Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, leads Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 4, 2015 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 4, 2015 Photo – Ranier Ehrhardt/Getty Images
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 4, 2015 Photo – Jeff Curry/Getty Images
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 4, 2015 Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 4, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout in front of his crew after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 4, 2015 Photo – Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 4, 2015 Photo – Ranier Ehrhardt/Getty Images
By Jove, he’s done it again!
Forced to win at Dover International Speedway to keep his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship hopes alive Sunday, Kevin Harvick did just that, dominating Sunday’s AAA 400 to stave off elimination from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
In a virtual carbon copy of last year’s Chase race at Phoenix, where the 2014 premier series champion had to win to advance to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick led 355 of 400 laps – a career best at any track – in winning for the third time this year and the 31st time in his career.
“I think we’re better than we were last year, just because of the experiences and things that we’ve had,” Harvick said after the race. “I think when we look at everything that’s gone on over the last couple of years, it’s just been a lot of fun.
“So, it’s just that never-quit attitude. That’s what (team co-owner) Tony Stewart said when we went to Homestead last year. He said, ‘Whatever you do, do not quit until they throw that checkered flag.’”
Defending champion Kevin Harvick has two options heading into Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway – the first cutoff race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – win or go home.
The No. 4 Chevrolet driver ranks 15th out of 16 drivers on the Chase Grid and sits 23 points below 12th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the cutoff line. He mathematically can still make the Contender Round on points, but it would be a tough task, requiring him to jump three drivers.
Basically, if Harvick doesn’t visit Victory Lane, he is out of NASCAR’s playoffs as one of the four winless drivers lowest in points. Continue reading →
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 28, 2014 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 28, 2014 Photo – Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 28, 2014 Photo – Sarah Glenn/Getty Images
Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, but four other drivers got the axe in the first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup elimination race in the history of the sport.
AJ Allmendinger, 2004 series champion Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola missed the cut for the next round of the Chase, paring the field from 16 drivers to 12 after the third and last Challenger Round race. Continue reading →
2-For-2: Penske Proves It’s Contender Round Material
How quickly the tide can turn.
All summer it looked like a Hendrick Motorsports driver would take the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, but now a new team has seized the title of favorite.
With victories in four of the past five races, including the last three in a row, Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have asserted the racing outfit as the organization to beat moving forward in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Keselowski (5) and Logano (4) lead the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in wins and have each locked themselves into the Contender Round with victories in the first two Chase races. On top of their hefty win totals, the duo also tops the series with 12 top-five finishes apiece. Continue reading →
