Bowman Leads His Teammates Across the Finish Line at Dover

DOVER, Del – RIS – Alex Bowman let his three teammates at Hendrick Motorsports across the finish lkine in the No. 48 Chevrolet for his second win of the season in the No. 48 car that won 11 times at Dover with seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson driving.  After taking the lead from Kyle Larson during a round of pit stops, Alex Bowman dominated the final 100 laps of the Drydene 400. 

Larson finished second, Chase Elliott third, and William Byron fourth. Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez, and Cole Custer rounded out the Top 10.  Bowman now becomes only the second driver this season to have won more than one race, and his victory is the fourth this season for Hendrick Motorsports.

"We won Richmond and then had a really rough couple weeks there. Went to some really good racetracks and struggled, and [I] told the guys last week we're still the same team that did it at Richmond. This is another really good place for us," Bowman told Fox Sports. "It feels right to put the No. 48 back in Victory Lane here after how many races that this car has won here."

For the Hendrick stable, it was the sort of thrashing reminiscent of some of the company's best years: Hendrick cars dominated the day, with Kyle Larson leading most of the race before Bowman was able to overtake him with a quick pit stop under caution. Hendrick's 1-2-3-4 finish marked just the fourth time in NASCAR history that a team has placed four cars in the first four finishing positions and the first time in over 15 years. The last time a team placed four cars in the first four finishing positions was at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2005, when Roush Fenway Racing pulled off the feat.

The race was a typical race at Dover International, but for the lack of any racing at the front of the pack.  Martin Truex, Jr. led the first 16 laps, and then Larson took over until Bowman took the lead toward the end.  The usual suspects at this track—Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski were nowhere to be found near the front.  The Hendrick cars were that dominant.

With 13 races now in the record books, the NASCAR Cup Series has hit the halfway mark of its regular season with 10 drivers having earned a Playoff berth by virtue of winning a race. Next week will present a wild card for the entire field as the Cup Series makes its inaugural visit to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Unofficial Results: 52nd Annual Drydene 400, May 16, 2021, Dover International Speedway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, , Laps, St1, St2, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status

1) 16, Alex Bowman, 48, Ally Chevrolet, 400, 8, 3, 2, 98, 5, 51, Running

2) 4, Kyle Larson, 5, NationsGuard Chevrolet, 400, 1, 1, 4, 263, 2, 55, Running

3) 8, Chase Elliott, 9, NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 400, 4, 2, , , , 50, Running

4) 3, William Byron, 24, Axalta Chevrolet, 400, 6, 4, 1, 21, , 45, Running

5) 9, Joey Logano, 22, Shell Pennzoil Ford, 400, 7, , , , , 36, Running

6) 5, Kevin Harvick, 4, Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, 400, 5, 6, , , , 42, Running

7) 2, Denny Hamlin, 11, FedEx Office Toyota, 400, 2, 5, 2, 2, , 45, Running

8) 12, Tyler Reddick, 8, Cat Linkage Parts Chevrolet, 400, , 10, , , , 30, Running

9) 24, Daniel Suarez, 99, CommScope Chevrolet, 400, , , , , , 28, Running

10) 30, Cole Custer, 41, HaasTooling.com Ford, 400, , , , , , 27, Running

11) 22, Bubba Wallace, 23, McDonald's Toyota, 400, , , , , , 26, Running

12) 7, Ryan Blaney, 12, Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford, 400, 3, , , , , 33, Running

13) 28, Kurt Busch, 1, Yorktel/Caregility Chevrolet, 400, , 7, , , , 28, Running

14) 14, Austin Dillon, 3, Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet, 400, , 9, , , , 25, Running

15) 19, Ross Chastain, 42, Moose Fraternity Chevrolet, 400, , , , , , 22, Running

16) 15, Brad Keselowski, 2, Wurth/UTI Ford, 400, 10, 8, , , , 25, Running

17) 10, Chris Buescher, 17, Fastenal Ford, 400, 9, , , , , 22, Running

18) 25, * Ryan Preece, 37, Thomas' Chevrolet, 399, , , , , , 19, Running

19) 1, Martin Truex Jr., 19, Reser's Fine Foods Toyota, 399, , , 2, 16, , 18, Running

20) 20, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, Bush's Beans Chevrolet, 399, , , , , , 17, Running

21) 11, Christopher Bell, 20, STANLEY Toyota, 396, , , , , , 16, Running

22) 23, Erik Jones, 43, Medallion Bank Chevrolet, 396, , , , , , 15, Running

23) 13, Ryan Newman, 6, Guaranteed Rate Ford, 396, , , , , , 14, Running

24) 18, Matt DiBenedetto, 21, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 395, , , , , , 13, Running

25) 21, Michael McDowell, 34, Revolve Finance Ford, 395, , , , , , 12, Running

26) 26, Corey LaJoie, 7, Drydene Performance Products Chevrolet, 393, , , , , , 11, Running

27) 6, Kyle Busch, 18, M&M's Mix Toyota, 393, , , , , , 10, Running

28) 27, Anthony Alfredo #, 38, Speedy Cash Ford, 392, , , , , , 9, Running

29) 35, Quin Houff, 00, Reliant/Verkada Chevrolet, 388, , , , , , 8, Running

30) 29, Josh Berry(i), 77, Diamond Creek Water Chevrolet, 388, , , , , , 0, Running

31) 34, Cody Ware(i), 51, Nurtec ODT Chevrolet, 387, , , , , , 0, Running

32) 36, Garrett Smithley(i), 53, RichMar Florists Chevrolet, 383, , , , , , 0, Running

33) 33, James Davison, 15, Smart Sanitizer Chevrolet, 382, , , , , , 4, Running

34) 37, Josh Bilicki, 52, Bullshooter.com Ford, 381, , , , , , 3, Running

35) 17, Chase Briscoe #, 14, Ford Performance Racing School Ford, 335, , , , , , 2, Running

36) 31, BJ McLeod(i), 78, Surface Sunscreen/Koolbox ICE Ford, 334, , , , , , 0, Engine

37) 32, Aric Almirola, 10, Smithfield/Weis Markets Ford, 300, , , , , , 1, Accident

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 19 Mins, 55 Secs.

Race Length: 400 Laps, 400 Miles

Average Speed: 120.05 MPH

Margin of Victory: 2.017 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 5, 11, 12, 9, 4, 24, 22, 48, 17, 2

Stage 2 Top 10: 5, 9, 48, 24, 11, 4, 1, 2, 3, 8

Comments: Alex Bowman has won the Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, his fourth victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: No. 6 (unapproved adjustments), No. 77 (driver change) and No. 9 (multiple inspection failures).

Caution Flags: 7 for 41 laps;

Laps: 37-40 (Competition  [7]);

121-129 (Debris Turn 1 / Stage 1 Conclusion [10]);

172-176 (No. 77 Incident Turn 2 [41]);

242-248 (Stage 2 Conclusion [37]);

303-308 (No. 10 Incident Turn 4 [37]);

315-319 (No. 2, 38, 47 Incident Turn 2 [37]);

326-330 (Debris On Fronstretch [47]).

Lead Changes: 10 among 5 drivers;

M. Truex Jr. 1-15;

W. Byron 16-36;

M. Truex Jr. 37;

K. Larson 38-122;

D. Hamlin 123;

K. Larson 124-172;

D. Hamlin 173;

K. Larson 174-243;

A. Bowman 244;

K. Larson 245-303;

A. Bowman 304-400.

Busch Pole Award:  Martin Truex Jr., No. 19

Sunoco Rookie of the Race:  Anthony Alfredo, No. 38