Posted on by Staff Report

The final race before the 2018 NASCAR Playoffs kick off is special at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year, and it has a special pace car driver, too: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard kicks off at 2 p.m. ET, Sept. 10 — the last chance for drivers to make the field of 16 for the NASCAR Playoffs.

RELATED: Driver points standings and playoff standings

“I am honored that Chevrolet asked me to drive the Camaro ZL1 Pace Car in one of the biggest races of the year,” Earnhardt said in a release from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “The fan in me was already looking forward to this event. It’s a big race. There is a lot at stake since it’s the final chance for the teams and drivers to make the Playoffs. So, I hope to do a good job leading the field to the green flag, but I can promise you I’ll soak in every minute and enjoy the Brickyard in a way I never have before.”

Now an analyst for NBC Sports, Dale Jr. made his final start at the Brickyard as a full-time driver July 23, 2017. He crashed out, finishing 36th. In 17 starts at Indianapolis, Junior had one top 5, five top 10s and an average finish of 19.8.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Perennial NASCAR Xfinity Series contender Elliott Sadler announced Wednesday that he is ending his run as a full-time driver after the 2018 season. The veteran of more than 800 races in NASCAR’s national series and driver for JR Motorsports posted a statement on his website, ElliottSadler.com, announcing his decision.

“After much consideration and many conversations with my family, I’ve decided this will be my last season racing full time in NASCAR,” Sadler wrote. “It’s time for me, as Dad, to help my kids pursue their dreams.”

The full statement can be read in the Twitter post below.

Sadler, 43, began racing in what is now the Xfinity Series in 1995, and he has 383 Xfinity starts to his credit. He also has 438 starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and 20 starts in the Camping World Truck Series.

Sadler has three wins in the Monster Energy Series, 13 wins in Xfinity and one win in the Truck Series. He has finished second in the Xfinity Series standings in each of the past two seasons and is in second place entering Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Sadler also finished second in Xfinity in 2011 and 2012. Sadler’s three Cup wins were at Texas and Auto Club Speedway (both in 2004 for Yates Racing) and Bristol (2001 for Wood Brothers Racing).

 

Posted on by RJ Kraft

Numbers mean plenty when it comes to building out your Fantasy Live teams each week. NASCAR.com will examine the stats outlook for each track to help give you an edge as you go to set your lineups and bonus picks ahead of the race weekend.

Don’t forget to check back on NASCAR.com for additional insight from fantasy expert RJ Kraft as well as to watch Fantasy Fastlane with Jessica Ruffin and NBC Sports’ Steve Letarte.

RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live roster now | How the new Fantasy Live works | Driver stats

Top five average running position at Bristol (per loop data from 2005 to the present):

Driver Average Running Position
Erik Jones 9.364
Kevin Harvick 11.843
Kyle Larson 12.096
Jimmie Johnson 12.825
Bubba Wallace 12.830

Top five in stage points earned at Bristol in 2017-18:

Driver Stage points Stage wins
Kyle Larson 39 1
Jimmie Johnson 35 0
Erik Jones 33 0
Kyle Busch 23 1
Denny Hamlin 22 0

Top five in points earned in last three races at Bristol:

Driver Race points Race wins
Jimmie Johnson 136 1
Kyle Larson 133 0
Kevin Harvick 111 0
Denny Hamlin 106 0
Kyle Busch 105 2

Most laps led in last three races at Bristol:

Driver Laps led
Kyle Larson 472
Kyle Busch 273
Erik Jones 260

Average starting position for last 10 winners: 8.3; three of the last four winners at Bristol have started outside the top 10.

