After the last two races we witnessed, you probably like me, were waiting to see what was going to happen to derail the No. 4 vehicle. Busch is in danger of being among the first four drivers cut from The Chase grid if he does not win.
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The good news for those twelve drivers that will be moving into the next round is that every driver’s points will be reset to 3,000. Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, Harvick and Clint Bowyer are in the bottom four and most at risk of elimination Sunday.Weve still got racing to do, Bowyer said.
“I’m definitely disappointed”, said Johnson.
In Sunday’s triple A 400 at Dover worldwide Speedway advancing into the contender around in the chase for the NASCAR’s. Even when it rains, the sun shines on Joe Gibbs Racing. An easy title favorite, he finished 42nd in the Chase opener at Chicagoland and 21st at New Hampshire.
Narrowed to 12, the field for the Contender Round now includes Challenger Round winners Matt Kenseth (Chicago), Denny Hamlin (New Hampshire) and Harvick, as well as Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Newman and Earnhardt. Jamie McMurray is 11th and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
That’s what we saw Sunday at Dover with Kevin Harvick.
After taking two poor finishes in a row in the first two rounds of the Chase, Harvick found himself in a must-win position heading to Dover. With another impressive finish, Matt Kenseth is still the top seed as the second round of the chase begins.
Still, a rear end seal was one of the last things on Johnson’s mind at Dover.
Harvick thrives on pressure and took the checkered flag in must-win races last season at Phoenix and Homestead to take the championship.
“If you can land on a track that is one of your better tracks and not necessarily your best track, it only increases the odds”, Johnson said. Gordon received proclamations from the city of Dover and Delawares House of Representatives and Senate. “… I think we’re better than we were past year just because of the experiences and things that we’ve had”.
Johnson was calm and collected in his defeat after the race on pit road but admitted that he was disappointed that a part as cheap as an axle seal ended his championship hopes. Just because we are starting a brand-new round, don’t expect the emotion and tension to ease up.
“With these presentations that just occurred, it does remind me just how much Dover and the state of Delaware have meant for me personally and for our team”, Jeff said. The stats also look good across the next three races – Harvick owns wins at Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega.
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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. Jump on board now for my Biggest College Football Play of the Week. “Adam Stevens gave me a great piece and when you look at the amount of practice time we had, it was pretty hard to figure out what you had”. “I don’t think there are a lot of them that can say that”. But being so far behind and with so few other drivers encountering trouble, Johnson’s quest for a record-tying seventh Cup Series championship will have to wait another year.
