The 2015 AAA 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on October 4, 2015, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Contested over 400 laps on the 1 mile (1.6 km) concrete speedway, it was the 29th race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, third race of the Chase and final race of the Challenger Round. Kevin Harvick won the race, his third of the season. Kyle Busch finished second. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray and Aric Almirola rounded out the top–five.

With qualifying rained out, Matt Kenseth was awarded the first starting spot. He led 26 laps on his way to a seventh–place finish. Harvick led a race high of 355 laps on his way to winning the race. The race had 14 lead changes amongst three different drivers, as well as eight caution flag periods for 43 laps.

This was the 31st career victory for Harvick, third of the season, first at Dover International Speedway and second at the track for Stewart–Haas Racing. The win secured his place in the Contender Round. Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray and Paul Menard didn't advance out of the Challenger Round. Chevrolet left Dover with a 45–point lead over Toyota in the manufacturer standings.

The AAA 400 was carried by NBC Sports on the cable/satellite NBCSN network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Report

Background

Dover International Speedway is a oval track in Dover, Delaware. Matt Kenseth entered Dover with a six–point lead over Denny Hamlin. Carl Edwards and Joey Logano entered tied for third 10–points back. Jimmie Johnson entered fifth 16–points back. Ryan Newman entered sixth 25–points. Kurt Busch entered seventh 26–points back. Brad Keselowski entered eighth 27–points back. Martin Truex Jr. entered ninth 28–points back. Jeff Gordon entered 10th 31–points back. Jamie McMurray entered 11th 41–points back. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered 12th 42–points back. Kyle Busch and Paul Menard entered tied for 13th 43–points back. Kevin Harvick entered 15th 65–points back. Clint Bowyer entered 16th 81–points back.

Hurricane Joaquin In the week leading up to the race, the National Hurricane Center began tracking the development of a storm several hundred miles south-southwest of Bermuda. On September 30, the storm was upgraded to Hurricane Joaquin. The forecast model from the National Weather Service had the storm potentially affecting the race weekend. However, updated models had the storm avoiding landfall on the Eastern U.S. seaboard and moving out into the North Atlantic. Nevertheless, heavy rain was expected to affect the Dover area.

Restart zone At the request of the drivers, on the Thursday before the race, NASCAR announced that the restart zone would be expanded from to . Drivers were pleased with this change.

Chase-clinching scenarios The following scenarios were in play for this race.

Regardless of another driver's finish Carl Edwards would clinch a spot in the Contender Round if he finished 32nd or better with no laps led, 33rd if he led a lap or 34th if he led the most laps. Joey Logano would clinch by finishing at least 31st or better, 32nd with a lap led or 33rd with most laps led. Jimmie Johnson would clinch if he finished 25th or better, 26th if he leads a lap or 27th if he leads the most laps. Ryan Newman would clinch if he finished 16th or better, 17th if he led a lap or 18th if he led the most laps. Kurt Busch would clinches if he finished 15th or better, 16th if he led a lap or 17th if he led the most laps. Brad Keselowski would clinch if he finished 14th or better, 15th if he led a lap or 16th if he led the most laps. Martin Truex Jr. would clinch if he finished 13th or better, 14th if he led a lap or 15th if he led the most laps. Jeff Gordon would clinch if he finished 10th or better, 11th if he led a lap or 12th if he led the most laps.

Must win Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer controlled their destinies only if they won. Otherwise, as would turn out to be the case for Earnhardt and Busch, they were dependent on other non-clinched drivers having bad point days.

Entry list The entry list for the AAA 400 was released on Friday, September 25 at 2:27 p.m. Eastern time. Forty-four cars were entered for the race. The four driver changes for this race were J. J. Yeley returning to the No. 26 BK Racing Toyota, Josh Wise returning to the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford, Alex Kennedy returning to the No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet for the first time since Watkins Glen and Reed Sorenson returning to the No. 98 Premium Motorsports Ford. The threat of rain forced The Motorsports Group to withdraw its No. 30 Chevrolet entry from the race. Because of the withdrawal, all 43 cars remaining entered cars made the race.

Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC7) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Josh Wise Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 Timmy Hill (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 98 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports FordOfficial initial entry listOfficial final entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional

Qualifying

Because inclement weather forced NASCAR to cancel qualifying, along with the Friday practice session, the lineup was set by points. As a result, Matt Kenseth was given the first starting spot. He said that everybody "would have liked to get on the track today and get some practice. I know there are some things we wanted to work on and try to improve from the spring for this race. I think everybody wanted to get on the track. I think it’s one of the advantages of leading the points – obviously if it rains you get a good starting spot and pit stall. Glad we’re starting in the front, but still would have liked the track time.”

Starting lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 3 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 4 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 7 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 8 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 9 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 10 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 11 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 12 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 13 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 14 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 16 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 17 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 18 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 19 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 20 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 21 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 23 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 24 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 25 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 26 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 27 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 29 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 31 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 32 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 33 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 34 34 Brett Moffitt (R) Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 35 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 36 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 37 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 38 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 39 23 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 40 98 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Ford 41 32 Josh Wise Go FAS Racing Ford 42 26 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 43 62 Timmy Hill (i) Premium Motorsports ChevroletOfficial starting lineup

Practice

First practice Kasey Kahne was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 22.429 and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.429 160.506 2 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.438 160.442 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.460 160.285Official first practice results

Final practice Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 23.072 and a speed of . The session only lasted 15 minutes before rain cut it short.

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 23.072 156.033 2 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 23.075 156.013 3 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.109 155.783Official final practice results

Race

First half

Start Under cloudy Delaware skies, Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag at 2:51 p.m. It only took until lap 3 for the first caution of the race to come out. This was when Josh Wise made contact with Jeb Burton in turn 1 and sent him spinning.

The race restarted on lap 7. Just 10 laps later, Kenseth pulled to a one-second lead over his teammate Denny Hamlin. This lead began shrinking over the next six laps to just a quarter of a second over Kevin Harvick, who eventually took over that position on lap 25. As Harvick stayed out in front, he pulled to a two-second lead over Kenseth. The second caution of the race flew on lap 41. This was a scheduled competition caution for all the rain that the state of Delaware had throughout the entire weekend. Harvick swapped the lead with Kenseth on pit road and Hamlin exited with the lead. It was short-lived, as he and Jimmie Johnson were both tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted from the tail-end of the field. This would give the lead back to Harvick.