Harvick has championship defense on line at Dover

But led a bunch of laps and looking forward to the challenge this weekend. He tumbled to 21st a week after he was finished 42nd in the Chase opener and will surely have to win next week at Dover worldwide Speedway to advance to the second round. “Bad ending”, he tweeted. “I don’t think there are a lot of them that can say that”. It began with UCF alumni Aric Almirola hitting the wall on lap 37, bringing about the first caution of the race. Denny Hamlin, the victor last week at Chicagoland in Joliet, Ill., was second for JGR. Chase drivers took eight of the top 10 spots.

Dover is the third and final race of the Chase’s opening round, with the bottom four of the 16-driver field facing elimination.

“I was giving Kevin everything I had”, Kenseth said.

In Dover, Logano is partnering with Elder Heart/Mission 22, a national awareness campaign drawing attention to the 22 US military veterans who commit suicide each day as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

“These Gibbs cars have speed”, Hamlin said, “and they’re fuel mileage is so good it borders on the mysterious”.

All-time Dover victor Jimmie Johnson, who has 10 victories at the 1-mile concrete track, will start fifth.

SuperBook manager Ed Salmons said that Kevin Harvick should probably be the favorite this week, but Johnson’s dominance on the track combined with public demand forced the number. “Which is why we weren’t anxious”, Childers wrote.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is also in action this weekend, but the Rhino Linings 350 is being held on the other side of the country at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada, meaning that the weather will not be a factor for that race. We won in the spring, but it’s been a long time since we have raced here at the track.

“I’m the Chase driver no one’s talking about”, Newman said. When his right front tire blew out at 160, it required extensive repairs to the No. 18 Toyota and Busch ended up 37th.

Both of those races might have been considered failed risks for Harvick: Not pitting to get the tire changed at Chicagoland and trying to make it to the finish line before his fuel ran out at New Hampshire.

“It’s killed”, he said over the radio. He smacked the pressure in the face, leading 264-of-312 laps on his way to Victory Lane, parlaying the momentum into a first-place finish in the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to capture his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crown.

“I know the Gibbs guys are fast, but watching practice, he’s really embarrassing the (heck) out of everybody”, Chase driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Thursday. He was penalized for jumping the restart as the second-place driver in the restart zone – despite never gaining a position – on Lap 242. – Earnhardt ran out of gas on the final lap and finished 25th at New Hampshire.