Active drivers to win pole: Ryan Newman (3), Denny Hamlin (3), Kyle Busch (2), Joey Logano (1), Jimmie Johnson (1), Kasey Kahne (1), Kurt Busch (1), Kevin Harvick (1) and Erik Jones (1)

Active drivers to win at Bristol: Kyle Busch (7), Kurt Busch (5), Joey Logano (2), Brad Keselowski (2), Kevin Harvick (2), Jimmie Johnson (2), Kasey Kahne (1) and Denny Hamlin (1)

Most recent pole winner: Kyle Busch, April of 2018

Last time pole-sitter won here: Kyle Busch, April of 2018

Where stage winners started from: First, third (three times), fifth, 18th

Winning manufacturers of last 10 races: Toyota-5, Ford-3, Chevrolet-2

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR unveiled on Tuesday the three trophies it will hand out to the Regular Season Championship winners across its three national series.

STANDINGS: MENCS | NXS | CWTS

Each trophy stands 2 feet tall and weighs approximately 35 pounds, and all three trophies feature a spire for every regular-season race with the name of the track engraved on it (26 for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series, 16 for Camping World Truck Series). The trophies are composed of steel and aluminum and are made by Jostens in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

PHOTOS: First look at all three trophies

The regular season ends at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next month for the Monster Energy Series while the Xfinity Series regular season ends at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the following week. The Camping World Truck Series wraps up its regular-season campaign Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway with the UNOH 200 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).

The three reigning regular-season champions are Martin Truex Jr. (MENCS), Elliott Sadler (NXS) and Christopher Bell (CWTS). Kyle Busch, Bell and Johnny Sauter are the current points leaders for those series, respectively.

Posted on by Zack Albert

The conversation that eventually brought 62-year-old Hall of Famer Bill Elliott back to a NASCAR national series seems to have started as a lark. The initial suggestion by his son, Chase, was as simple as, “why not have Dad drive it?”

By early July, with nary a contract or even a handshake to make it official, a shade-tree agreement was in place to turn Elliott’s comeback into a very real development. The light-hearted conversation quickly gained more serious momentum, a snowballing that even caught Elliott by surprise.

“Hey, you’re going to do it. You’re in the car,” Elliott recalled being told.

“I can’t talk you out of it?”

“Nope, we done announced it.”

“O-kay!”

Spencer Gallagher has Bobby Allison by his side for the unveiling of his No. 23 Chevrolet for Darlington Raceway.
Zack Albert | NASCAR Digital Media

The improbable news became more tangible Tuesday with GMS Racing unveiling the No. 23 Chevrolet that Elliott will drive in the Xfinity Series at Road America on Aug. 25. The car will sport a throwback paint scheme that dials the calendar back to Elliott’s 1994 Southern 500 victory with Junior Johnson.

For good measure, GMS also unveiled the No. 23 Camaro for Spencer Gallagher, who will compete at Darlington Raceway with a design honoring 2019 NASCAR Hall inductee Davey Allison.

RELATED: Darlington throwback paint schemes

Elliott’s car will see the track first, tackling the mammoth 4.048-mile Wisconsin road course. The news of his first national series start since 2012 shook the garage 10 days ago at Watkins Glen, one day before his son made headlines with his first Monster Energy Series triumph.

The elder Elliott’s return has since been the subject of conjecture. His legend in stock-car racing circles has been cemented long before his enshrinement in NASCAR’s Hall in 2015. But there’s still a passion to drive that’s kept Elliott racing recreationally in vintage car circuits and an attempt just last week at Trans Am competition at Mid-Ohio (engine trouble before the start thwarted a full-fledged effort).

“Why do it or why not do it. How do you know if you don’t try?” Elliott says. “It’s the flip side. Whether you win, lose or draw, you always try to do things extra at the end of the day. I think from this standpoint, let’s just go out and have a good time. There’s a lot of people who want to come up and watch me race. They said, ‘whatever you do, you do. That’s not the point. We just want to see you out there.’ I think there’s a lot to be said about that.”

In the end, there’s likely to be more than merely making an appearance. Elliott will be jumping into a No. 23 ride that AJ Allmendinger guided to a runner-up Xfinity finish at Watkins Glen and that Gallagher piloted to eighth place last weekend at Mid-Ohio.

GMS president Mike Beam says that even with the road-course momentum, the expectations still remain unknown for Elliott’s return. One certainty: Fun will likely be the overriding principle.

“That’s the whole thing. You go to the race track now and people are so uptight,” Beam says. “You need to take it seriously, of course, but like Junior Johnson used to tell me, we’re one dancing bear away from being in a circus, really. So I know we’ve got some good stuff, and AJ and Spencer have run well the last two weekends. So Bill, he’s going to be fine. We’re excited. He’s a good road racer, and that’s what people lose sight of.

“I know some people said yeah, he needs to stay retired. Well, he’s not really retired. He’s been racing quite a bit still.”

Staying sharp with sports-car extracurriculars has helped Elliott shake that “retired” tag. But even as he hurtles toward senior citizenship, Elliott says he’s still bracing for the possibility of re-orientation as a rookie, complete with yellow stripes on his rear bumper.

As an air-quotes rookie or not, Elliott says he has no preconceived notion of how Road America will unfold. Asked if those expectations might include a third straight road-course top 10 — or better — Elliott demurs, giving a nod to the current generation of Xfinity drivers.

“I don’t know about that. Those kids are good,” Elliott says. “I’ve watched them. I see the other side of the world, you know.”

Posted on by Steve Luvender

Denny Hamlin stopped by Richmond Raceway’s iRacing simulator to turn some laps and share some tips with the next generation of racers. Perhaps Hamlin’s training inspired Kevin Harvick to celebrate his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory at Michigan with son Keelan in the passenger seat.

Speaking of #KidsDriveNASCAR …

With the NASCAR Xfinity Series racing at Mid-Ohio this past weekend, it meant drivers preparing for the road course on iRacing, much like last week as drivers prepped for Watkins Glen. Rookie Alex Labbé challenged iRacers to beat his fast time around the course.

Labbé ended up placing ninth at Mid-Ohio — his best career finish.

Fellow Xfinity Series driver Daniel Hemric showed how he gets around Mid-Ohio, too. Hemric finished third in Saturday’s race.

It appears former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Miguel Paludo started feeling the itch to up his game in iRacing and shared some shots of his sweet new setup, complete with an MPI wheel not unlike those used in actual NASCAR race cars.

I feel you, Robby.

NASCAR PEAK ANTIFREEZE iRACING SERIES UPDATE

Keegan Leahy, racing in his first full-time season, outright dominated at Pocono Raceway on Tuesday, leading 85 of 100 laps. Despite racing at the “Tricky Triangle,” the race went green for the final 90 laps.

With his victory, Leahy jumped to second in points behind Ray Alfalla after Bobby Zalenski finished a disappointing 32nd. Two races — including next Tuesday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway — remain before the series playoffs begin.

iRACING PAINT SCHEMES OF THE WEEK

Brantley Roden painted Brett Moffitt’s race-winning truck from Michigan Saturday.

An iRacing paint scheme of Brett Moffitt's winning Michigan look

If you’re a Team Penske fan, take a look at Tyler King’s re-creation of the team’s Xfinity Series Snap-On Tools Ford Mustang.

An iRacing paint scheme interpretation of Xfinity Series Snap-On Tools Ford Mustang

 

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

We’ve all been here at the end of a work day, right?

 

Posted on by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR heads to the “Entertainment Capital of the World” to kick off the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in grand fashion. Las Vegas will be the scene for an action-packed three days as NASCAR’s 16 best drivers and teams of 2018 begin their championship aspirations quest.

Kyle Busch does burnout on Vegas Strip
David Becker | Getty Images

To celebrate the start of the sport’s postseason and engage fans, the festivities center around three major events: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Media Day; NASCAR Burnout Blvd Fueled by Sunoco (formerly known as Victory Lap); and a two-day Playoffs Party at Fremont Street Experience culminating in a free concert by platinum-selling recording artist Cole Swindell on 3rd Street Stage. All the proceedings take place before the green flag drops at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 16, when it hosts its inaugural postseason race — the South Point 400 — and NASCAR’s playoff opener at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Race fans will have the unique opportunity to see their favorite cars up close, interact with the sport’s top drivers and take part in a variety of other activities that build momentum and enthusiasm for the historic race weekend. A brief overview of events is below, with more information available online by going to NASCAR.com/playoffs.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Media Day

Playoffs media day will be held Thursday, Sept. 13 at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, and will serve as the first event of the Playoffs celebration. For the first time, a portion of media day will be open to select fans.

