DOVER, Del. — Kevin Harvick’s plan in the Chase for the Championship is to stay in contention for the first eight races, then turn it loose in the final two. By then, he hopes a lot of the other contenders will have raced their way out of the championship.
A 10th-place finish Sunday in the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway fulfilled his part of the strategy. But he’s not getting a lot of help from everyone else.
Harvick and Carl Edwards are tied in the Chase heading to Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway. Tony Stewart dropped from first to third, but he’s only nine points back.
The top nine drivers in the playoffs are separated by just 19 points.
Five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson jumped from 10th to fifth, followed by Brad Keselowski (down by 14), Matt Kenseth (14), Kyle Busch (15) and Jeff Gordon (19). Dale Earnhardt Jr. (down by 34 points), Ryan Newman (41) and Denny Hamlin (68) are the only ones who need a big comeback to get back into contention.
Under the new system, each point translates to a finishing position.
“I think the competition level is so even,” Harvick said. “I don’t think you’re going to see anybody come in here and dominate like you have before, as far as just taking off and running away. You’re going to be consistent and solid and it’s just a matter of keeping yourself in it until you get to the last couple of races and if you can keep yourself in contention, hopefully you’ve eliminated most of the other guys in the Chase.”
PIT STOPS: The state of Delaware didn’t pass on the opportunity to cash in on race weekend by raising the tolls on Highway 1, the main road to the speedway from Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del. Tolls usually are $1, but raised to $2 on race weekend. … Kyle Busch doesn’t understand the new point system. He cut his deficit by 11 points in the Chase for the Championship with a sixth-place finish Sunday, but he still managed to drop two spots in the rankings. “It’s deceiving because you shave points off but then you lose two spots,” said Busch, who is eighth in the standings, down by 15 points.
Just an FYI - Delaware did NOT raise tolls because it was race weekend. Weekday tolls are $1. Weekend tolls (starting at 7pm on Fridays) have been $2 for the past 4 years. You might want to do a little research before making such statements.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
