Kevin Harvick's Turn To Chase
After two years of disappointment, Kevin Harvick will chase the Nextel Cup championship in 2006.
For much of the night, Kevin Harvick chased 21-year old Kyle Busch around the .75-mile oval at Richmond.
But in the end, when it all counted, Harvick was able to bypass the sophomore driver. Harvick was pretty much a lock to qualify for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship before the race even began, in fact, all he needed was a 40th place finish, but a win would make it all that much sweeter.
Harvick passed Busch with less than 2 laps to go to secure his third win of the season, eighth of his career, and his first ever NASCAR Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship appearance.
"I was scared to ask, to be honest with you," Harvick said. "It was something where as soon as I asked, I figured something would go wrong."
Harvick will enter into the NASCAR Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship with as much momentum as anyone, including Nextel Cup points leader Matt Kenseth. While a lot of people feel as if Kenseth is the man to beat, Harvick has emerged as his biggest threat.
Unfortunately, Harvick's victory will rival Tony Stewart's shocking Chase for the Championship exodus as far as the headlines are concerned.
Stewart was seldom mentioned as the guy that Kasey Kahne would surpass in order get into the Nextel Cup top ten, but in the end, Stewart will join fellow NASCAR stars Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, and Ryan Newman on the outside looking in.
"It takes 26 weeks to get to this point," Stewart after his 18th-place finish. "This is proof of how tough this series is and how tough it is just to make this Chase...there's 10 guys there that earned their way in, too, so we've just got to wish those guys good luck now."
I must say, I have been rather critical of Stewart this season after his incidents with Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, and Carl Edwards, but I felt that he displayed a lot of class after his agonizing defeat. He didn't run and hide from the media, and he didn't threatened to attack Newman. He took his loss like a man, and a true Champion.
But, look out for that orange #20 in the final ten races. Stewart and company have something to prove to the NASCAR world.
Kasey Kahne, the guy that Stewart feels is almost like a kid brother to him, was the same guy that knocked him out of championship contention.
Kahne no longer has to answer questions like 'how does a driver with five wins not make the Chase?'. After finishing third in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond, Kahne secured a place in the championship chase.
"I'm just relieved that I'm in [because] I had so many things to think about if I didn't make it."
Jeff Gordon must be thanking his lucky stars. After his brakes began to fail, he began to rapidly fall off the pace. At any time, his brakes could have given out completely, and he could have found himself outside of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship once again.
Quote of the week
Kevin Harvick discussing his past trips to the NASCAR hauler
"I've left competition meetings before with everybody looking at me like I was the biggest butt in the whole entire world."
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