DOVER, Del. — A look at all the results and action from Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway:
WINNER: Matt Kenseth, who has had fast cars but bad luck all season, finally rolled into victory lane Sunday in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover.
Kenseth beat a smaller field of competitors after accidents eliminated or slowed several contenders. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver outran young guns Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott over the frantic closing laps to score his first win of the season.
"It feels good to get this one for sure," Kenseth said in victory lane. "We were tight all day on restarts. And on that last one, I got so loose, I thought Kyle was gong to get by me. ... Kyle gave me all I wanted that's for sure."
Kenseth scored his third career win at the Monster Mile and became the seventh different winner this season.
THE BIG ONE: Dover turned into Talladega Superspeedway with 47 laps to go as a massive crash on a restart changed the landscape of the race. Jimmie Johnson had the lead, but a gear issue slowed his car on the restart, sparking a chain-reaction crash that sent much of the field into spins. Eighteen cars were involved in what became one of the biggest wrecks in track history. Cars and debris were sprinkled across the track, prompting a red flag that lasted for 11 minutes.
“As soon as I went from second and tried to go third … it stopped before it ever went to third," Johnson said. There was a long pause there where I thought I maybe I missed a shift and it just locked out and wouldn't go into gear. Unfortunately, I lost a shot at winning and I hate to see all those cars torn up.
“In my career, I've never had a transmission do that to me. To lock out and not go across the gate and no gear available is something that has never happened to me.”
Aric Almirola was one of the ddrivers caught up in the melee, and the Richard Petty Motorsports driver may have caught the worst of it. Not only was his car totaled — he finished 46 laps down — but he also injured a finger during the spin.
"The steering wheel spun around and caught my pinky finger," Almirola said after he was released from the infield care center. "I think it's maybe broken. It's pretty swollen and pretty tender."
ANOTHER BIG ONE: The restart after the 18-car accident produced another big wreck as Larson and Carl Edwards, racing for position, touched, sending Edwards’ car hard into the inside wall. Edwards was in second.
"I just want to be out there racing," a frustrated Edwards said after he was released from the infield care center. "We had such a fast car, I thought we were going to win this thing. I don't know what happened, but it was nice of Kyle to say something (on his radio) ... I can't say enough for the SAFER barriers. The SAFER barriers are a great help."
TROUBLE FOR TONY: A broken track bar and punctured oil tank sent Tony Stewart to the pits with 58 laps to go after his car spread fluid on the track, causing the 10th caution. Martin Truex Jr., the race leader at that point, struggled to keep his car from sliding into the wall.
"We know exactly what happened," Stewart said after being asked about the incident on television. "The track bar broke on the rear-end side. When it did that it somehow punctured the oil tank."
PHOTOS: 2016 Sprint Cup race winners
WHACK!: Brad Keselowski raced at or near the front for much of the race but fell back after he hit the lapped car of Austin Dillon on lap 280. The contact caused significant damage to the right side of Keselowski’s Ford.
SMART TO AVOID: Reed Sorenson spun on lap 214, sending Johnson and Kevin Harvick into quick moves to avoid his car. Johnson slid onto the infield grass. Harvick and Johnson stayed on the lead lap.
PIT FITS: Harvick led 96 of the race’s first 100 laps but later fell to 12th because of a poor pit stop.
DiBENEDETTO BENDS: The field was put under yellow on lap 120 after Matt DiBenedetto crashed into the outside wall in turn two and then hit the inside wall. Denny Hamlin was pitting when DiBenedetto crashed, costing him a lap.
RAIN RESULT: The race’s first caution — at lap 42 — fell under NASCAR’s “competition caution” category. Saturday night rain changed the nature of the track for the start of Sunday’s race, and the caution period gave teams a chance to check tire wear.
Follow Hembree on Twitter @mikehembree
PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Matt Kenseth
AAA 400 Drive For Autism
Sunday's results at the 1-mile Dover International Speedway (starting position in parentheses):
1. (10) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 400.
2. (23) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400.
3. (13) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 400.
4. (11) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 400.
5. (9) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 400.
6. (14) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400.
7. (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400.
8. (18) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 400.
9. (7) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 400.
10. (25) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 400.
11. (19) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 400.
12. (32) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 400.
13. (31) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 400.
14. (5) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 400.
15. (1) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 399.
16. (8) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 398.
17. (27) David Ragan, Toyota, 397.
18. (30) Chris Buescher, Ford, 396.
19. (35) Landon Cassill, Ford, 396.
20. (28) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 396.
21. (24) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 395.
22. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 391.
23. (20) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 391.
24. (17) Brian Scott, Ford, 390.
25. (21) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 387.
26. (26) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 374.
27. (36) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, Vibration, 364.
28. (4) Carl Edwards, Toyota, Accident, 359.
29. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, Accident, 355.
30. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 354.
31. (15) Aric Almirola, Ford, Accident, 354.
32. (2) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, Accident, 354.
33. (12) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 345.
34. (34) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Suspension, 342.
35. (39) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ford, 334.
36. (40) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 331.
37. (37) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, Accident, 223.
38. (38) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Accident, 204.
39. (33) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, Accident, 139.
40. (29) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, Accident, 116.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 109.348 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 39 minutes, 29 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.187 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 12 for 65 laps.
Lead Changes: 19 among 10 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K. Harvick 1-42; C. Edwards 43-46; K. Harvick 47-120; C. Edwards 121-130; M. Kenseth 131; C. Edwards 132-143; M. Truex Jr 144-173; K. Harvick 174; G. Biffle 175-180; K. Larson 181-214; J. Logano 215; D. Hamlin 216-230; B. Keselowski 231-279; K. Larson 280-289; J. Logano 290; K. Larson 291-331; M. Truex Jr 332-348; C. Edwards 349; J. Johnson 350-353; M. Kenseth 354-400.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Harvick 3 times for 117 laps; K. Larson 3 times for 85 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 49 laps; M. Kenseth 2 times for 48 laps; M. Truex Jr 2 times for 47 laps; C. Edwards 4 times for 27 laps; D. Hamlin 1 time for 15 laps; G. Biffle 1 time for 6 laps; J. Johnson 1 time for 4 laps; J. Logano 2 times for 2 laps.
Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick, 418; Kyle Busch, 397; Kurt Busch, 386; C. Edwards, 381; J. Johnson, 370; B. Keselowski, 368; C. Elliott, 341; J. Logano, 340; M. Truex Jr, 336; A. Dillon, 315; D. Earnhardt Jr, 314; M. Kenseth, 313; D. Hamlin, 308; J. Mcmurray, 296; Blaney, 288; K. Kahne, 286.
