Long climb for several Chasers begins at Lowe's (cont'd)

"Charlotte seems to be a track where we just haven't had the finishes we need. We have always run pretty well there but just haven't been able to put everything together," said Harvick, who will start 24th (186.419 mph, 28.967). He finished 21st at LMS in May.

"During the Coca-Cola 600 we were running pretty good and just got caught up in a wreck. We have to find a way to keep everything together. If we can do that, I think we can leave Charlotte with a top-five finish."

In Harvick's case, it might be worth noting, again, that all of these statistics are gleaned from points-paying series races at LMS. The annual NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge is excluded. (Footnote: Harvick won this year's all-star race).

Front-end spoiler

Drivers outside the Chase are lining up to play the role of spoiler this week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. At the head of the list: Kasey Kahne and Casey Mears.

Kahne will have to be confident coming into the Bank of America 500 despite a disappointing season that finds him 21st in the series point standings this week. Kahne swept last season's two races at LMS.

Mears, meanwhile, got his first career Cup victory earlier this season at LMS. Even though he also is outside the Chase, Mears has been inside the top 10 at the finish of all four Chase races thus far -- the only driver in the series to do so. Mears is 15th in the series standings this week.

Since the start of the Chase in 2004, "non-Chasers" have won 11 times.

A special sort of flagman

Patrick Hickey has been described as a cross between Florence Nightengale and Indiana Jones.

Strange, but true -- and admirable.

Hickey is one of only 150 people to have scaled the tallest mountain on all seven of the world's continents. He has done so to raise money for nursing scholarships, in response to a growing shortage in nurses.

His latest climb was to the top of Mount Everest. When he reached the summit, Hickey planted the Nextel Cup Series flag into the ground. On Saturday, during pre-race ceremonies for the Bank of America 500, Hickey will present that flag to NASCAR president Mike Helton.

Hickey didn't plan on taking NASCAR to the top of the world. As with so many things that go down in this sport, this one went up following a groundswell of fan reaction.

In his blog during 64 days on Everest, Hickey wrote that he could deal with the cold, isolation and constant danger. But he lamented being cut off from NASCAR. What was happening with Jeff Gordon, he wondered?

We're talking a devoted fan here.

Soon, updates from total strangers started pouring in.

"All kinds of hits came in from so many NASCAR fans, giving race results, points updates, and news like Junior leaving DEI," Hickey said.

"Co-workers were amazed to learn I was a NASCAR fan, when I had no idea they were fans, too. Of course, the best part was hearing Jeff was doing so well."

Hickey noticed something else: NASCAR fans were giving generously to The Summit Scholarship he had created to support nursing students at the University of South Carolina.

The goal is to raise $29,035 -- or a buck for every foot of altitude of Mount Everest.