Kevin Harvick, in a must-win NASCAR situation, dominates race

“That was a challenge for us, but we stayed really, really calm”. “I’m just so proud of those guys and so proud of our fans and everybody for all their support all week”. Kyle Busch finished second and Dale Earnhardt Junior third to clinch spots in the next round.

“My auto actually wasn’t quite as good after we spun as it was before”, Hamlin said. So I’ve not only seen but also actually been one of those athletes who had to perform when there was no tomorrow.

Smith wins Xfinity race: DOVER, Del. “It turned out really good”.

Despite his best efforts to get the position back, the race ended with McMurray being among the four drivers eliminated from the Chase.

Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer all were bounced from title contention after the AAA 400. I just liked him racing. With the field set on points, Matt Kenseth has the pole and is followed by JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ playoffs will resume at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 10.

Johnson got a pit road speeding penalty on the race’s first round of pit stops. He raced his way to Chase eligibility by winning four races.

While Harvick made it through to the second round, a huge name did not.

“There will never be anything close to that one”, said Harvick of the pressure of following the seven-time champion. He shoved Johnson in the chest with a closed fist and had to be restrained from going after him again following a devastating performance Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.

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. “Everybody wins. That’s why they’re so great”.

Tenth in the standings and 12 points clear of Busch, Jeff Gordon nevertheless has cause for concern after two lackluster practices.

At New Hampshire, Harvick and Johnson will get asked about their incident and whether it might affect anything on the track moving forward. There were only three race leaders on the afternoon.

After two issues in the first two races of the first round, Harvick was faced with a simple situation on Sunday. He finished 13th after leading 223 laps. “I can’t say enough about this entire Interstate Batteries team”. It’s something that all the teams have fought for a long time.

As Harvick flourished, several fellow Chasers struggled. Early in the AAA 400, Johnson experienced mechanical problems in the rear axle of his #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, ultimately losing 37 laps as he sat in the garage.

Johnson was eliminated in the second round of the 2014 Chase. Brad Keselowski was penalized last week at New Hampshire for jumping a late restart.

“I definitely felt like I was in more control today”. “No one had anything for that 4 vehicle (Harvick), though”.

After a sensational Sunday of dominating Dover on a day in which he had to win to advance, Harvick could not be on a higher high. Harvick won that race, then backed it up with another win at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Championship round to secure the Cup Series crown. He has won three of the past five Chase races and in all three instances they were absolute must wins. That win on May 31 was his fourth of the season, which at the time was twice as many as anyone else had in the series.