Loudon, N.H. – Kevin Harvick saw the hole in front of him, a small patch of open track between two other cars.
Driving through it would be risky, but Harvick has never shied away from taking chances. So he shoved his Chevrolet in between Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton, forcing his way to the front and running away with a victory Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway.
This is how Harvick plans to run for his first Nextel Cup title: unafraid, unapologetic and with everything he has.
“At this point, it’s all about the championship and going for it and throwing caution to the wind,” Harvick said of his three- wide pass 37 laps into the race. “If you look back on it, I probably wouldn’t do that again.”
Harvick turned New Hampshire International Speedway into his playground, dominating the entire weekend to take the early lead in NASCAR’s Chase for the championship.
Harvick, who started from the pole and paced almost every practice session, led 196 of the 300 laps to run away with the first round of the 10-race Chase. He moved to the top of the points standings for the first time in his career, and holds a 35-point lead over Hamlin, a rookie who finished fourth.
“We sure have the momentum right now,” said Harvick, who won for the second straight week and fourth time this season. “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing. If we keep winning races, we’re not going to get outscored in points.”
Defending series champion Tony Stewart, who did not make the Chase, finished second.
Jeff Gordon was third and jumped all the way up to fourth in the standings, the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal day for Hendrick Motorsports. Chase drivers Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson wrecked early, finished 38th and 39th, and dropped to the back of the 10-driver championship field.
It was yet another heartbreaking blow for Johnson, who led the standings for 22 weeks this year only to see his season fall apart with the Nextel Cup on the line. Although he has nine weeks to race back into contention, he knows how difficult it will be.
“Right now it looks like things are out of our control to get back in this thing right now,” said Johnson, 139 points out of the lead. “I can only judge on how guys are running today, and all the Chase guys are running up front.
“I hope I eat the words I said early on when I said, ‘You can’t win the championship here in New Hampshire, but you can lose it today.”‘
Indeed, the championship can be lost in the first round of the Chase. Stewart, Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield were taken out of contention in 2004 following an early accident. Then defending series champion Kurt Busch suffered the same fate last season when he wrecked moments into the race.
Nextel Cup/glance
Keys to victory: Polesitter Kevin Harvick led 196 of the 300 laps as he dominated the first round of the 10-race Chase. He took the lead in the points standings for the first time in his career, and holds a 35-point lead over rookie Denny Hamlin, who finished fourth.
What you might have missed: Jimmie Johnson received few gifts on the track for his 31st birthday. Sterling Marlin, trying to avoid a braking car, knocked Johnson into the wall. It took Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports crew 45 laps to get it running well enough to go back on track and try for points. Johnson climbed from 41st to 39th.
Back on track: Sunday, Dover 400, Dover International Speedway; TNT, 10:30 a.m.
Chase standings
Driver Points Behind
Kevin Harvick 5,230 –
Denny Hamlin 5,195 35
Matt Kenseth 5,189 41
Jeff Gordon 5,180 50
Jeff Burton 5,166 64
Mark Martin 5,155 75
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5,149 81
Kasey Kahne 5,120 110
Jimmie Johnson 5,091 139
Kyle Busch 5,084 146