NASCAR Burnout Blvd Fueled by Sunoco

Join all 16 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs drivers on Thursday, Sept. 13, as they drive their race cars down the magnificent Las Vegas Strip. NASCAR Burnout Blvd Fueled by Sunoco driver introductions and pre-event pageantry will take place on Las Vegas Boulevard outside Miracle Mile Shops. The procession of race cars will then travel north to Spring Mountain Road where all 16 drivers will take their turn emulating the victory burnouts they hope to replicate during the Playoffs.

Fans are welcome to view the procession along Las Vegas Boulevard, including the pre-event festivities outside the Miracle Mile Shops and the burnout location at Spring Mountain, between Fashion Show and Wynn Las Vegas. NBCSN will have coverage of the event as part of a special two-hour playoff edition of NASCAR America, beginning at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.

NASCAR Playoffs Party

Celebrate the eve of the Playoffs on Saturday, Sept. 15 with stars Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones and other NASCAR drivers and personalities at the inaugural Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Party with musical artist and Platinum-selling 10-time No. 1 rising superstar Cole Swindell. Free to all fans and held at the Fremont Street Experience, the event will feature conversations with drivers and NASCAR personalities. Sponsored by Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, the Playoffs Party will culminate with a concert by Cole Swindell — the 2015 American Country Music New Artist of the Year award winner who will release his third album, All of It, on Aug. 17.

In addition to Saturday evening’s driver appearances and concert, fans can visit the Fremont Street Experience anytime on Friday and Saturday to enjoy NASCAR partner activations and see all 16 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs cars.

On-track activity kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 13 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where NASCAR’s next generation of rising stars will be on display at The Dirt Track in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West’s much anticipated return to dirt — the Star Nursey 100. Before the race, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stars Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer will be the featured guests at an autograph session at the track.

The event weekend also features two other national series races, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series DC Solar 300 regular-season finale Sept. 15 and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series World of Westgate 200 Playoffs race Sept. 14.

Posted on by Team Release

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Hunt Brothers Pizza, the nation’s largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry, will honor the 20th anniversary of Kevin Harvick’s 1998 NASCAR Winston West Series championship during the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race Sept. 1 at Darlington Raceway during the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR.  

The livery of Harvick’s No. 98 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste is inspired by the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing machine Harvick drove to his first NASCAR championship in the 1998 Winston West Series, which is now known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

RELATED: Darlington throwback schemes for 2018

“We have enjoyed partnering with Kevin Harvick for 8 years so we thought this was a great way to honor a significant milestone in his racing career,” said Scott Hunt, Chief Executive Officer of Hunt Brothers Pizza. “Kevin’s 1998 NASCAR West Series Championship was a turning point in his career and we are thrilled to be able to honor it in the Xfinity Series race at Darlington.”

Harvick’s championship came in his only full season driving the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing car for Spears Motorsports team owners Wayne and Connie Spears. He scored five wins, five poles and 11 top-five and 12 top-10 finishes while leading a total of 574 laps in 14 starts. His five wins came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Altamont (Calif.) Motorsports Park, Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Pike’s Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

Harvick, the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, credits his 1998 West Series title with generating the kind of exposure needed to make the leap to a full-time drive in NASCAR’s national touring series the following year.

“The 1998 season was quite a year for me,” Harvick said. “I went to work for Wayne and Connie Spears to basically be a mechanic for about $24,000 a year. I just wanted the opportunity to race something. We had gotten to the point where my family couldn’t really afford to keep going racing cars and doing all the things that we were doing. It turned out well for me and we won the West Series championship that year. It was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had racing in my career and I can’t thank Hunt Brothers Pizza enough for allowing me to drive that scheme at Darlington.”

