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The NASCAR race for the Chase has just completed its first round at the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, and four drivers are now out of the Chase. Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth had already won and secured their spot in the Contender Round. That left 10 spots and 14 drivers.
Kevin Harvick had a long way to go, as he wrecked at Chicagoland Speedway two weeks ago and finished 21st last week in New Hampshire after running out of fuel while leading Lap 298 out of 300. He started the day 23 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr for the 12th and final spot. Harvick took things into his own hands and totally dominated this race. Harvick led 355 of the 400 laps, and the defending Sprint Cup Champion made it look easy.
“We weren’t in a good situation coming into today, but that’s what this team is made of,” Harvick said. “This is what it’s all about, those big-time moments.”
On to the Contender Round
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Denny Hamlin won the MyAFIBRisk.com 400 two weeks ago to secure a spot in the top 12 for his number 11 car.
Matt Kenseth and the 20 car took the second automatic spot with a win last week at the Sylvania 300 last week.
Kevin Harvick and his number 4 car was all but out of the Chase until he took the checkered flag this week to earn the third and final automatic spot.
Carl Edwards and the 19 car finished 15th this week, which was enough to advance to the next round.
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Joey Logano took his 22 car to a top-10 finish this week to secure a spot in the Contender Round.
Ryan Newman finished in 19th place, which was enough to take the 31 car to the next round.
Kurt Busch and the 41 car finished 17th in Dover, and will continue on to the next round.
Brad Keselowski and the number 2 car finished in 16th place, which was good enough to advance.
Martin Truex Jr had to start the race at the back of the pack because of a body modification. He still finished in 11th place in the 78 car, which was good enough to move on.
Jeff Gordon and his iconic 24 car finished in 12th place and will be moving on to the Contender Round.
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Kyle Busch started the race in 13th, so he needed to move up in order to move on. He finished in 2nd place, which was good enough to get his number 18 car into the next round.
The final spot came down to Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jamie McMurray, and it came down to a tie breaker. McMurray had a one point lead coming into the race, but Junior and the 88 finished third while McMurray and the 1 finished in fourth. That led to the two drivers finishing this round in a tie. Junior advances on the tie breaker, which was the best finish in the final race.
Out of the Chase
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Jamie McMurray just missed a spot in the next round, coming to within one spot in any of the three races of moving on. In the end, he lost on a tie breaker to Junior.
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Jimmie Johnson had a very disappointing day in Dover. He had a bad axle seal which caused him to have the 48 car in the garage. He ended up finishing 36 laps behind the leader in 41st place and out of the Chase.
Paul Menard started the day just a point out of the top 12, but he finished the race in 25th place and that knocked the 27 car out of the Chase.
Clint Bowyer and the 15 car had a long way to go to get into the next round after 19th and 26th place finishes. His 14th place finish was not enough, and Bowyer missed the Chase.
What’s next?
The first race of the Contender Round is the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 10. That is the first of three races that will take the field of 12 drivers down to the eight drivers that will compete in the Eliminator Round.