Posted on by Brad Norman

If one of the top three swings and misses at Kansas, Harvick will be ready to close the gap

MORE: FULL CHASE COVERAGE

1. Matt Kenseth (No. 20)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Where he stands: Kenseth leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings with 2,149 points.
Last week: After opening the Chase with back-to-back wins, finishing seventh feels like a disappointment. Kenseth wasn’t too bummed, though, because while his No. 20 Toyota led 36 laps, it didn’t have the feel the driver wanted. The bigger issue than simply finishing seventh, though, was that the six drivers who finished in front of Kenseth are all Chase drivers. Jimmie Johnson in particular gained ground with his 48-point day.
What he said: "When you look up, it’s everybody that finished in front of you — it’s all cars that you’re racing for points. Overall, for how bad I felt like we struggled with the car, that was a decent finish."
Outlook: In 15 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Kenseth has two wins, six top-fives, nine top-10s and two poles. In the past eight years at Kansas, Kenseth ranks third out of 59 drivers with an average place of 9.5. He won the first 2013 race at Kansas.

2. Jimmie Johnson (No. 48)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Where he stands: Johnson is second in the standings with 2,141 points.
Last week: A history-making effort at Dover allowed Johnson to put a sizeable dent in Matt Kenseth’s points lead. Johnson won at the 1-mile track for the eighth time in his Cup career, a new record. Five-Time led 243 of 400 laps in his No. 48 Chevrolet, and took two tires following a caution flag with less than 30 laps remaining to win the race off pit road. Johnson is now eight points behind Kenseth, who finished seventh Sunday.
What he said: "When you put the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) and No. 20 (Matt Kenseth) up there … I think it’s going to be fun for the fans to watch. We came to a good track and we got what we needed to, done. I know that No. 20 is going to be awfully strong for the rest of the stretch, and I look forward to racing with him."
Outlook: In 14 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Johnson has two wins, six top-fives, 12 top-10s and three poles. In the past eight years at Kansas, Johnson ranks first out of 59 drivers with an average place of 7.4. He finished third in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

3. Kyle Busch (No. 18)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Where he stands: Busch is third in the standings with 2,137 points.
Last week: Busch charged through the field both early and late, salvaging his third consecutive top-five finish on a day where his No. 18 Toyota wasn’t at its best. Busch gained seven spots in the first three laps (he started 14th), and then passed three more drivers on the final restart after taking four tires.
What he said: "Certainly, I wish we definitely could’ve gotten more out of the car. We probably could’ve if I could’ve got the outside lane on the final restart I probably could’ve finished third, but we didn’t get that. It’s frustrating to be fifth, but yet you look at the grand scheme of things and it’s three straight top-fives to start the Chase, so not bad."
Outlook: In 12 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Busch has two top-10s. In the past eight years at Kansas, Busch ranks 19th out of 59 drivers with an average place of 18.4. He finished 38th in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

4. Kevin Harvick (No. 29)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 

Where he stands: Harvick is fourth in the standings with 2,110 points.
Last week: Three title contenders have separated from the pack (Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch) in the points standings, but Harvick put himself in position to take advantage of any potential misfires from the top three. The driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet is up to fourth in the standings — technically, he’s tied with Jeff Gordon — following a sixth-place finish at Dover. His 53 Green-Flag Passes were tied with Denny Hamlin for the most in the race, according to NASCAR Loop Data.
What he said: "That was a long day. All in all, all the guys did a good job of just kind of keep pounding away. That is what you have to do here at Dover as you get toward halfway it just kind of seems like you can make up positions by just staying in the game. We just kept ourself in the game."
Outlook: In 15 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Harvick has one top-five and six top-10s. In the past eight years at Kansas, Harvick ranks ninth out of 59 drivers with an average place of 12.7. He finished 12th in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

5. Jeff Gordon (No. 24)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 

Where he stands: Gordon is fifth in the standings with 2,110 points.
Last week: The last guy to make the 13-driver Chase field, Gordon continues to make the most of the opportunity. The veteran finished fourth at Dover and appeared to be in position to challenge for the win late after running third from Lap 280-360. A late caution wasn’t what the 24 team wanted to see, because Gordon’s Chevrolet was built for the long run.
What he said: "We had moments where I felt like we had the best car and there were moments where I felt like we were one of the worst cars. Man, I did not want to see that last caution. I felt like we were really in the perfect position, fuel mileage wise, tires, speed of the car, we were just sitting there riding trying to get to the end."
Outlook: In 15 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Gordon has two wins, eight top-fives and 10 top-10s. In the past eight years at Kansas, Gordon ranks fourth out of 59 drivers with an average place of 9.7. He finished 13th in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

6. Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Where he stands: Biffle is sixth in the standings with 2,108 points.
Last week: Prior to the AAA 400, Biffle declared that the Chase was not a three-man race. The Biff backed that up with a ninth-place showing, but the top 10 was full of Chase drivers, so he actually lost ground in the standings, falling to sixth. | Click here to read a roundup on the six members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family
What he said: "We’ve just got to keep working at it. We’re learning stuff as we go, so we’ll just keep trying to get better every week. We went back and forth between being too loose and too tight, but I think we learned something today as to why we’ve run so bad here the last two or three years. That’s good for later on, but not good for today."
Outlook: In 14 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Biffle has two wins, seven top-fives, nine top-10s and one pole. In the past eight years at Kansas, Biffle ranks second out of 59 drivers with an average place of 8.2. He finished 19th in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

