“I think when we look at everything that’s gone on over the last couple of years, it’s just been a lot of fun”.
Advertisement
“The circumstances today were pretty straight forward: We didn’t have any insane endings”, Harvick said, following his 31st career Cup series victory.
“I believe that we will win! That’s what it’s all about – those big-time moments”. Dale Earnhardt Jr. tied with McMurray in points and earned the final spot on a tiebreaker.
The reigning Sprint Cup Series champion kept his gas tank full this time and advances to the Contender Round of the Chase.
“We weren’t going to advance”, Earnhardt said. “I’m not really sure what those guys have”. He’s won at Dover five times, including last fall. It was a really good job.
“We finished where I thought we deserved to be”, Busch said. Jimmie Johnson was among four drivers eliminated, reducing the Chase field to 12. “We needed a few big pileups to get us back in that thing and I just didn’t see it happening”.
The rain washed out Friday’s racing at Dover global Speedway.
Unlike Phoenix, where he owned five wins prior to the race, Harvick has failed to take a checkered flag at Dover in 29 starts – the most among active drivers without a victory.
Hamlin beat Harvick off pit road during the caution but was assessed a pit-road speeding penalty, putting Harvick back up front for the restart.
For its eighth year, the fast-growing NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will stage 24 races in six countries in Europe, bringing exciting racing and American-themed entertainment to European fans. Harvick then opened up a two and a half second lead over Kenseth by Lap 34.
Here’s another problem for the Chase field: Harvick might be unstoppable in defense of his championship. “Everybody wins. That’s why they’re so great”. Earnhardt said he was caught a bit by surprise with both McMurray and Kenseth were slowing ahead of him. “I felt like I was in way more control today as the leader”. Busch, who restarted fourth, got up to second when the race returned to green.
After two issues in the first two races of the first round, Harvick was faced with a simple situation on Sunday.
“Yeah, I don’t think there was really any pressure”, a nonchalant Harvick reiterated after the race.
As Harvick flourished, several fellow Chasers struggled. Johnson spent 36 laps in the garage getting repairs. Although his spot in the Chase is secure, expect to see Kenseth to put up another strong performance at a track that he has shown consistency when equipped with a good vehicle. The defending race victor was 32nd on the speed chart in the morning and 27th in the afternoon. “Stuff doesn’t fall off our race cars”. “We just had a few bad luck with that loose wheel early on”. It’s frustrating that we weren’t able to make it to the next round. Just a few little detail could have happened to the No. 4 auto Sunday, but it didn’t. The deficit proved too much for him to overcome, and Johnson limped to a 41st-place finish. Through 28 career Dover races, Johnson had 10 wins and 20 top-10 finishes.
Advertisement
The reigning series champion did exactly what he had to do – win the AAA 400 and move on to the Contender Round in the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Busch suffered a broken right leg and left foot after crashing into an infield concrete wall at Daytona global Speedway.
