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Dover NASCAR: Tony Stewart denies Juan Pablo Montoya victory

Tony Stewart denied Juan Pablo Montoya Dover NASCAR Sprint Cup victory with a passing move just two laps from the finish

Montoya had moved into contention for his first oval win in NASCAR when he beat Jimmie Johnson out of the pits during the final yellow.

Both had been among a group of drivers to only take two new tyres and jump to the front.

Johnson had already completed an incredible drive through the field, having started 24th following a qualifying error and been lapped in the early stages.

Once up front, the five-time champion led 143 laps and seemed to have an answer for every challenge.

Ultimately a controversial penalty call spoilt his day. Johnson surged ahead of Montoya at the final restart but was adjudged to have jumped it.

Johnson argued that Montoya's restart had just been comparatively terrible, and that he had done his utmost to relinquish the lead only for Montoya to hang back.

It was to no avail and the Hendrick Chevrolet had to take a drive-through penalty, ending up only 17th.

That put Montoya's Earnhardt Ganassi Chevy into the lead, but with Stewart looming in his mirrors.

Although Montoya tried his hardest, Stewart's Stewart-Haas car squeezed around the outside and took a victory that he hopes will turn a so far frustrating season around.

Jeff Gordon emerged as Hendrick's top finisher in third. Team-mate Kasey Kahne had been a frontrunner prior to spinning into the wall and prompting the last yellow.

Kyle Busch had a long dominant spell before his Joe Gibbs Toyota's handling wilted for a stint. He finished fourth, ahead of Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer.

Busch's team-mates Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin also led before problems struck. Kenseth's engine failed, while polesitter Hamlin crashed when a tyre below late on.

Another Toyota in trouble while in the lead pack was Martin Truex Jr, whose engine failed as he was battling Busch for second behind Johnson.

Results - 400 laps:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                         Time/Gap
 1.  Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       3h14m51.000s
 2.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet      + 0.788s
 3.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet               + 0.966s
 4.  Kyle Busch          Joe Gibbs Toyota                 + 1.151s
 5.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Ford                      + 1.937s
 6.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota                   + 3.036s
 7.  Joey Logano         Penske Ford                      + 3.369s
 8.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet              + 4.379s
 9.  Mark Martin         Waltrip Toyota                   + 4.545s
10.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet               + 5.083s
11.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet              + 5.225s
12.  Kurt Busch          Furniture Row Chevrolet          + 5.356s
13.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr  Roush Fenway Ford                + 5.966s
14.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford                + 7.646s
15.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford               + 11.564s
16.  Casey Mears         Germain Ford                    + 15.285s
17.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet                + 1 lap
18.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford                        + 1 lap
19.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                        + 1 lap
20.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet               + 1 lap
21.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota              + 1 lap
22.  David Ragan         Front Row Ford                   + 3 laps
23.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet               + 4 laps
24.  Danica Patrick      Stewart-Haas Chevrolet           + 4 laps
25.  Josh Wise           Front Row Ford                   + 5 laps
26.  David Reutimann     BK Toyota                        + 6 laps
27.  Austin Dillon       Phoenix Chevrolet                + 6 laps
28.  David Stremme       Swan Toyota                      + 6 laps
29.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet                + 7 laps
30.  JJ Yeley            Baldwin Chevrolet               + 10 laps
31.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota                    + 12 laps
32.  Landon Cassill      Circle Sport Chevrolet          + 12 laps

Retirements:

     Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet      381 laps
     Denny Hamlin        Joe Gibbs Toyota                 380 laps
     Timmy Hill          FAS Lane Ford                    378 laps
     Ryan Newman         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet           298 laps
     David Gilliland     Front Row Ford                   296 laps
     Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota                   279 laps
     Travis Kvapil       BK Toyota                        161 laps
     Matt Kenseth        Joe Gibbs Toyota                 159 laps
     Mike Bliss          Humphrey Smith Toyota             59 laps
     Michael McDowell    Parsons Ford                      54 laps
     Scott Riggs         Xxxtreme Ford                     16 laps

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