A staunch supporter of grassroots racing, Harvick has returned to the West Series ranks in each of the last two seasons. The Bakersfield, California, native scored a win in his only NASCAR K&N West Series start in 2017 at Sonoma in June driving the No. 4 Ford for Jefferson-Pitts Racing. Harvick started sixth and led 23 laps before finishing .530 of a second ahead of teammate Will Rogers. Harvick came back to Bakersfield this past March to race at Kern Country Raceway, where he again wheeled the No. 4 Ford for Jefferson-Pitts Racing. He started first and led 132 laps of the 175-lap contest before finishing fourth.

The Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington will mark the fifth and final appearance for Harvick in the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste in 2018.

Posted on by Brad Norman

RICHMOND, VA. — It all started with a hat.

In 1992, an 11-year-old boy met Joe Gibbs, who had just started a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team, and got his autograph on a Washington Redskins’ Super Bowl XXVI hat.

MORE: Behind-the-scenes: Hamlin at Redskins’ camp

That same young man confidently made a bold prediction that day: He told Gibbs he wanted to race for him.

Fast forward to 2018, that 11-year-old fan is now a 31-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner for Joe Gibbs Racing — and his name is Denny Hamlin.

A 12-year-old Denny Hamlin meets with Joe Gibbs in 1992
Photo credit: Joe Gibbs Racing

“He (Gibbs) was there with Dale Jarrett for an autograph session,” Hamlin reminisced on his first interaction with the team owner. “At that time, I was pretty deep into go-karts. I was racing on a national level, and he was my favorite football coach. He was here locally in Virginia, and I felt the need to say ‘Hey! I would love to drive for you someday.’ Crazy about 10-12 years later, it all worked out.”

A photo of the pair from the meet-and-greet 26 years ago still sits on Gibbs’ desk at the racing shop. Hamlin proudly wearing the maroon-and-gold-striped hat that was his prized possession with a giant smile standing next to a childhood hero.

But Hamlin’s slight pre-teen rebellion led to an unfortunate hat accident.

“My parents told me not to take it to school and I did anyway,” he explained. “I wore it on the school bus because I wanted to show it off and of course, it flies right out the window. That hat was never to be gotten again.”

“Joe knows I lost the hat. He is well aware. It’s cool I go into his office, any time you get one of those sit-down meetings with Joe, it’s right there on his desk the picture of me and him…”

Super Bowl Hat
Allie Davison | NASCAR Digital Media

However, in a twist of fate, during a visit to Redskins’ preseason camp, quarterback Alex Smith had a special delivery for the No. 11 driver (with the help from his sponsor FedEx): The same vintage Super Bowl hat … that was never to be gotten again.

Twenty six years is a long time, and Gibbs is one of the most recognizable and famous Washington Redskins members around so the ‘Coach’ doesn’t quite remember meeting that eager young boy who wanted an autograph like so many do, but when he sits at his desk surrounded by memorabilia — he sees that photo from so long ago. And it means something.

“The fact that we have that picture is awesome,” Gibbs shared. “It does bring back memories.”

Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs
Photo credit: Joe Gibbs Racing

There’s a reason why Hamlin is under the Joe Gibbs Racing roof, and it’s not just because he’s talented behind the wheel. His allegiance to the three-time Super Bowl winning coach’s team might have given him a leg up on the competition.

“It’s one of the thrills of your life getting to pull for your team,” Gibbs said. “And he was right there growing up where everything was going on with the Redskins. … If you’re not a Redskins fan I’m probably not going to hire ya.”

Hamlin signed on with JGR full-time beginning with the 2006 season and has since gone to compete in 457 premier series races for his favorite football coach, racking up 138 top-fives and 28 pole awards alongside his 31 victories.

And to think … it all started with a hat.

Posted on by Holly Cain

At this point, Happy must be Ecstatic.

Kevin Harvick, nicknamed “Happy Harvick” years ago collected his series-leading seventh win of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season at Michigan International Speedway Sunday afternoon – leading a dominant 108 of the 200 laps – feeling so good he escorted his six-year old son Keelan out to the front-stretch to pick up the checkered flag and wave to the enthusiastic crowd.

