2013 AAA 400
The 2013 AAA 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on September 29, 2013, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware, United States. Contested over 400 laps on the 1–mile (1.6 km) oval, it was the 29th race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship, and the third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won the race, his fifth win of the season and record eighth win at Dover, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second. Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five. Report Background Dover International Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees. The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at nine degrees with the backstretch. The racetrack has seats for 113,000 spectators. Brad Keselowski was the defending race winner after winning the event in the 2012 race. Before the race, Matt Kenseth was leading the Drivers' Championship with 2,111 points, while Kyle Busch stood in second with 2,097 points. Jimmie Johnson followed in third with 2,093, 18 ahead of Carl Edwards in fourth, and 20 ahead of Greg Biffle in fifth. Kevin Harvick, with 2,072, was in sixth; one ahead of Kurt Busch, who was scored seventh. Eighth-placed Jeff Gordon was five points ahead of Ryan Newman and six ahead of Clint Bowyer in ninth and tenth. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was eleventh with 2,049, seven points ahead of Joey Logano in twelfth. Kasey Kahne completed the first thirteen positions with 2,040 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Toyota and Chevrolet were tied for the lead with 188 points. Ford was third with 149 points before the race. Practice and qualifying Three practice sessions were held before the race. The first session, held on September 27, 2013, was 90 minutes long. The second and third, held a day later on September 28, 2013, were 55 and 50 minutes long. During the first practice session, Kenseth was quickest with a time of 22.556, ahead of Martin Truex Jr. and Logano in second and third. Kurt Busch followed in the fourth position, ahead of Kyle Busch in fifth. During qualifying, forty-three cars were entered. Earnhardt Jr. clinched his second pole position of the season, with a lap time of 22.243 seconds, setting a new track record. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Kenseth. Newman qualified third, Edwards took fourth, and Aric Almirola started fifth. Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Johnson, Kurt Busch, and Truex Jr. completed the first ten positions on the grid. In the Saturday morning session, Kahne was quickest, ahead of Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon in second and third. Kurt Busch and Kenseth followed in the fourth and fifth positions. Johnson, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Truex Jr. rounded out ten quickest drivers in the session. In the final practice session for the race, Keselowski was quickest with a time of 23.027 seconds. Johnson followed in second,