eliminated

Jeff Gordon took the win in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Dover, the third and final race of the Challenger round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, after a mid-race turn of events. He is one of 12 drivers to advance to the next round of the Chase, the Contender round. Gordon's three Hendrick Motorsports teammates - Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne - will be going along with him. This is Gordon's first win at Dover since June of 2001. It is also his fourth win of the season, the first time sine 2007 he has won that many races. All four of Gordon's wins this year have come at tracks at which he also won en route to his last championship in 2001.

The first half of the race was dominated by Kevin Harvick, who led the first 147 laps of the 400-lap, 400-mile race, and 223 laps overall. Around lap 255, Harvick's left front tire went down due to a broken splitter, bringing out the fifth and final caution of the day and dropping him down to 18th. A similar problem befell Harvick while leading late in the previous Cup race at Dover in June. Points leader Brad Keselowski took the lead, and got passed by Jeff Gordon on lap 305. Fellow Chasers Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards then each led one lap during the last round of green flag pit stops before Gordon cycled back to the lead.

A number of drivers were fighting to avoid elimination from the Chase. At one point, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and A.J. Allmendinger were all right on the cutoff line. In the end, it was Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch who were the first four drivers eliminated from the Chase and no longer have a shot at winning the championship. All but Biffle have won a race in the series this year. Kasey Kahne was the last driver to make it to the second round. His teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., never contended for the race win, but was also never in danger of elimination, and now sits in eighth. Also in between during the race was last week's winner, Joey Logano.

The Contender round begins next Sunday in Kansas City, Kansas, then moves on to Concord, North Carolina, near Charlotte, for the only night race of the Chase, and concludes in Talladega, Alabama.