RELATED: Harvick wins at Michigan | Keelan enjoys victory celebration with dad

Then together, father and son rode to Victory Lane in Harvick’s winning No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Fusion, Keelan holding the flag out the passenger side door en route. After deciding to wait inside his dad’s car during the Victory Lane champagne spray bath, he ultimately climbed out and playfully splashed a water bottle on Harvick’s business manager standing nearby.

Good fun. Great day. 

And if it sounds a little like a Disney fairytale, there are some that would argue that’s exactly how Harvick’s 2018 season has gone. But the success is truly a result of the hard work from the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team – work that is propelling the 42-year old Californian toward a historic championship run.

A win or two early in the season would have secured Harvick’s place in the Playoffs and his team could have simply shifted its efforts to preparing for the season-ending championship run. But instead of coasting, this group has been in high-gear, super-focused and the mindset and hard work has produced an epic year.

Harvick has only finished outside of the top-10 four times all year and three of those were DNFs after being collected in a incident. The other non-top-10 one was a 35th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in California – a long day nursing an “off” car to the checkered flag.

RELATED: See all of Harvick’s victories | Recap every 2018 race winner

His season win total (seven) is already a single season career high – with 13 races still remaining on the calendar. He and a fellow member of the season’s “Big 3” championship contenders Kyle Busch have earned 21 victories each in the past five years – most among their competitors.

Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson – who is still looking for his first win of the 2018 season – has 17 wins in that time frame as does reigning Cup champ Martin Truex Jr. Those four drivers (Harvick, 2014, Busch, 2015, Johnson, 2016, Truex 2017) are the last four series champions.

“The confidence is high, and right now you just don’t want to screw it up,” Harvick allowed Sunday afternoon. “I think the biggest thing that it does is it actually makes you work harder because of the fact that you want to cover all the details because you’re fairly certain that when the car rolls out of the hauler that it’s going to be fast, and if it’s not, you have the tools and the people to be able to figure it out and fix it.”

Yet even with the statistics and the performance Harvick must both figuratively and literally spend time looking in his rearview mirror. He’s having a career year and yet Busch is still on his heels and at his bumper every step of the way creating – a thrilling championship race for fans and keeping the SHR team honest and motivated.

RELATED: How the playoff picture is shaping up post-Michigan

Busch has six wins and 19 top-10 finishes in 23 races. And … he was third behind Harvick on Sunday. He is the defending race winner at this week’s stop at Bristol Motor Speedway and he won the spring race at the track earlier this season. Plus, his seven career wins there is best among active drivers.

Both Harvick and Busch are on pace to join a modern history elite club. The last time a driver scored double digit wins was 2007 when Johnson had 10 wins and won the championship. Prior to that, Jeff Gordon turned in an incredible streak of three consecutive seasons with the mark – 1996 (10 wins), 1997 (10 wins) and 1998 (13 wins) with championships in ’97 and ’98.

“Any win in this division of racing is hard to come by, and like I say, I’ve been on both sides of that,” Harvick reiterated.

“I think right now, we’re just enjoying it and the guys on the team understand because they’ve been on both sides of that fence, as well, with the struggles and things that don’t always go your way. We’re going to enjoy it. We’re going to enjoy each other, and we’ve eliminated a lot of extracurricular things to make sure that all we focus on is this race team. Don’t care about anything else. 

“Right now it’s all about winning races and making sure that myself and [crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and everybody is covering the details and being in the right state of mind as we go into Vegas [Playoff opener].”

It all makes for compelling, must-see TV and as much as Harvick, Busch and Truex Jr., a four-time winner and also member of The Big 3 – may celebrate, the fans and the series are winning too. This is a season for the ages – a legitimately epic battle for trophies creating a dramatic Playoff scenario and re-writing modern history.

“You never know what’s going to happen, and we go in one week at a time trying to focus on the things we need to focus on, and right now we’re going to enjoy this one and drink some cold Busch beer once we get home or I am,” Harvick said smiling.