By Mike Finney

DOVER — It was just like old times again at Dover International Speedway on Sunday as race fans were back in the grandstands for the first time in a year-and-a-half and the No. 48 Chevrolet was sitting in victory lane.

Only this time around it was Alex Bowman — not recently retired 11-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson — who displayed the skill necessary in the familiar race car to overcome, and then fend off, three of his teammates at Hendrick Motorsports to capture the Drydene 400 Cup Series race.

Bowman’s pit crew propelled him into the lead with a lightning-fast pit stop under a caution period after Aric Almirola slammed into the fourth-turn wall with 98 circuits remaining at the high-banked, one-mile concrete oval. It was the only stop all day that Kyle Larson’s pit crew did not come out first after pitting.

When the green flag waved again, Bowman held onto the top spot like a mad dog with a bone in his mouth to hold off Larson — who dominated most of the event by leading a race-high 263 laps — to the checkered flag by 2.017 seconds.

Chase Elliott, who started from the rear of the field after his car failed pre-race inspection, rallied to finish third, followed by William Byron. It marked just the fourth time in Cup Series history that one team has swept the top four positions.

Joey Logano brought his Ford home fifth as the only non-Hendrick car in the top-five. He was followed by Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez and Cole Custer, as they rounded out the top 10.

Bowman, driving the Ally-sponsored car, was quick to credit his pit crew over the radio after the race for the fast pit stop that put him in the lead.

“Great job guys, you won that race for us today,” the 28-year-old winner from Tucson, Arizona, said.

He celebrated by doing a burnout on the front straightaway at the Monster Mile that actually set his rear tires on fire.

“It just feels right to put the 48 back here in victory lane after I don’t know how many races that his car has won here,” Bowman said. “I’m just so proud of this pit crew. It was fun racing Kyle (Larson) and we’re glad to get Hendrick Motorsports another win.

“Mr. (Rick Hendrick, car owner) is here, and I don’t think I’ve ever won with him here before, so that’s really cool.”

Something else that Bowman said was really cool was winning a race with fans back in the stands after they have been missing since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.

“The fans are back, and I get to talk to them (without wearing a facemask),” said Bowman, to the fans cheering in the stands. “We’re so glad to have you guys back here. Man, this (Dover) is the best racetrack on the schedule in my opinion, I wish we still came here twice (a year) but thank you guys so much for coming out today.”

Larson, who won the last race at Dover in front of grandstands full of fans in October 2019 prior to the pandemic, was the driver to beat for the majority of the race. Dover hosted a doubleheader in August 2020 in front of empty grandstands.

Larson, a 28-year-old driver from Elk Grove, California, found his way to the front of the field with a quick pit stop early in the first stage and then, with a heavy right foot and steady hands, remained there. He entered the race boasting NASCAR’s highest average finish at the track (7.4) all time.

He finished first in both the 120-lap first and second stages of the Drydene 400 in leading a race-high 263 laps in his No. 5 Chevy. Everything appeared to be falling in place right where he wanted them to.

“I feel like I did everything I could, led a lot of laps, won both stages there,” Larson said. “We’d like to have finished one spot better, but all-in-all it was a good day.”

Larson was eventually beat by a fast pit stop and a talented teammate in Bowman who inherited the faster, cleaner air on the nose of his race car.

“I feel like all of us (Hendrick Motorsports) guys were pretty equal, so it was kind of like whoever got out into the lead was going to be hard to beat,” Larson said. “(Bowman’s) team just did a really good job on that pit stop and getting control of the race.

“I never really had a shot after that, really. That one restart I got up to his bumper and got him loose and then (Kevin Harvick) was coming, so we kind of had to let it go, but it’s hard to be disappointed with that second.”

Bowman, by securing his second win of the season, joined Martin Truex Jr. (three victories) as the second driver this season to have won more than one race. It marked his fourth career triumph..

Bowman said he was confident his team could return to victory lane after winning at Richmond last month.

“We won Richmond and then had a really rough couple weeks there,” he said. “We 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.”

The Drydene 400 was completed in three hours, 19 minutes and 55 seconds for an average speed of 120.05 mph. It was slowed by seven caution periods that encompassed 41 laps, including a competition caution and two end of stage caution periods.

The race lead was swapped 10 times among five drivers.

Larson looked unbeatable at times throughout the race.

Larson, who started fourth, took the lead during a pit stop for a competition caution period that NASCAR officials called for after lap 35 so that teams could look at tire wear and make some adjustments to their cars. He barely edged Byron out of the pits.

Once Larson got in front he stayed there for the remainder of the opening stage. He put Kyle Busch, one of the pre-race favorites, a lap down on lap 54 as Busch was battling engine woes, and then ended the stage by driving safely underneath Chase Briscoe as he was smashing into the wall between turns 1 and 2 on lap 120, bringing out the day’s second caution.

Larson continued his run at the front of the field throughout the second 120-lap stage, leading his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Elliott, Bowman and Byron, which became a precursor of things to come.

However, Bowman’s pit crew threw an unexpected wrench into Larson’s plans with the lightning-quick pit stop that eventually turned into a good payday and a Monster Trophy for their driver.

And put the No 48 Chevrolet back into victory lane at Dover — only this time with a driver not named Johnson.