7. Ryan Newman (No. 39)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Where he stands: Newman is seventh in the standings with 2,101 points.
Last week: Long green-flag runs seemed to cause Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet to tighten, so the final caution wasn’t a hindrance to him. In fact, it helped spur a eighth-place finish and a climb of two spots in the standings. The veteran is three points ahead of eighth-place Clint Bowyer and nine points behind fourth-place Kevin Harvick. | Click here to read a roundup on the six members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family
What he said: "Our day started out really well, the car was great for the first 100 laps or so. It got tight after that and we never could make the right adjustment to get it handling like I needed it to."
Outlook: In 15 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Newman has one win, three top-fives and four top-10s. In the past eight years at Kansas, Newman ranks 24th out of 59 drivers with an average place of 20.9. He finished 14th in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

8. Clint Bowyer (No. 15)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota 

Where he stands: Bowyer is eighth in the standings with 2,098 points.
Last week: The day’s fourth and final caution on Lap 371 spoiled any shot Bowyer had at winning. And he had a good shot. The No. 15 Toyota appeared to be good on fuel for the final green-flag run, while the cars in front of him would need to pit for service. Everyone pitted during that last yellow, though, and Bowyer settled for 10th, his second top-10 in three Chase races.
What he said: "We’ve had a rough start to the Chase, but we worked hard and put ourselves in a good position to go for the win. Unfortunately, that caution there at the end ruined our plan. That is a tough one to swallow, but I’m ready to go to Kansas next week. It’s my home track and I’m looking forward to racing in front of my home crowd."
Outlook: In 10 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Bowyer has two top-fives and five top-10s. In the past eight years at Kansas, Bowyer ranks 15th out of 59 drivers with an average place of 15.2. He finished fifth in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

9. Kurt Busch (No. 78)

Furniture Row Racing, Chevrolet 

Where he stands: Busch is ninth in the standings with 2,094 points.
Last week: If it’s not a pit-road problem, it’s something else for Kurt Busch. The Furniture Row Racing driver can piece together strong showings, but has also had more than his share of misfortune. At Dover, it was a loose right-rear wheel on Lap 156 (of 400) that put the driver two laps down. He could not recover, and finished 21st, below every Chase driver except Carl Edwards.
What he said: "A loose wheel did us in. We were way off at the start, but after the first pit stop we made some good changes and started to make a move. But once again we had an issue with a loose wheel and that put us a couple of laps down. And with the lack of cautions we couldn’t make it up. This is the Chase, and you can’t afford to have these problems."
Outlook: In 15 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Busch has three top-10s and one pole. In the past eight years at Kansas, Busch ranks 14th out of 59 drivers with an average place of 14.8. He finished 15th in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Where he stands: Earnhardt Jr. is 10th in the standings with 2,092 points.
Last week: Earnhardt Jr. nearly captured his first victory of the season at Dover, leading 80 laps after starting from the Coors Light Pole. He overcame a pit-road snafu, too, from earlier in the race when he missed the entrance to pit road. Junior later had a slow stop when he got caught in traffic. Four tires on the last restart allowed the No. 88 to jump from fourth to second, but he couldn’t catch his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson.
What he said: "Well, Jimmie (Johnson) was just that good. I thought that four tires were going to be enough to get to him and get him out of the way, but he is just that fast around here. That track position is really important and I gave that up early in the race with that mistake coming onto pit road. And it cost us a shot at the win there."
Outlook: In 14 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. has one top-five, six top-10s and one pole. In the past eight years at Kansas, Earnhardt Jr. ranks 17th out of 59 drivers with an average place of 16.1. He finished 16th in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

11. Carl Edwards (No. 99)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Where he stands: Edwards is 11th in the standings with 2,084 points.
Last week: Edwards took the biggest drop in the standings following a dreadful Dover outcome. Sitting fourth in the standings through two races, Edwards’ No. 99 Ford was off Sunday. Then he had a broken hub. The result was a disastrous finish of 35th place that caused the driver to plummet seven spots in the standings.
What he said: "Overall, we gave it the best effort we could. … We’ve really got to step it up now to have a chance. We did not need to have that trouble, but there’s a lot of racing left. We don’t quit. We just have to keep moving."
Outlook: In 12 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Edwards has four top-fives and eight top-10s. In the past eight years at Kansas, Edwards ranks seventh out of 59 drivers with an average place of 12.5. He finished 17th in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

12. Joey Logano (No. 22)

Penske Racing, Ford 

Where he stands: Logano is 12th in the standings with 2,083 points.
Last week: Logano’s start to his first postseason saw him go from one of the hottest drivers on the circuit to out of the title picture in one race. The 23-year-old recaptured some of that momentum at the "Monster Mile" with a third-place run, his best showing since his runner-up finish at Atlanta. | Click here to read a roundup on the six members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family
What he said: "We are concerned about points because we’re in the Chase and we’re not out of it yet. I just saw we’re 66 points back now so we gained a couple, which isn’t many, but these are the days we’ve got to have. We’re back on track."
Outlook: In eight career starts at Kansas Speedway, Logano’s best finish is 15th in the first Kansas race in 2012. In the past eight years at Kansas, Logano ranks 32nd out of 59 drivers with an average place of 24.2. He finished 39th in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

