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 For the second straight postseason, Kevin Harvick finds himself in a
similar position as the UFC fighters he manages.
His back is against the wall.
Ranked 15th on the Chase Grid, 23 points below the cutoff line for
the final transfer spot to the 12-driver Contender Round of the
Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Harvick will almost certainly have
to win Sunday's AAA 400 cutoff race at Dover International Speedway
(2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN) to advance in the playoffs.
Harvick's situation is all too familiar.
Last season, the No. 4 Chevrolet driver faced the same predicament
heading into the Eliminator 8 cutoff race at Phoenix. He smacked the
pressure in the face, leading 264-of-312 laps on his way to Victory
Lane, parlaying the momentum into a first-place finish in the
Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to capture his first
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crown.
"I think we have definitely gained a lot of confidence in knowing we
can handle every different situation," Harvick said. "I don't think
there are a lot of them that can say that. We are definitely happy
that we have been through those moments and been able to capitalize
on those situations."
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. He enters the race with a
little bit of encouragement, as he finished second in the spring
race at the "Monster Mile."
Despite his dire situation, Harvick remains calm and collected.
"This is why everybody watches," he said. "Every situation is
different. You just have to address whatever you think is right or
wrong at that particular time to go out and do what is best for your
team."
Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth, race winners at Chicago and New
Hampshire, respectively, have already punched their tickets into the
Contender Round and the other 10 spots will be filled by the winner
at Dover if he is a Chase driver, with the remaining positions
filled by Chase drivers with the most points.
--Buescher in championship driver's seat with 6 to go
With just six races left in the season, Chris Buescher holds a
19-point lead over Ty Dillon in the NASCAR XFINITY Series
championship standings.
"I feel really good about our chances as we go down this
homestretch," Buescher said. "We have three race tracks that we look
at as being solid for us, very good chances to go win a race (Dover,
Kansas and Homestead)."
The 22-year-old Texan gets his next chance to extend his points
advantage when he goes for the season sweep of Dover International
Speedway in Saturday's Hisense 200 (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Buescher
played fuel-mileage strategy to perfection at the "Monster Mile" in
May, beating second-place Matt Kenseth by more than 11 seconds.
In three career starts at Dover, Buescher has finished fourth and
11th in addition to his win for an average finish of 5.3. He enters
Saturday's showdown riding a five-race top-10 streak.
Meanwhile, Dillon rolls into Dover coming off a runner-up finish at
Kentucky and with his own streak of 10 top-10 showings in the last
11 races. The No. 3 Chevrolet driver is set on catching Buescher.
"I think about (the points) every day and how bad I want that
championship," Dillon said. "I've been thinking about it since the
start of the year and we're going to keep eating. We're hungry right
now. We just have to go out there and keep getting our job done like
we're doing.
"The 60 (Buescher's team), they're backpedaling a little bit right
now. We're charging and they're thinking about us. So that's a good
thing."
Championship frontrunners Jones and Crafton favorites at Vegas
One driver is the defending race winner, while the other dominates
1.5-mile tracks.
Erik Jones will attempt to visit Victory Lane at Las Vegas Motor
Speedway for the second straight year in Saturday's Rhino Linings
350 (10 p.m. ET on FS1) as he tries to hold off NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series intermediate track master Matt Crafton for the series
championship.
Crafton cut Jones' standings lead to a mere seven points after
finishing runner-up last week at New Hampshire, while Jones placed
seventh for his ninth consecutive top-10 showing.
With only six races left, the two-time defending series champion
maintains he's still not concerned about points.
"I'm honestly not truly worried," Crafton said. "We're just going
into each and every race trying to lead laps and win the race. If we
do that, we get max points ... All in all, we just have to keep
racing, putting this Menards Toyota Tundra up front every week and
the points will come."
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Crafton has never won at Las Vegas, but he has three runner-up
finishes there and has claimed five wins in the last two seasons at
1.5-mile tracks.
Jones is no slouch at intermediate tracks either. The NASCAR Next
alum has led 44.4 percent (399) of the 898 total laps during the six
Truck Series races at 1.5-mile speedways this season, but has just a
pair of second-place finishes to show for it.
"Vegas is cool, a special place for me getting my first
mile-and-a-half win there," Jones said. ... "It's a cool place for
me. I'm excited to go back. It's one of my favorite mile-and-a-half
tracks and should put on a good show."
--Weekend Guide
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Race: AAA 400
Track: Dover International Speedway
Date and Time: Sunday, Oct. 4 at 2:30 p.m. ET
Tune-in: NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 400 miles (400 laps)
What to Watch For: Kevin Harvick virtually needs to win at Dover to
advance in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ... Kyle Busch is one
point behind the cutoff line to transfer to the Chase's Contender
Round. ... Jimmie Johnson will make his 500th start at Dover, where
he boasts a track-record 10 victories. ... Joe Gibbs Racing has won
10 of the last 13 races... Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth, race
winners at Chicago and New Hampshire, respectively, have already
punched their tickets into the Contender Round. The other 10
Contender Round spots will be filled by the winner at Dover if he is
a Chase driver, with the remaining positions filled by Chase drivers
with the most points.
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: Hisense 200
Track: Dover International Speedway
Date and Time: Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Tune-in: NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 200 miles (200 laps)
What to Watch For: Chris Buescher tries to add to his 19-point lead
over Ty Dillon in the standings with six races to go. ... Last
weekend's Kentucky race winner Ryan Blaney attempts to become the
first driver to notch consecutive victories this year. ... Defending
champion Chase Elliott ranks third in the series standings - 25
points behind Buescher. ... NASCAR Next and Drive for Diversity
alums Darrell Wallace Jr. and Daniel Suarez continue their battle
for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. Wallace, who considers Dover
one of his top tracks, trails Suarez by 23 points in the rookie
standings.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Race: Rhino Linings 350
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Date and Time: Saturday, Oct. 3 at 10 p.m. ET
Tune-in: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 219 miles (146 laps)
What to Watch For: Two-time defending series champion Matt Crafton
tries to close Erik Jones' seven-point lead over him. ... GMS Racing
heads to Las Vegas - where driver Spencer Gallagher calls home - one
week after winning its first race behind the efforts of Austin
Dillon. ... Extreme sports star Travis Pastrana will make his second
career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start. ... Eldora winner
Christopher Bell will start his first race since winning the Mud
Summer Classic in Rossburg, Ohio.
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