NASCAR 2015 Episode 13 Recap: Dover

NASCAR 2015 Episode 13 Recap: Dover

What went down: NASCAR goes to Dover and it's the same old song and dance.

It's the same old song and dance for two reasons. The first fits the theme of 2015, in that Kevin Harvick scored yet another top-2 finish this season and that Martin Truex Jr. once again dominated a race, yet came up empty handed once more.

The other fits the theme of forever, in that Jimmie Johnson is forever winning at Dover and no one can stop it.

I could try to stretch this recap out, but the truth is that everything you need to know happened in the final 25 laps of this 400 mile race. Martin Truex Jr. had once again shown the ability to lead a crap load of laps, but couldn't keep it up front at the end.

Instead Kevin Harvick looked in great shape until a rash of late cautions shook things up. With less than 25 laps to go, Kyle Busch was accidentally taken out by Brian Scott while running in 5th place, so naturally everyone pitted, except for Harvick and Johnson. Johnson was able to gain the lead off of the restart and continued to hold off those with fresher tires, even through multiple restarts.

The only time he led was for those last 23 laps, something similar he did at Kansas a few weeks back. And Johnson just continued to stake his claim as the all-time master of the Dover International Speedway.

What it means for Johnson: He certainly looks primed to be the No. 1 seed in the Chase when it kicks off in September, seeing as this was his 4th win of the season. Oh yeah, and it was just his 10TH win at Dover, becoming only the fourth driver to score ten wins at one track. He now sits just two wins behind Dale Earnhardt on the all-time wins list.

What it means for everyone else: Truex and Harvick did what they've done all year (i.e. Truex top-10 and Harvick top-2).

Kasey Kahne continues to run well without challenging for a win quite yet, he finished fourth and is in good shape in the points as of now.

Kyle Larson and Aric Almirola scored much needed good finishes with Larson in 3rd and Almirola in 5th. Almirola is trying to fight his way back up into Chase contention, while Larson is trying to start a streak of good runs to catch up.

Paul Menard continues to run well and collect points, scoring and 8th place finish, and the same can be said of Jamie McMurray who finished 7th.

And finally, Clint Bowyer finally had a strong car all day long and finished 9th.

What’s next: NASCAR heads to the gigantic triangle, also known as the 2.5 mile long Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.