13. Kasey Kahne (No. 5)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Where he stands: Kahne is 13th in the standings with 2,071 points.
Last week: Another mechanical issue for Kahne spoiled his run on a day where Hendrick Motorsports placed three drivers in the top four. Kahne had to use strategy to net a top-15 finish, so not pitting on the final caution was good enough for the No. 5 Chevrolet to come across the start/finish line in 13th place.
What he said: "Something was wrong and we lost a lot of power. Didn’t seem like the engine, maybe it was something else like tail pipes or something. We are not real sure. We just salvaged a good finish and we didn’t pit there and got a top-15. So that was good for what we had and what we were dealt with." Outlook: In 12 career starts at Kansas Speedway, Kahne has three top-fives, six top-10s and three poles. In the past eight years at Kansas, Kahne ranks 11th out of 59 drivers with an average place of 13.9. He finished second in the first 2013 race at Kansas.

MORE:

WATCH: Victory Lane:
Johnson wins at Dover

WATCH: Final Laps:
Johnson breaks record

WATCH: Dale Jr.:
misses pit road

WATCH: Keselowski
brings out caution
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The focus of the venture will be to produce racing content for kids

Daytona Beach, Fla. (September 30, 2013) — Though you still won’t see or hear many whistles on a NASCAR race track, young sports fans will now be able to see plenty of NASCAR action on The Whistle – the first cross-platform content provider solely focused on developing entertaining, educational and participatory sports programming tailored to the next generation of sports fans.

The Whistle will deliver short form, kid-friendly NASCAR features across all of the sport’s racing series. Produced by Emmy® Award-winning NASCAR Productions, The Whistle will feature NASCAR content across all its digital platforms including website, mobile apps and YouTube.

Additionally, as part of the partnership, NASCAR Digital Media, LLC will be taking a minority equity interest in The Whistle.

“Reaching out to the next generation of fans continues to be a major focus for NASCAR, and The Whistle provides an ideal avenue to deliver our content to kids,” said Marc Jenkins, NASCAR vice president, digital media. “The Whistle gives young fans the opportunity to sample NASCAR content in an entertaining and educational environment.”

The Whistle aggregates, curates and develops sports content for a young fan’s perspective, covering all sports from backyards to schoolyards to pro stadiums and race tracks. The platform’s content includes sports news and highlights, sports science and math, interviews with professional athletes, fitness, nutrition and sports games and contests.

“It’s great to have NASCAR join the growing list of top sports entities that share our vision,” said Jeff Urban, co-founder and COO of The Whistle.  “With the popularity of NASCAR and its fan-friendly approach, we are truly excited and proud to have NASCAR join our team of major league partners.”

According to independent research from Scarborough, two out of five NASCAR fans have children under the age of 18. NASCAR joins The Whistle’s list of partners including the NFL, PGA Tour, U.S. Soccer, the Harlem Globetrotters, Major League Lacrosse and the USOC.

MORE:

WATCH: Victory Lane:
Johnson wins at Dover

WATCH: Final Laps:
Johnson breaks record

WATCH: Dale Jr.:
misses pit road

WATCH: Keselowski
brings out caution
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Extra pit stop for loose right rear wheel results in 21st-place finish at Dover

MORE: FULL CHASE COVERAGE

DOVER, Del. — New pit crew, but same old problem for Kurt Busch.

Furniture Row Racing revamped its over-the-wall squad before Sunday’s event at Dover International Speedway, hoping to put an end to the pit road problems that have hampered Busch’s effort in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. And yet, a loose right rear wheel forced the No. 78 car to make an extra pit stop that put it two laps down, and long green-flag runs from there on out saddled Busch with a 21st-place result.

It was a crushing result for the Denver-based single-car organization, which is in the playoff for the first time, and came to the Monster Mile needing to gain ground after suffering a broken jack in the previous event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Instead Busch was the second-lowest finisher among the 13 Chase drivers, ahead of only Carl Edwards, who was 35th with a broken hub.

“Nothing went our way today,” Busch said. “This is the Chase, and you can’t afford to have these problems. We need to regroup and get it together for Kansas next week.”

"You do all you can do," added Todd Berrier, crew chief on the No. 78 car. "I’m going to sleep tonight knowing that we did what we were supposed to do. We made changes, we did what we needed. I guess if we’d had not changed anything and had the same outcome, it would have been worse on the guys that we changed it to, right? It’s no-win. You make mistakes, and they bite you. You can’t make mistakes doing this and expect to win. We’ve made a lot of mistakes all year. We haven’t won because of them. When we quit making mistakes, we’ll learn how to win. But until then, there’s not a whole lot we can do about it."

At ninth in the standings and 55 points behind leader Matt Kenseth, Busch is in a tenuous position. Furniture Row has been beset with issues on pit road this season, one major reason Busch has been unable to reach Victory Lane with the team. Before the Chase opener at Chicagoland, the team began using front tire changer Matt Humphries from Brian Scott‘s No. 2 Nationwide Series program at Richard Childress Racing, with whom Furniture Row shares a technical alliance.

Following a 13th-place result at New Hampshire, the No. 78 team brought in four more Nationwide crewmen from RCR — front tire carrier Thad Wymer, rear tire changer Jake Lind and jack man Brian Gainey from Scott’s team, and rear tire carrier Josh Sobecki from the No. 3 Nationwide program of driver Austin Dillon. Gas man Milan Rudanovic, who joined the No. 78 squad in the spring, remained in his position.

