KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- After a somewhat uninspiring start to the Chase, the driver who led the standings for the majority of the 2010 season needed a little bit of a boost this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Fortunately for Kevin Harvick, a great car can make all the difference in the world.

Harvick's third-place finish in Sunday's Price Chopper 400 put him right back in the thick of the championship chase, 30 points behind Jimmie Johnson with seven races remaining. If anything, he made sure nobody forgets to keep tabs on the No. 29 Chevrolet for the foreseeable future.

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What got us here was those solid top-five finishes and the things that we did during the year. So we've just got to keep doing those things and keep our cars in contention to run up front and lead some laps and get those points and we'll see where we're at when we get to Homestead.

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-- KEVIN HARVICK

"It is all about maintaining that gap," Harvick said. "[Sunday] we were able to beat [Denny Hamlin] and maintain with [Jimmie Johnson] and that is what we feel like we have to do. We feel like California is another good week for us next week."

When the standings were reset after Richmond, Harvick went from being more than 200 points ahead of the next closest driver to a 30-point deficit. And despite having three victories and the most consistent season of anyone in the series to that point, when it came to discussing favorites for the Chase, it seemed like Harvick got short shrift.

It didn't help that four-time champion Johnson hogged the headlines at Dover, where Harvick finished a disappointing 15th and fell to fifth, 65 points behind. And Harvick's countenance was anything but happy when he qualified 25th for the Price Chopper 400.

However, Harvick knew nearly immediately that he had a car that could contend Sunday.

"We had a strong car really from the drop of the green flag all the way till the end," Harvick said. "Obviously, we would have liked to win. We lost some track position there on those last couple pit stops. [It] just took a little bit longer to get through traffic than we would have liked."

Within 70 laps, Harvick had broken through into the top 10, where he'd reside for the majority of the race. A decision to stay out on Lap 157 when most of the lead-lap cars pitted gave Harvick clean air and the lead for a 15-lap stretch. And even coming out sixth on what would be the final caution of the day with 70 laps remaining couldn't faze Harvick.

One lap after Tony Stewart kicked off the final set of green-flag stops, Harvick ducked onto pit road for his final service on Lap 236, along with a host of other leaders. And he eventually passed Stewart and fading Matt Kenseth the final few laps to finish third.

"Track position is pretty important and it just took a little longer than we needed to to get back up through traffic again after our pit stop," Harvick said. "So it was just a good day. The car was fast all weekend and we had a solid top-three run and I feel good about next week, too."

And what could have been a watershed moment in the season for Harvick became a "feel good" one instead.

"What got us here was those solid top-five finishes and the things that we did during the year," Harvick said. "So we've just got to keep doing those things and keep our cars in contention to run up front and lead some laps and get those points and we'll see where we're at when we get to Homestead."

In Harvick's case, consistency can be a constant.

Press Pass: Harvick pleased, disappointed at Kansas