The AAA Drive for Autism 400 Didn’t Disappoint

The AAA Drive for Autism 400 at Dover International Speedway was full of twists and plenty of left turns on Sunday afternoon. Matt Kenseth and his #20 Dollar General Toyota Camry held off two of NASCAR’s young guns and took the checkered flag. The win was especially satisfying to Kenseth, who felt like he was a jinxed driver for the first eleven races of the season.

“It was one of those days where everything lined up for us at the end of the race,” Kenseth said. “… It all worked out for us, kind of the opposite as I feel like it’s been going the last couple months. Kyle gave me all I wanted at the end, and then some. We were fortunate to be able to hold him off.”

Young Kyle Larson tried his best to pass the Joe Gibbs Racing hot-rod but came up just short. NASCAR’s wonder rookie Chase Elliott put himself in the three-car mix, but came up just a little short for his first Sprint Cup victory and finished third. Larson developed a strong car midway through the AAA Drive for Autism 400 and found himself in front for 85 of the 400 circuits. Despite a valiant effort trying to run down Matt Kenseth he could only reach the back bumper of the front runner at the contests conclusion.

“I was trying to do all I could do to get by Matt Kenseth without getting into him,” Larson said. “I probably could have bumped him a little bit there in the middle of Turns 1 and 2, but it was a lot of fun racing with Matt, there. I was just trying to be patient.”

Chase Elliott finished a season’s best third and is improving at a faster rate than most NASCAR enthusiasts predicted. The #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet didn’t lead a lap for the whole race but was right on Kyle Larson’s bumper for the conclusion of the AAA Drive for Autism 400. The irony of the two youngsters being so close was that it allowed Matt Kenseth the opportunity to put some distance between Larson’s faster car when Larson’s #42 Target-sponsored Chevrolet was mired in a battle with Elliott.

The AAA Drive for Autism 400 was set for a showdown with NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., and the events most dominate car Kevin Harvick. After the races tenth caution, the three were aligned for a showdown with less than 40 laps to go. Jimmie Johnson, who started on the faster outside lane, had a failed transmission on the re-start and piled up 18 hot-rods that could not slow down. It was a freak malfunction that Johnson said had never occurred during his long racing career.

“As soon as I went from second gear and tried to go to third, I kind of got up into the neutral gate of the transmission and didn’t even go to third,” Johnson said. “It stopped before it ever went to third. And then I tried fourth and third and fourth and eventually I got hit from behind. There was a long pause there where I was trying to, I thought maybe I missed a shift, but it wouldn’t go in gear.”

Kevin Harvick and his freaky fast Jimmy Johns Chevrolet, was lined up on the inside of Jimmie Johnson for the races re-start. Harvick’s hot-rod had easily been the most dominate vehicle in the AAA Drive for Autism 400. The Hass Automotive-sponsored car led 117 of the 400 laps and was the favorite to drive into Victory Lane with 38 laps to go. When Johnson’s transmission failed, Harvick was a sitting duck and was rear-ended by Trevor Bayne.

Hendrick Motorsports’s Kasey Kahne continued his climb back towards the front of the point standings with a solid fourth place finish. He didn’t lead any laps, but found his way to the front when he avoided the wreck that took out half of the racing field.

Brad Keselowski and his #2 Wurth Ford Fusion managed to have a respectable fifth place finish. Keselowski led 49 of the contests 400 laps, but creamed the rear end of Austin Dillon mid-way through the race and lost his advantage. The fifth place finish is pretty impressive considering his car’s right front fender was pieced together with a replacement fender and tape.

Martin Truex Jr.’s recent string of bad luck continued on Sunday. The #78 Furniture Toyota fielded another strong car that found itself out front for 47 laps in the AAA Drive for Autism 400. His crew chief decided to let Carl Edwards pass him out of the pits and line up directly behind Jimmie Johnson in the quicker outside lane. The move proved disastrous when Johnson’s fluke malfunction caused Truex Jr. to collide into his rear end and put him out of contention.

The Final Results for the AAA Drive for Autism 400 at Dover International Speedway: