Who’s rising and who’s falling in the Chase for the Sprint Cup

So all Harvick did was lead a career-high 355 laps of the AAA 400. It is his first win since wining back to back races at Las Vegas and Phoenix. Talk about excellent timing…

A faulty axle seal on the No. 48 Chevrolet sent Johnson to the garage, creating an obstacle he could not overcome, in the process short-circuiting his attempt to match Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr.as seven-time Cup champions. “This time of year is where everybody starts to come out and show exactly what they’re worth and what they are and how much they want to win this championship”.

Four Chase drivers will be eliminated following completion of Sunday’s race. He was runner-up to Johnson in May in the first Dover race.

Through three of 10 races in the Chase for the Championship.

“I wasn’t surprised he was that upset”, Johnson said. “We take for granted how indestructible these cars are, but a very simple and affordable axle seal took the rear end out of our vehicle and cost us”.

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

“It’s part of racing”. He got out of the team ownership business, too, which often found him dressing down his crew over the radio during Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series races.

While Harvick is dominating, he’s got a full field around him. USA TODAY Jeff Gordon’s 2015 farewell tour “We sat down and thought about who you are, not just as a driver, yet as the leader of what has-been one of the most favorable race teams in NASCAR history”, McGlynn stated, noting Gordon has a track record of “acknowledging and sharing victories with your team”. We all knew what we had to do. Been in these situations are a lot this year and have pulled off when you.

“We pride ourselves on no mechanicals (issues)”, he said.

Like I mentioned earlier, Jimmie Johnson was the odds-on favorite to win that race.

“So many things could’ve gone wrong”.

“His sponsor is AARP now and I just turned 50 and I got my membership in the mail so it’d be nice”, Kuster said. Your before just didn’t have any problems today so just really really proud of my group for forgiveness the last little bit out of everything.

Kevin Harvick insisted all last week that he didn’t feel any pressure to win Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover global Speedway.

Also ousted from the Chase for the Sprint Cup was Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, and Clint Bowyer. He won, then won it all the next week when his second straight checkered flag gave him the highest finish among four championship drivers to earn the crown. McMurray is 12th in Chase points, but he gets bumped by Harvick because a win secures a place in the next round.

“That was a guy that we wanted to knock out”, Busch said after a second-place finish on Sunday.

Kyle Busch, who is one point behind Earnhardt and now out of a transfer spot, was 19th fastest in opening practice but improved to seventh in the second session. McMurray was done. After the race, Earnhardt and McMurray embraced in a token of sportsmanship. I worry about a pit call.

Harvick had to go as hard as he could Sunday. Harvick then opened up a two and a half second lead over Kenseth by Lap 34.