Sunday, the revamped pit crew turned competitive times — but it was the one major error that did them in, exacerbated by a lack of cautions that denied Busch a chance to work his way back to the front.

“A loose wheel did us in,” said Busch, who finished fourth in the Chase opener at Chicagoland. “We were way off at the start, but after the first pit stop we made some good changes to the car and started to make a move. But once again we had an issue with a loose wheel and that put us a couple of laps down. And with the lack of cautions we couldn’t make it up.”

Berrier estimated it was the third loose wheel the No. 78 car has suffered this season. Busch was denied a chance to win the all-star exhibition because his final pit stop was a tick too slow, and was later knocked out of a race at Bristol because of a wheel problem.

"The wheel’s loose. Call it what you want. Blame it on what you want," Berrier said. "You’re pointing your fingers, and you’ve got four pointing back. At the end of the day the wheel was loose, and you had to pit. We can sit here and blame it on whoever you want, but the wheel is loose. There’s 42 more cars in the race. They all have opportunities to have loose wheels. … I can bad mouth the people that work on it, or I cant."

Busch wasn’t the only driver who saw his Chase hopes severely compromised on Sunday. Kasey Kahne, a two-time winner this season, stayed mired in last among the championship contenders after his No. 5 car lost power. Although Kahne rallied to finish 13th, his Dover issue combined with last week’s crash at New Hampshire left him a distant 78 points behind Kenseth.

Also staring up at much of the field is Edwards, another two-time winner who stood high in the points for almost all of the regular season, but is now in 11th place and 65 points off the lead after breaking a wheel hub Sunday. The Dover issue almost doubled the deficit faced by a driver who came to the Delaware capital 36 points off the pace.

"We’ve really got to step it up now to have a chance," Edwards said. "We did not need to have that trouble, but there’s a lot of racing left. We don’t quit. We just have to keep moving."

So will Busch, who is leaving for a fourth car at Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of this season. The last two weeks have been a bitter pill for an organization that’s shown speed all year, and looked as strong as any other in the waning weeks of the regular season. The crew chief of the No. 78 car didn’t sound as if any more changes to the team’s pit crew were immediate.

"What race number are we on?" Berrier asked. Told Dover was the 29th points event of the season, he responded, "We gave the other guys 28. There’s no nice way to put it. It is what it is."

MORE:

WATCH: Victory Lane:
Johnson wins at Dover

WATCH: Final Laps:
Johnson breaks record

WATCH: Dale Jr.:
misses pit road

WATCH: Keselowski
brings out caution
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Logano finishes third, Newman eighth, Biffle ninth

With the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway being the third Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race this season, drivers had to kick it into gear to start seeing positive movement in points.

Chase rookie Joey Logano led the Coca-Cola Racing Family with a third-place finish at Dover, but his top-five finish wasn’t enough to make any waves in the Chase standings. 

Fellow Chase contender Ryan Newman made his way into the top 10 on Sunday as well. Starting third in the field, Newman couldn’t hold onto that position, but his eighth-place finish helped him jump two spots in the standings to seventh. 

Meanwhile, Greg Biffle finished right behind Newman in ninth. It wasn’t quite the same exciting finish as Chicagoland, and unfortunately Biffle dropped back one position in the standings to sixth. 

A roundup on the Coca-Cola Racing Family in the order of how they finished at Dover:

Joey Logano (No. 22)

Penske Racing, Ford

Recap: Logano calls Dover International Speedway his favorite track, and while he’s seen success in the past four Nationwide Series races there, he just couldn’t come out on top in the Sprint Cup Series AAA 400. Since the start of the Chase, Logano hasn’t had the best luck, but his time at the Monster Mile was the best run he’s had so far. Starting 11th in the field, Logano finished third, right behind fellow Chase contenders Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Although he earned a top-five finish, he remains 12th in the Chase standings.
Quotable: "We are concerned about points because we’re in the Chase and we’re not out of it yet. I just saw we’re 66 points back now so we gained a couple, which isn’t many, but these are the days we’ve got to have. We’re back on track. … Our biggest issue is we didn’t take off with really good speed, but after 15, 16, 17 laps it came to me and it was really fast. It just took a little bit too long there on the last restart. I was able to get up to third, I was in the right lane, but by the time my car came to me, I was too late. We were the fastest car the last six laps, but it doesn’t really matter when you can barely see the leaders. Unfortunately, that was our day, but, overall, we can’t be too disappointed with a third-place finish. It’s just that you always want to be a little better."
His standing: Logano is 12th in the standings with 2,083 points.
Outlook: Logano has had eight previous Sprint Cup Series runs at Kansas Speedway, but has yet to see the top 10. Perhaps that opportunity could be this weekend.

