Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray made it a 1-2 finish for Roush Racing.

And what a thrilling finish it was.

McMurray was the driver to beat, holding the lead for most of the final 90 laps Sunday until the patient Kenseth made his move, passing two drivers late before the leader was firmly in view.

Kenseth reached McMurray in lapped traffic, raced side-by-side, then dipped low on a clean pass off the fourth turn with three laps left and pulled away to win at Dover International Speedway.

“They were leaving me plenty of room to pass,” Kenseth said. “I just caught him at the right time and was able to just barely squeeze in front.”

Kevin Harvick finished third, followed by Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch. Jimmie Johnson maintained the points lead, finishing sixth after starting a season-worst 42nd.

McMurray seemed poised to win for the second time in his Nextel Cup career after taking the lead with 98 laps left in the Neighborhood Excellence 400. One day after turning 30, McMurray’s belated birthday present to himself was so close to being a trip to Victory Lane.

Kenseth spoiled the party. His No. 17 Ford started nipping at the leaders with about 30 laps left in the caution-marred race.

First, he passed Burton, then Harvick. All that was left was McMurray.

With three laps to go, Kenseth got by McMurray after the leader was slowed a bit by Michael Waltrip’s lapped car. With one lap to go, Kenseth pulled away for his second win of the season and 12th of his career.

“It was really exciting,” Kenseth said. “I feel bad for Jamie.”

The win earned him a small boost in the points standings. Kenseth sliced Johnson’s lead from 109 points to 74.

“I never thought about the points at all today. We’re thinking about winning races,” Kenseth said. “It’s early enough in the year. We’re in a pretty solid position in the points.”

[AP]

Dover Downs International SpeedwayDover, Del.Lap length: 1 mile(Start position in parentheses)

1. (19) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 400, $323,591, 109.865 mph.

2. (9) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 400, $239,600.

3. (5) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 400, $198,586.

4. (17) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 400, $164,245.

5. (30) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 400, $132,925.

6. (42) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 400, $153,261.

7. (26) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 400, $135,039.

8. (20) Greg Biffle, Ford, 400, $112,800.

9. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 400, $107,950.

10. (11) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 400, $130,241.

11. (7) Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 400, $94,200.

12. (3) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, $133,011.

13. (28) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 400, $126,136.

14. (1) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 400, $134,533.

15. (25) Carl Edwards, Ford, 400, $104,125.

16. (4) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 400, $122,658.

17. (22) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 400, $93,150.

18. (2) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 400, $120,316.

19. (39) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 400, $91,600.

20. (15) Scott Riggs, Dodge, 400, $85,200.

21. (34) Casey Mears, Dodge, 400, $116,983.

22. (21) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 399, $107,783.

23. (24) Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 399, $89,925.

24. (40) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 399, $112,400.

25. (10) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 398, $130,786.

26. (32) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 398, $79,100.

27. (35) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 398, $102,608.

28. (12) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 398, $99,958.

29. (27) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 398, $89,308.

30. (31) Dave Blaney, Dodge, 398, $87,047.

31. (23) Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 398, $74,350.

32. (33) Michael Waltrip, Dodge, 397, $74,200.

33. (38) Ken Schrader, Ford, 397, $102,214.

34. (43) Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 396, $73,850.

35. (13) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 396, $99,995.

36. (41) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 394, $73,525.

37. (36) Derrike Cope, Dodge, 393, $73,375.

38. (37) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 378, $73,265.

39. (18) Kevin Lepage, Dodge, 299, engine failure, $73,155.

40. (8) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 296, accident, $100,933.

41. (29) David Stremme, Dodge, 290, overheating, $80,895.

42. (14) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 286, accident, $107,385.

43. (16) Hermie Sadler, Chevrolet, 136, transmission, $73,033.

___ Time of Race: 3 hours, 38 minutes, 27 seconds.

Margin of Victory: 0.787 seconds.

Caution Flags: 9 for 51 laps.

Lead Changes: 23 among 12 drivers.

Lap Leaders:

R.Newman 1-12; J.Mayfield 13-26; M.Martin 27-37; J.Gordon 38-115; M.Kenseth 116; D.Stremme 117; J.Gordon 118-120; M.Kenseth 121-163; J.Burton 164-175; M.Kenseth 176-189; J.Burton 190-193; M.Kenseth 194-200; J.Burton 201-209; Ky.Busch 210; G.Biffle 211-212; C.Edwards 213-214; J.Burton 215-237; M.Martin 238-265; D.Earnhardt Jr. 266; M.Kenseth 267-279; Ky.Busch 280-300; M.Kenseth 301; J.McMurray 302-396; M.Kenseth 397-400.

Top 10 in Points Standings

1. J.Johnson 2,011. 2. M.Kenseth 1,937. 3. M.Martin 1,795. 4. D.Earnhardt Jr. 1,729. 5. T.Stewart 1,718. 6. K.Kahne 1,715. 7. J.Burton 1,615. 8. K.Harvick 1,591. 9. J.Gordon 1,583. 10. Ky.Busch 1,572.