NASCAR Contender Round Set: Sprint Cup Standings following Dover

Sunday excepted, Harvick hasn’t led as many laps this year as he did in 2014.

“For us, we all knew what we had to do and it was really no different preparation than what we do on a weekly basis”, said Harvick. That’s what these guys are made of, and that’s what teamwork is all about….

“I still couldn’t have dreamed this big and have this much take place for us”, he said. “But a lot of those guys (at Stewart-Haas Racing) haven’t, and I would have felt like I let them down more than anything“.

“I’ve won championships this way”, Johnson said.

I find it mystifying when everyone figures they have the Chase in NASCAR figured out, only to have a new wrinkle come in that not one individual had expected. Also left behind will be six time champ Jimmie Johnson Paul Menard and Clint Boyer. “We’ve had to pull out stuff, cars that we really didn’t want to”. We just didn’t have any problems today.

Earnhardt demonstrated his hunger to advance with an incredible final restart, as he moved from eighth to fourth by overtaking McMurray, Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth in one bold outside move. The lead did not last long, though, as Hamlin was penalized for speeding on pit road. He did have a nice run here recently in May, leading 91 laps. Despite the possible advantage, there was little he could do to catch or pass Harvick.

It was only three weeks ago when a confident Harvick said about the JGR drivers, “We’re going to pound them into the ground”. He was fifth in points, 27 ahead of the dreaded 13th-place elimination point.

“Anytime you can go through moments like this and gain a few momentum and prove to yourself that you can do things like this, there’s no way you can’t be stronger”, Harvick said.

Kyle Busch (6-1 Stations) – Kyle Busch missed the early months of the season with a leg injury sustained opening weekend at Daytona, but roared back and secured his spot in the Chase with multiple wins. Busch had four newer tires to Harvick’s two, taking four during the previous caution. In addition to winning, Harvick led 355 laps.

“We finished where I thought we deserved to be”.

As Harvick flourished, several fellow Chasers struggled. Johnson lost several laps in the garage, and never recovered. Jimmie Johnson was also issued a speeding penalty. “Pretty simple, I guess, I’d say, too”.

“I don’t know who I’m going to pick for next year”.

From the drop of the green flag, Harvick proved that he was sitting in the dominant vehicle.

Johnson finished 41st of 43 in the AAA 400. He is the all-time winningest Cup level driver at Dover with 10 wins….

Make no mistake, the whole goal of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship was to create drama in the final 10 races of the season to keep interest high among fans against the onslaught of the National Football League season. 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.

Jeff Gordon gear is all over the outside of her camper and the inside.