Ryan Newman (No. 39)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Newman had a quiet ride at Dover, starting out third, he stayed inside the top-five for the first half of the race and even led twice for six laps. This was until handling issues began to plague the Stewart-Hass Racing car. After adjustments were made, Newman put up a good fight to better his eighth-place spot, but was unable to pull through before the checkered flag was waved. Newman’s eighth-place finish bumped him up two spots in the Chase standings to seventh.
Quotable: “Our day started out really well, the car was great for the first 100 laps or so,” said Newman, who scored his 12th top-10 finish in 24 starts at Dover. “It got tight after that, and we never could make the right adjustment to get it handling like I needed it to. We finished eighth, but I know a lot of the guys we’re in the Chase with finished ahead of us.”
His standing: Newman is seventh in the standings with 2,101 points.
Outlook: Now seventh in the standings, Newman will need a top-five finish at Kansas to continue to see positive movement. He has one previous win at Kansas Speedway, but that was 10 years ago. Newman currently sits 48 points behind leader Matt Kenseth, so a win at Kansas could bump him up to a more competitive playing field with other Chase contenders.

Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Recap: After Biffle’s third-place finish at New Hampshire, more was expected of him going into Dover. His momentum from the previous race seemed to have run out and his ninth-place finish proved it as he dropped one spot in the standings to sixth. Biffle had two previous Sprint Cup career wins at the Monster Mile, but qualifying 19th didn’t give him the boost he needed to make that kind of impact in this race.
Quotable: “We’ve just got to keep working at it. We’re learning stuff as we go, so we’ll just keep trying to get better every week. We went back and forth between being too loose and too tight, but I think we learned something today as to why we’ve run so bad here the last two or three years. That’s good for later on, but not good for today. Now we know. We stumbled on to a little bit of grip, so maybe that will help us at other places.”
His standing: Biffle is sixth in the standings with 2,108 points. 
Outlook: Biffle needs to have another run like he did at New Hampshire to bring him out of his Chase blues. Perhaps earning a top-five position in qualifiying will start him off on the right foot at Kansas. 

Denny Hamlin (No. 11)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Recap: Hamlin wasn’t in a position to win, or even claim a top-10 at Dover after a pit-road penalty hurt him. Unfortunately, his 20th-place finish didn’t help him at all in the standings as he remains 25th.
Quotable: Hamlin was unavailable for comment.
His standing: Hamlin is 25th in the standings with 552 points.
Outlook: Hamlin has already claimed a win at Kansas in 2012, but after the year he’s had, it’s hard to tell where he’s going to finish in the field. Although Hamlin is not in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, perhaps he can regain the speed he once had in 2012 to find himself in the top 10 at Kansas. 

Danica Patrick (No. 10)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Patrick started 31st and battled through a tight-handling condition early in the race. This ultimately caused her to drop as low as 38th at one point in the race. Adjustments were made at each pit stop, but improvements in handling weren’t up to par. Patrick eventually finished 29th and dropped back to 28th in the standings. Patrick is competing for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., but finished 12 spots behind Stenhouse at Dover.
Quotable: “It was just a frustrating day,” said Patrick, who made her 39th Sprint Cup start and her third at Dover. “We just couldn’t get a handle on the GoDaddy Chevy today. It was too tight from the start, and that put us behind early. It wasn’t for a lack of effort by Tony Gibson and the guys because they adjusted on the car all day. It would get better there in the middle of the race, but when it was in traffic, it would be just as tight as it was at the start of the race. It’s disappointing, but we’ll move on.”
Her standing: Patrick is 28th in the standings with 529 points. 
Outlook: This will be Patrick’s third go around at Kansas and her best finish is 25th. Maybe this week Patrick can finish in the teens to better her chances at winning Rookie of the Year.

Tony Stewart (No. 14)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Stewart missed his eighth consecutive race this past weekend and watched Mark Martin pilot his No. 14 Chevrolet to a 19th-place finish. Stewart is still nursing his broken leg and won’t return in 2013.
His standing: Stewart is 24th in the standings with 594 points.

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Jeff Gordon makes biggest jump in the Chase standings

Updated standings | Full coverage

Three up

Three down

FULL SERIES COVERAGE
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Pos.

Driver

Pts back

+/-

1.

Matt Kenseth

—

0

2.

Jimmie Johnson

-8

+1

3.

Kyle Busch

-12

-1

4.

Kevin Harvick

-39

+2

5.

Jeff Gordon

-39

+3

6.

Greg Biffle

-41

-1

7.

Ryan Newman

-48

+2

8.

Clint Bowyer

-51

+2

9.

Kurt Busch

-55

-2

10.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

-57

+1

11.

Carl Edwards

-65

-7

12.

Joey Logano

-66

0

13.

Kasey Kahne

-78

0

IN THE GREEN

Jimmie Johnson (Change: 3rd to 2nd)
A win at Dover is exactly what Johnson needed to fuel his power in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and that’s exactly what he did. Starting eighth in the field, Johnson led 243 out of 400 laps and swiftly made his way to Victory Lane after a back-and-forth battle with Dale Earnhardt Jr. This is Johnson’s record eighth career win at Dover International Speedway, passing Bobby Allison and Richard Petty in all-time wins at the Monster Mile. Johnson now sits just eight points behind  Matt Kenseth in the Chase. 

Jeff Gordon (Change: 8th to 5th)
With the most dramatic positive movement in the standings this week, the veteran Gordon proves he has what it takes to run with the young guns. Last week, Gordon finished 15th and slipped one spot in the standings. That must have lit a fire inside, because his time at Dover was quite different. Gordon qualified 16th, but quickly trimmed off positions and even led for three laps. Gordon ended up finishing fourth and now sits fifth in the Chase standings, tied in points with Kevin Harvick (who owns two wins to Gordon’s zero, thus winning the tiebreaker with Gordon for fourth place).

