Harvick dominates in must-win race to advance in Chase

In 27 races he has 10 wins (37%) and 15 Top 5 finishes (55%).

Amid the hoopla in victory lane, Harvick noted his predicament at Dover and how his team overcame it. That No. 4 team was flawless on Sunday.

The third race in NASCAR’s playoffs is a crucial one – the bottom four drivers out of the 16 in the field are cut and gone from the title picture.

The result had to be a huge relief for Harvick, who for the second year in a row had to listen to critics question why he hadn’t managed to produce a race win since March.

Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, and Clint Boyer were the other Chase drivers to not qualify for the Contenders round.

Sadler, who will move from Roush Fenway Racing to JRM at the end of the season, echoed Earnhardt’s sentiments.

The rain washed out Friday’s racing at Dover global Speedway. At Charlotte motor speedway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in third after almost going a lap down in the first half of the race, avoiding that fate by a well-timed caution.

Johnson entered fifth in the standings and, with 10 career wins at Dover, seemed a lock to advance.

The first two rounds of the Chase were not exactly flawless. Harvick finished 42nd in the Chase opener and was 21st last week at New Hampshire. “So, we’re still in the battle and still looking forward to the challenge of just making it through the next round”, said Harvick.

The only excitement Friday was found inside Dover’s media center. He has only one career win (at Kansas) at the next three tracks. Gordon received proclamations from the city of Dover and Delawares House of Representatives and Senate. One of the tribute was the city of Dover declaring him an honorary citizen of the town.

“I don’t know who I’m going to pick for next year”. But the nicest gift may have been the addition of Nick Odell as the No. 24s starting front-tire changer. Since making the switch to Joe Gibbs racing before the 2013 season, Kenseth has finished 40 (engine), 7, 3, 5 and the 39 here following problems with his suspension during the spring 2015 event. The surprise is that a championship team, with an ace crew chief in Rodney Childers, has watched gambles on tire and fuel strategy backfire in each race. “We’re just concentrating on things that we need to right now”.

There might not have been any self-imposed pressure felt by Harvick, but Sunday’s race was filled with drama most everywhere else.

“It used to be a mark on the wall and it was “go” in the vicinity of this mark”, said Jeff Gordon. The win vaulted Harvick from 15th-place in points in to the Contender Round of the Chase.

Brad Keselowski has 8/1 odds today and he starts in eighth position. He complained that NASCAR was entertainment and unfair after the penalty.

Geri and her twin sister Becky were having their picture taken in front of the Miles the Monster statue with a neon green poster board they’d made that was adorned with Gordon’s name and number.

Dover is the finish of the Challenger Round, and just like a year ago teams needed to have the best run they could, and a few had to cash in on the trophy just to make it into the next round. Trust me: The only thing that Phoenix and Dover have in common is they are one mile in length.

Joseph Shelton – Jimmie Johnson – You don’t spit in the wind, you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, and you don’t bet against Jimmie Johnson at Dover.