Mechanical systems with nonlinear potential forces and delayed feedback are studied. It is assumed that, in the absence of control, the trivial equilibrium positions of considered systems are stable, but they are not attracting ones. An approach for the constructing of nonlinear controllers providing the asymptotic stability of the equilibrium positions is proposed. By the use of the Lyapunov direct method and the Razumikhin approach, it is proved that for the corresponding closed-loop systems the asymptotic stability can be guaranteed even in the cases when delay is unknown and time-varying. Moreover, estimates for solutions of closed-loop systems are found. An example and the results of a computer simulation are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.