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Change: 11th to 10th)
Earnhardt Jr. put up a good fight till the finish with Johnson. After winning the Coors Light Pole, Earnhardt Jr. led a total of 80 laps around the Monster Mile, but when it came down to it, he just couldn’t come out on top. Finishing second, just .446 seconds behind Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. made enough of an impact for him to jump up one spot in the standings to 11th. This is Earnhardt Jr’s sixth top-5 finish at Dover. For next week, Earnhardt Jr. will need to carry this momentum with him into Kansas in order to keep climbing in the standings. 

IN THE RED

Carl Edwards (Change: 4th to 11th)
Edwards faced some tough luck at Dover as he was the lowest-finishing Chase contender in 35th place. Edwards experienced a broken left-rear hub that sent him to the garage on Lap 377. Entering back into the race on Lap 391, he had no time to make up the ground he lost. While this finish hurt his title hopes significantly, there are still seven races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup before a winner is named. His dramatic plummet to 11th in the standings should be enough motivation for Edwards to kick it into gear for Kansas. 

Kurt Busch (Change: 7th to 9th)
For the second race in a row, Busch faced frustrations on pit road. Even after bringing in members from Richard Childress Racing’s Nationwide Series pit crew, Busch still couldn’t pull through. After starting in the ninth position, Busch faded back to two laps down after an early green-flag pit stop that preceded the second caution on Lap 166. Busch eventually finished 21st and dropped two positions in the standings. He now sits 55 points behind Chase leader Kenseth going into Kansas.  

Greg Biffle (Change: 5th to 6th)
Although Biffle dropped back only one position in the standings, more was expected of him after the fight he put up in New Hampshire. Going into Dover, Biffle had two previous Sprint Cup career wins at the Monster Mile, but qualifying 19th didn’t give him the boost he needed to make that kind of impact in this race. Biffle’s quiet day ended up with him finishing ninth, right in front of fellow Chase contender Clint Bowyer. Going into Kansas, Biffle has earned two wins at the track — in 2007 and 2010.

MISSED CHANCES

Kyle Busch (Change: 2nd to 3rd)
Before Dover, Busch sat second in the Chase standings — that was until Johnson skated by him. Starting 14th, Busch moved his way up to the lead and held it for 30 laps around the Monster Mile. But the heated battle for the lead between Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. took over and Busch eventually finished fifth. With seven races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Busch still has time to try to take second place back from Johnson — or maybe do even more.

Joey Logano (No change)
Logano calls Dover International Speedway his favorite track, but during this race the Chase first-timer came up short. Although Logano finished third, his position as 12th in the standings remains the same. Perhaps Dover has built his momentum back up after having not-so-hot outcomes in Richmond and Chicago, and maybe we’ll see the kind of driving that got him into the Chase to begin with. 

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WATCH: Victory Lane:
Johnson wins at Dover

WATCH: Final Laps:
Johnson breaks record

WATCH: Dale Jr.:
misses pit road

WATCH: Keselowski
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Long-time crew chief Knaus makes the right call in Johnson’s eighth victory at Dover

MORE: FULL CHASE COVERAGE

DOVER, Del. — When Kyle Busch opted for a two-tire change and took off in clean air after a Lap 43 restart in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, there was no one more interested than Chad Knaus.

Jimmie Johnson‘s crew chief was keenly interested in how long Busch could hold the lead before drivers on four new tires ran him down.

As it turned out, Busch stayed in front for 28 laps under green, until Ryan Newman caught and passed him for the top spot on Lap 71. Knaus filed that nugget of information away.

Much later, when NASCAR called a debris caution on Lap 371 after a spring rubber dislodged from a car and landed in Turn 3, Knaus used what he had learned. Johnson, who had dominated the race since grabbing the lead on Lap 198, changed right-side tires only on his Lap 371 pit stop.

Why? Because data gathered during Saturday’s practice and observation of Busch’s early run told him that two-tires should be good for about 30 laps. When the race restarted on Lap 375 of 400, there were 26 laps left.

Never mind that Dale Earnhardt Jr. changed four tires during that same stop and lined up right behind Johnson in fourth place, with Johnson choosing the faster outside lane for the restart. Knaus trusted his data.

"If you look back over the history of this race — we even saw at the beginning of the event today, the 18 car (Busch) was able to go out there on two tires, establish a lead on two tires versus the guys on four, took (28) laps for somebody to catch the 18 car and pass them," Knaus explained. 

"We felt like with 20-something laps to go in this race, we would probably be okay if we could make it happen."

Earnhardt made it interesting. He cleared the second- and third-place cars of Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth moments after the restart and chased Johnson all the way to the checkered flag, finishing .446 seconds behind the driver with whom he shares a shop at Hendrick Motorsports.

"Now, fortunately enough for the 88, they were able to get broken free of the guys who were on two tires pretty quickly," Knaus said. "But we did a lot of due diligence yesterday trying to understand where our car was, what we needed to do with the KOBALT Chevrolet to make it fast for Jimmie if we did get ourselves in a position where we needed to do two tires. 

"We understood what we needed to do. We made those changes. Jimmie told me after the race, he felt like that was the best the car was on the short run. We ran our fastest laps right there at the end of the race, on two tires. We ran some 23.50s (seconds) which was really fast. We worked hard and tried to understand what we needed to do for strategy, and fortunately it paid off for us."

So did the work of the pit crew. In order for Knaus’ strategy to work optimally, Johnson had to control the final restart. The crew made sure that would happen by getting Johnson off pit road in the lead, ahead of Gordon and Kenseth, who also opted for two-tire changes.

Nowhere to be found were the stumblebums who had confounded Johnson’s efforts in the two months before the Chase with glitch after pit road glitch. The well-drilled precision of the No. 48 crew returned in full force, led by the master strategist.

And, Johnson, as he has done so often, closed the deal. The win left him second in the standings, eight points behind Kenseth and 10 points closer than he had been at the start of the race.

"I’ve seen a lot of great drivers, worked with a lot of great drivers," Knaus said. "Knowing what we’ve got sitting behind the seat is always a little bit of confidence, knowing if you get close, if you make the right call at the right time, he’s going to be able to carry the ball."

On Sunday, Knaus made the right call, the winning call, and Johnson delivered, setting a blistering pace on two new tires over the final 26 laps.

Earnhardt summed it up.

"Jimmie’s one of the best drivers the sport has ever seen," he said. "…I had to run perfect laps to maintain the pace that he had, just to not let the lead get any bigger — just hope that he’d start coming back to me there at the end.

"It was just a little bit too late."

What’s not too late is the return of the 48 team to championship form. For Johnson and Knaus, the Chase started in earnest at Dover.

And with their performance on Sunday, they invited the obvious question: Can Earnhardt, or anyone else, keep pace?


MORE:

WATCH: Victory Lane:
Johnson wins at Dover

WATCH: Final Laps:
Johnson breaks record

WATCH: Dale Jr.:
misses pit road

WATCH: Keselowski
brings out caution
Posted on by Staff Report

Get an early glimpse at the Nationwide Series’ Kansas Lottery 300 field

Click here for the entry list for the Nationwide Series race at Kansas.

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WATCH: Victory Lane:
Johnson wins at Dover

WATCH: Final Laps:
Johnson breaks record

WATCH: Dale Jr.:
misses pit road

WATCH: Keselowski
brings out caution
Posted on by Staff Report

The Sprint Cup Series returns to Kansas, where Matt Kenseth won earlier this year.

MORE: FULL CHASE COVERAGE

Click here to see the entry list for the Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas.

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WATCH: Victory Lane:
Johnson wins at Dover

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Johnson breaks record

WATCH: Dale Jr.:
misses pit road

WATCH: Keselowski
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Posted on by George Winkler

Those in Kenseth camp not quite as comfortable after Dover

MORE: FULL CHASE COVERAGE | NASCAR FANTASY LIVE

It’s nearly impossible to afford Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch on the same fantasy team, so it stands to reason that owners are picking one or two of the aforementioned drivers to hitch their rides to the rest of the way. Entering Dover, those in the Kenseth or Busch camps were riding high with back-to-back 1-2 finishes at Chicagoland and New Hampshire.

But now, after Johnson’s dominating victory at Dover for his record eighth win there, the tables have turned. Kenseth was a solid seventh at Dover, but for Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup purposes that’s not going to cut it — and he even admitted so after the race. For fantasy purposes, Kenseth still finished fourth, but when the price is high and the margin for error thin, the gap of 10 fantasy points between Kenseth and Johnson that might have seemed small earlier in the season is chasm-like now.

It was difficult not to notice Johnson taking control at Dover, and we’re sure the No. 48’s detractors were trying their hardest not to let it sink in on Sunday. But with the way Johnson looked in Delaware, and given the statistical dominance he has displayed at Kansas (more on that later in this story), the decision to buy in with Jimmie when he was slightly down and to stick with him through the start of the Chase is looking better and better all the time.

If you don’t believe me, then look at the lap summary report from the AAA 400, where for the final 300 laps at Dover Johnson was either in first place or second place at every 20-lap checkpoint. It’s an impressive display of the five-time champion’s power, and could be a harbinger of things to come.

So if you are sitting on Jimmie in your fantasy lineup, be glad. Reap the rewards of the rising price of the No. 48 as the rest of us rush to join you.

Key Fantasy Moment: Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. had problems entering the pits, his mishap came early enough that he was able to bounce back for a second-place finish. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch, whose team brought in four new crew members from Richard Childress Racing’s Nationwide Series program, continued to have problems. On Lap 159, Busch came in for an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel. After that, Busch fell off the lead lap and went on to finish 21st after starting ninth. Coming into Dover, Busch had been a strong performer — and had provided it at a second-tier price ($24.75). But it’s not the driver fantasy owners have to worry about here, it’s the team. That risk has to be factored in each week before owners take the plunge to purchase the No. 78.  

Biggest Bargain: After a 37th-place finish at Chicagoland and a 14th at New Hampshire, Joey Logano might have been off-limits to some fantasy owners heading into Dover. But for those who took his victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday to be a good sign they were pleasantly rewarded on Sunday. Logano, who started 11th, finished third in the AAA 400 and compiled the sixth-highest score in the NASCAR Fantasy Live game. That came at a price of $23.50, which was less than each of the three drivers who finished right behind him in fantasy points, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle. Honorable mention here goes to Brian Vickers, who had the 10th-highest fantasy score of the week and cost $20.50.

Biggest Bust: Carl Edwards seemed like a safe choice after opening the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with an 11th-place finish at Chicagoland and a ninth-place showing at New Hampshire, and he was maintaining a spot in the top 15 through the first 360 laps at Dover. But disaster struck late in the race when a broken hub led to him finishing 35th, the worst showing among Chase-qualified drivers. For Edwards, who started fourth, the subtracted points for place differential were enough to ruin his fantasy value. He ended up with minus-7.5 fantasy points, and Michael McDowell was the only driver who had a worse showing. Edwards cost $24.75 for all that. Ouch!

Tip to take forward: Jimmie Johnson leads in a multitude of statistical categories at Kansas over the past 11 races at the track, including driver rating (119.1), quality passes (496) and fastest laps (439), so if you picked him up during his down times heading into the Chase, then continue to ride him while the performances and the prices likely continue to go up. Meanwhile, if you didn’t get in on the Jimmie train in time, you might be able to pick up some value from Biffle, who is second in driver rating and has 465 quality passes at Kansas in the same span.

 

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WATCH: Victory Lane:
Johnson wins at Dover

WATCH: Final Laps:
Johnson breaks record

WATCH: Dale Jr.:
misses pit road

WATCH: Keselowski
brings out caution
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Quest to become first driver to win first three Chase races ends in seventh-place finish

MORE: FULL CHASE COVERAGE | RESULTS | STANDINGS

DOVER, Del. — In most any other circumstance, salvaging a top-10 finish with a less-than-perfect car and difficult track position on the final restart might have been just fine for Matt Kenseth. But in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the final result was only a missed opportunity.

Trying to become the first driver ever to win the opening three races of NASCAR’s playoff, Kenseth instead found himself scrambling for whatever he could get in the final laps at Dover International Speedway. His No. 20 car wasn’t the indomitable machine it had been in the first two Chase events. A last-minute, two-tire stop in the waning laps left him in a tough spot on the final restart. It all added up to a seventh-place finish, which certainly looked good given the circumstances, but in the bigger picture left something to be desired.

"We wanted to finish better than that," Kenseth said as winner Jimmie Johnson celebrated on the frontstretch. "We led a few laps, we qualified good, we finished in the top 10. But usually we come here racing for second to the 48 (car of Johnson). The way they run, running seventh every week isn’t going to be good enough to win a championship. But on an off day, and when I feel like we really missed it in the setup quite a bit, or on the car, whatever we did there, seventh is still pretty good."

Johnson’s eighth career victory at Dover allowed him to jump one spot in the standings to second, and trim Kenseth’s series lead to eight points. Kenseth and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch had finished first and second in each of the first two Chase events, and Busch fell to third in the standings — 12 behind the leader — despite a fifth-place result Sunday. The next-closest drivers, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon, are tied 39 points off the pace.

While the No. 20 car never seemed quite perfect — Kenseth battled a loose condition for much of the race — the 2003 series champion led 36 laps, and was second behind Johnson when a debris caution with 29 circuits remaining turned a likely fuel mileage race into a battle of pit strategy. Johnson took two tires, and Kenseth’s crew chief Jason Ratcliff planned to go with four — until a slight hang-up on the right rear led him to call an audible and take just two.

Johnson’s two-tire stop allowed him to get out first, and maintain track position that helped him outrun Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and win the race. Kenseth, meanwhile, was stuck in an impossible position — as the last car on two tires, ahead of everyone else with four, and on the slower inside lane on the restart to boot. He slid back at the green flag, ultimately finishing behind six other Chase drivers all trying to make up ground.

"We kind of missed it today," Kenseth said. "But there are times we ran a lot better than that. We got caught being the last car with two tires, we restarted on the inside, which was really bad, and still savaged a respectable finish. But certainly, I wanted to do better than that."

Busch could relate. His fifth-place finish gained him two points on his teammate, but still lost a position to Johnson. "It’s certainly appealing and you could be happy with it, but we’re a little disappointed at the same time," he said. "We felt like we wanted to come in here, we wanted to run better, we could run better here. We have before, and we just could never really get the feel that I was looking for the whole weekend with the front tires."

Sunday marked the first time Johnson has finished ahead of Kenseth in over a month, since the Aug. 11 race at Watkins Glen. "I think any points on (Busch) and (Kenseth) would have been a pretty good day. Max points, it’s an awesome day," said Johnson, who also earned bonus points for leading the most laps.

"I feel like we had cars capable of winning the first two races much like the 20 and the 18 did," Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus added, referring to the car numbers of Kenseth and Busch. "… We’re just trying to establish a foundation, and trying to set ourselves up for the second half of the Chase. As long as we do that, we’ll be in good shape."

For now, though, Kenseth remains in front — and heading to another favorable track, Kansas Speedway, where he’s won the last two times out. Of course, he also had two career victories at Dover, where Sunday’s result would have been considered a good points day — if every point weren’t as valuable as they are now, in a Chase where the performances of the top three drivers are leaving little room for error.

"You feel like it’s one of your best race tracks," Kenseth said, "and you want to do better than seventh at one of your best tracks, and not let all the guys you’re racing beat you. All in all it was a solid day, but we wished for a little bit more."

MORE:

WATCH: Victory Lane:
Johnson wins at Dover

WATCH: Final Laps:
Johnson breaks record

WATCH: Dale Jr.:
misses pit road

WATCH: Keselowski
brings out caution