Kyle Busch steals Dover win away from Chase Elliott in final two laps

Busch led 30 laps en route to his fourth-career Cup win and his third at the Monster Mile. He extended his lead by .357-seconds over Elliott at the line for his second win in the playoffs. 

“That was hard-fought, that was everything I had,” Busch said after scoring his 42nd career Cup win. “I wasn’t sure I was going to make it, I rim-rided and carried it by the 24. I saw that carrot and I went for it.”

Jimmie Johnson finished third followed by Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray and Brad Keselowski. 

Elliott led a race-high 138 laps.

“I’m so sorry, boys,” Elliott said. “Dam gummit.”

Twelve cars remained on the lead lap at the end of the Apache Warrior 400. Thirteenth-place finisher Ryan Newman missed advancing to the playoffs by two points. Also missing Round 2 are Austin Dillon (16th), Kasey Kahne(14th) and Kurt Busch (20th).

Larson held onto the lead coming off of pit road after the drivers came in for service on Lap 244. Elliott ran second followed by Truex, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Earnhardt, Bowyer, Keselowski, McMurray, Jones, Kenseth, Suarez, Kahne, Logano, Hamlin, Newman, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Larson had an electrical issue and had to reboot his ECU prior to the Lap 249 restart and dropped to sixth. Elliott took the lead with Truex alongside. Johnson passed Kyle Busch for third, Earnhardt remained fifth followed by Larson. 

After the first 10 laps, Elliott extended his lead to .711-seconds over Truex. Johnson, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt, Larson, Bowyer, Keselowski, McMurray, Jones, Suarez, Logano, Kenseth, Kurt Busch, and Ryan Newman completed the top 15. Kahne, Hamlin, Dillon, Patrick, Stenhouse and Ragan were the remaining drivers on the lead lap. Harvick, who had a loose wheel in Stage 2, held onto the lucky dog position with Ryan Blaney in tow. 

With 125 laps remaining, Truex trailed Elliott by .872-seconds. Johnson ran third followed by Kyle Busch, Earnhardt, Larson, Bowyer, Keselowski, McMurray and Jones. On Lap 284, Keselowski passed Bowyer for seventh. McMurray moved by Bowyer for eighth on Lap 290.

On Lap 299, Kyle Busch passed Johnson in Turn 2 for third. Elliott remained out from with a two-second lead over Truex. Earnhardt ran fifth followed by Larson, Keselowski, McMurray, Bowyer and Jones. Suarez, Kurt Busch, Logano, Kenseth, Newman, Hamlin, Kahne, Austin Dillon, Stenhouse and Patrick rounded out the top 20. 

“Good patience there,” spotter Eddie D’Hondt told Elliott as he worked for several laps to pass Patrick. He finally completed the move on Lap 316 leaving 19 cars on the lead lap.  

Pit stops began on Lap 317 starting with Kahne. Larson came from sixth-place on Lap 321, followed by Newman, Trevor Bayne, Landon Cassill and Daniel Suarez. AJ Allmendinger, Chris Buescher and Truex pitted on Lap 324. Elliott pitted from the lead on the next lap with Bowyer, turning the point over to Kyle Busch. Blaney came in for service on Lap 327. Busch relinquished the point to pit on Lap 329 with Kenseth. Johnson took the lead. 

Kurt Busch had a commitment line violation penalty when he pitted on Lap 331. McMurray and Earnhardt came the next lap — along with Busch serving a drive-thru penalty. He dropped to 21st, two laps down. Johnson pitted from the lead on Lap 334, handing over the point to Keselowski. Hamlin and Harvick pitted on Lap 337. Austin Dillon and Stenhouse pitted on Lap 339. 

Keselowski pitted from the lead on Lap 340 — with Elliott 20-seconds behind him in second. Elliott regained the lead followed by Truex, Larson, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Bowyer, Suarez, Earnhardt, McMurray and Kesenth. Kahne, Jones and Newman remained on the lead lap. Logano was the lucky dog in 14th-place.

Keselowski caught back up to Elliott on Lap 349 and passed him on the next circuit to return to the lead lap in 14th. By Lap 350, Elliott’s lead was 4.5-seconds over Truex. Kyle Busch, Johnson, Larson, Bowyer, Earnhardt, Suarez, McMurray, Kesenth, Kahne, Jones, Keselowski and Newman were the 14 cars on the lead lap. Busch passed Truex for second but remained four-seconds behind Elliott.

With 40 laps remaining, Elliott’s lead was 4.4-seconds over Busch. Truex, Johnson, Larson, Bowyer, Earnhardt, Suarez, McMurray and Kenseth completed the top 10. Keselowski passed Jones for 11th. Johnson passed Truex for third on Lap 367. Larson remained fifth.

Hamlin had an issue on Lap 373 and came to pit road while running 18th.

“I think it’s a broken axle or something,” Hamlin said. “I hit the gas and I spin out.”

Hamlin returned to the track in 30th-place. 

Busch closed to within 1.6-seconds of Larson with 20 laps to go. Johnson ran third followed by Truex, Larson, Bowyer, Earnhardt, Suarez, McMurray and Keselowski. 

Elliott’s lead over Busch was down to a half-second with 10 laps remaining. Johnson, Truex, Larson, Bowyer, Earnhardt, Suarez, McMurray and Keselowski completed the top 10. 

See race recap here: