Kevin Harvick Outlasts A Caution Fest To Win at Kansas

           Kevin Harvick was able to hold off Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch on the final restart to win a wreck fest at Kansas. Harvick started on the pole and led the opening part of the race before pit strategy put him back in the pack. With the help of crew chief, Gil Martin, Harvick made his way back to the lead where his car was much better and he was able to take the win. It was a very good day in points for Harvick and some others, but a lot of drivers had some trouble. Kyle Busch wrecked three times during the race and was finally out after the third wreck, Ryan Newman wrecked with Justin Allgaier, Matt Kenseth was shuffled back due to a speeding penalty, Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle never had their cars completely under control, and Kasey Kahne missed the strategy a little bit. This allowed drivers like Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Jeff Gordon to move up in the battle for the title. Matt Kenseth still held the points lead after all was said and done, but Jimmie Johnson sits within three points of taking the advantage on the field. What a caution fest it was in Kansas. In total, fifteen caution flags waved with most of those waving due to hard crashes like Busch's, Brian Vickers's late race crash, and Danica Patrick's rough crash on the first lap. This race at Kansas could turn out to be the wild card of the Chase even with Talladega two weeks away. If you aren't pumped up yet, check your pulse.

        Kevin Harvick started on the pole. It was Harvick's first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole of the season and his first since 2006 at New Hampshire. The race went green and it did not even go one corner before the first caution waved. Danica Patrick got loose entering turn 1 in the middle of David Reutimann and Cole Whitt. Whitt and Reutimann made slight contact with the outside wall while Patrick slammed nose first into the outside wall. All three drivers had damage with Danica having race ending damage. Kyle Busch also spun avoiding the wreck and ran into the grass, but he was able to get back going. No drivers received the lucky dog. No drivers came to pit road since it was so early in the race. The race went back green and Kevin Harvick held onto the lead. The race went a short time before a contender would make an unscheduled pit stop. On lap 41, Brad Keselowski came to pit road for an unscheduled pit stop. He had reported to his team that he was having problems with a tire. His team replaced all four tires and sent him back on track. His team checked all four tires and couldn't find a problem. Keselowski had avoided trouble by being cautious, but he had lost a lot of time. It was a short time after this that the second caution of the race waved on lap 43.

        Michael McDowell had a tire go down in turn 3 that forced him to stay at the top of the track. He could not get to pit road and NASCAR was forced to wave the caution flag. He finally made it to pit road and his team diagnosed the problem as brake troubles. He would return, but he would not be competitive. J.J. Yeley received the lucky dog. The first bit of strategy of the race occurred during the caution. Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jimmie Johnson took two tires while Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Paul Menard, and others took four tires. It would be interesting to see which strategy worked even with the questions surrounding the tires. The race went back green and Kevin Harvick held onto the lead. This began the longest green flag run of the race. The action for the lead began to pick up on lap 80. Jimmie Johnson caught Kevin Harvick and the two started a fierce battle. Johnson barely led lap 81 before Harvick was able to get back by him. Harvick held the lead for the moment before Johnson finally cleared him on lap 83. After Johnson made the move, Harvick decided to come to pit road and the first round of green flag pit stops began. The stops were cut short as the third caution waved on lap 87. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 3. Dave Blaney received the lucky dog. A good many drivers were hurt because of the caution. Jimmie Johnson had made the move to pit road and had not passed the commitment line before the caution waved. This forced him to roll through pit road so he wouldn't get a penalty. The penalty had been avoided, but Johnson had lost a lot of spots and still had to come back down for his stop. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman, and others had pitted before the caution waved, but they were a lap down and forced to start at the back of the field after taking the wave around. All the drivers who had not pitted came down and took four tires and fuel with Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming out as the leader. It would be interesting to see if the drivers who had lost positions on the stops could find their way back to the front.

       The race went back green and Matt Kenseth was able to take the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr. The race went a short time before the fourth caution waved on lap 111. Landon Cassill and Joe Nemechek had engine troubles at the same time on track. Martin Truex Jr. received the lucky dog. Not much strategy occurred during the caution. All the drivers who came to pit road took two tires with Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming out as the leader. The race went back green and Dale Earnhardt Jr. held the lead. The race would go a few laps before the fifth caution waved on lap 118. Dave Blaney got loose exiting turn 2 and went for a spin down the track. He was able to get his car stopped and continue on without damage. A.J. Allmendinger received the lucky dog. No pit stops occurred during the caution and the race went back green with Joey Logano taking the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr. The race went a few more laps before the sixth caution waved on lap 136. Justin Allgaier broke loose in turn 2. He slammed the outside wall and came down the track. Ryan Newman got loose trying to avoid Allgaier. Both drivers made hard contact and Newman was able to drive away with heavy damage as Allgaier came to a halt on the apron of the track with heavier damage. Timmy Hill received the lucky dog. A little bit of strategy occurred during the caution. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch stayed on track while all the other lead lap drivers came to pit road for two tires and fuel. A championship contender made a huge mistake during the stops.

        Matt Kenseth's team did a good job getting him in and out quickly. Kenseth left the box and exited pit road, but he was speeding. NASCAR invoked a penalty that left Kenseth at the back of the field. Kenseth still had a lot of race left, but he was way back in the field. It would be interesting to see if Kenseth could make it up through the field and keep his points lead. The race went back green and Kevin Harvick was able to take the lead from Joey Logano as Kyle Busch began to fall back. The race went a really short time before the seventh caution waved on lap 147. Travis Kvapil got loose in turn 2 and went for a spin. Kvapil was able to get his car stopped on the apron of the track and continue on without damage. David Gilliland received the lucky dog. No pit stops occurred since it had only been a few laps since the leaders came down. The race went back green and Kevin Harvick held onto the lead. The race went a few laps before the eighth caution waved on lap 155. A fire was spotted on the grassy hill in turn 1 of the track. David Gilliland received the lucky dog. A few stops occurred during the caution. Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne reported to pit road after staying out for a little while. The race went back green and Joey Logano held the lead after staying out. The race went a short while before the ninth caution waved on lap 170. David Ragan broke loose in turn 2. He looked like he would save his car, but the car continued going down the track and he slammed the inside wall. He drove away, but he had a huge amount of damage. Tony Raines received the lucky dog. A lot of strategy occurred during the caution. Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, and Kasey Kahne stayed out while Paul Menard, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and others took two tires. Joey Logano and others took four tires. It would be interesting to see which strategy led a driver to a win.

        The race went back green and Brad Keselowski held onto the lead. The race went a short time before the tenth caution waved on lap 180. Debris from Casey Mears's bumper dropped on the frontstretch of the track. Tony Raines received the lucky dog. No drivers came down pit road after most of the leaders came down on the previous caution. The race went back green and Brad Keselowski held onto the lead. The race went a few laps before the eleventh caution on lap 187. Juan Pablo Montoya and Kyle Busch dove to the apron of the track. Montoya bumped Busch and sent him around. Busch went around and came back on the track. Nobody hit him and he was able to get back going. Mark Martin and Brian Vickers did receive slight damage trying to avoid Busch, but they were able to continue on. Cole Whitt received the lucky dog. No drivers pitted because pit stops had occurred recently for the leaders. The race went back green and Brad Keselowski held the lead once again. The race went a few laps before the twelfth caution on lap 196. Marcos Ambrose got loose in turn 2 and spun down the track. He was able to get the car slowed down, but he continued to spin. He was able to get stopped and get back going without damage. Cole Whitt received the lucky dog. The race went back green and Brad Keselowski was able to hold the lead again. The race went one corner before a championship contender would have race ending trouble.

        Kyle Busch was stuck on the outside of a three wide situation with Brian Vickers and Carl Edwards in turn 2. Vickers got loose and went up on Edwards which caused Edwards to go up the track and make contact with Busch. Busch slammed into the wall and his car slid down the track. It reached a stop with heavy damage. Busch was able to get out okay, but his car was absolutely destroyed. This resulted in the thirteenth caution on lap 200. Cole Whitt received the lucky dog. The race went back green and Brad Keselowski held the lead. Keselowski held the lead well before he finally made the move to pit road with some other drivers on lap 223. This handed the lead to Kevin Harvick before the fourteenth caution waved on lap 228. Debris was spotted in turn 1 of the track. Mark Martin received the lucky dog. This allowed the leaders to come to pit road for the final time. Marcos Ambrose and Jeff Burton took only fuel while the rest of the lead lap drivers took two tires and enough fuel to make it to the finish. Burton was able to come out with the lead. The drivers who had pitted before the caution took the wave around, but they had lost a lot of positions. The race went back green and Kevin Harvick took the lead from Jeff Burton. It looked like the race would finally calm down, but one final caution would wave. 

        On lap 243, Brian Vickers broke loose in turn 2. He tried to save it, but his car pointed towards the wall. He flew up the track and slammed the outside wall. His car lifted off the track as parts and pieces flew off. His car rolled to a stop with heavy damage. He was able to get out of his car okay, but it was damaged beyond repair. This led to the fifteenth and final caution of the race on lap 243. Brad Keselowski received the lucky dog. This set up the final run to the green flag. The race went back green and Kevin Harvick was able to hold the lead. He began to move away from Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon as the laps clicked by. Only ten laps remained and Harvick held a nice advantage. Finally, the white flag waved and Harvick was able to cruise back to the checkered flag for the win. It was a difficult journey for Harvick back to the front, but he was able to do it and move back up the point standings.

        Even though Kevin Harvick is considered a “lame duck” driver this year, he has been successful doing it. After signing a contract with Stewart-Haas Racing for next season, it seemed like Harvick's team would not stay strong, but they have. They have three wins thus far this year and they are within reach of Harvick's first championship. Matt Kenseth continued his consistency in the Chase, but he still lost a few points to Jimmie Johnson after an eleventh place finish. Kenseth sits in the driver's seat, but with a few wild card races coming up, he needs to finish better than Johnson as the season nears a halt. It was another rough day for Kyle Busch in Kansas. He spun around three times with the last time resulting in a wrecked race car and a terrible finish. Busch lost a good many points in the battle for the championship, but anything can happen in the last six races of the season. Jeff Gordon also moved up a little bit in the points battle. After a third place finish, Gordon moved within thirty two points of the points lead and a few good tracks coming up for him. With so many drivers left in the fight, the last race at Homestead should be one for the ages. The series heads to Charlotte next week for the only Saturday night shoot out of the Chase. Will Kevin Harvick continue his momentum at a track he won at earlier this year, will Kasey Kahne beat Harvick after losing to him earlier this year at Charlotte, or will another driver take the victory? We will have to wait until next Saturday to find out.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 1- Danica Patrick got loose in turn 1 between Cole Whitt and David Reutimann. Reutimann and Whitt made contact with the wall as Patrick slammed nose first into the outside wall.

2nd Caution: Lap 43- Michael McDowell slowed on track in turn 3 due to a flat tire.

3rd Caution: Lap 87- Debris was spotted in turn 3 of the track.

4th Caution: Lap 111- Landon Cassill and Joe Nemechek had engine troubles on track.

5th Caution: Lap 118- Dave Blaney got loose in turn 2 and went for a spin.

6th Caution: Lap 136- Justin Allgaier broke loose in turn 2 and went for a spin. Ryan Newman got loose trying to avoid and made contact with Allgaier.

7th Caution: Lap 147- Travis Kvapil got loose in turn 2 and went for a spin.

8th Caution: Lap 155- A fire was spotted on the grassy hill in turn 1.

9th Caution: Lap 170- David Ragan got loose in turn 2 and spun down the track. He made slight contact with the inside wall.

10th Caution: Lap 180- Debris from Casey Mears's bumper was dropped on the frontstretch of the track.

11th Caution: Lap 187- Juan Pablo Montoya bumped Kyle Busch on the apron of the frontstretch and sent Busch for a spin. Busch went back on track and Mark Martin and Brian Vickers received slight damage trying to avoid.

12th Caution: Lap 196- Marcos Ambrose got loose in turn 2 and spun down the track.

13th Caution: Lap 200- Brian Vickers got loose in a three wide situation with Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Vickers went up the track and caused Edwards to make contact with Busch. Busch went around and slammed the outside wall.

14th Caution: Lap 228- Debris was spotted in turn 1 of the track.

15th Caution: Lap 243- Brian Vickers broke loose in turn 2 and slammed the outside wall causing parts and pieces to tear off his car.

Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: J.J. Yeley
3rd Caution: Dave Blaney
4th Caution: Martin Truex Jr.
5th Caution: A.J. Allmendinger
6th Caution: Timmy Hill
7th Caution: David Gilliland
8th Caution: David Gilliland
9th Caution: Tony Raines
10th Caution: Tony Raines
11th Caution: Cole Whitt
12th Caution: Cole Whitt
13th Caution: Cole Whitt
14th Caution: Mark Martin 
15th Caution: Brad Keselowski

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kevin Harvick
2nd: Kurt Busch
3rd: Jeff Gordon
4th: Joey Logano
5th: Carl Edwards

Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Jimmie Johnson
8th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
11th: Matt Kenseth
13th: Greg Biffle
14th: Clint Bowyer
15th: Kasey Kahne
34th: Kyle Busch
35th: Ryan Newman





Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/live-standings.html?intid=livestandings_livestandingsleaderboard_08292013
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Hollywood_Casino_400/W
-Image:
http://startnparkblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Hollywood_Casino_400_13_Kansas_Winner_Kevin_Harvick.jpg

My Thoughts: Kansas

         The second race of the season at Kansas has a lot of powerful circumstances surrounding it. For one, the Chase is in full swing with Matt Kenseth holding the points lead and Jimmie Johnson chasing at his heels. With Kenseth being a dominator at the mile and a half races, he could be a factor at a track he won at earlier this year. A second thing is the set of races that are coming up in the Chase. With the ever menacing Talladega and the revenge capital of the world in Martinsville coming up, Chase drivers who are up front could be looking at losing a lot of points in the coming weeks. Finally, you have the final seven races of the season coming. This may sound like a lot compared to some points of the season, but it is really not and drivers can not wait to make some moves to get up to the top of the championship battle. What does all this mean? It means that the championship is still hanging in the balance and you guys get to hear my thoughts for the week. I have a variety of topics waiting to talk about including the odds of one driver winning this championship, a sponsor and driver signing an extension with a team, a driver fined for a slur to another driver on a social media site, a high profile driver looking to make his debut, and as always: my pick to win. Wow, it should be another good week. Let us go ahead and get started.

1. If Matt Kenseth Repeats at Kansas, will he win the championship?
         If one thing has been certain this year, it has been Matt Kenseth running up front and winning. This was the case earlier this year when Kenseth took the checkered flag at Kansas over Kasey Kahne. If Kenseth is able to take the victory today, he will win the championship. This may be a huge jump for me after I have been saying we won't know until the final lap at Homestead who will be the champion,  but I do have a few reasons behind this. For one, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch have been struggling this weekend at Kansas. Johnson went around early in practice on Friday and Busch will go to a back up car after slamming the wall in practice on Saturday. With Kenseth looking really good at the mile and a half tracks, it looks like he will be in prime position to gain some points with Johnson and Busch seeming to struggle. Another reason is just this track. Kenseth has won the last two races at Kansas since the repave in early 2012. That is a very compelling statistic for Kenseth. It would be almost unlikely to think that he would lose momentum with three wins in the Chase if he wins at Kansas. A final reason is Kenseth's consistency this year. Even when Kenseth was struggling at points this year, he was still running up front before the problem would happen. An example would be when he was leading at Daytona in February when he blew a motor and fell out of the race. Even though he walked away with a bad finish, he proved he could race up front. These three reasons compel me to believe that a win today for Kenseth would ultimately lead to a title.

2. Brad Keselowski and Miller Lite Sign an Extension With Penske Racing Until 2017
        After a tumultuous year of missing the Chase and not having a win yet, Brad Keselowski has some light at the end of the tunnel. Keselowski and sponsor, Miller Lite, signed an extension to stay with Penske Racing until 2017. This is a good thing for Keselowski to get out of the way so he can focus on winning a race before the season ends. But it does ring some questions for the sport. Miller Lite decided to downgrade to only 24 races instead of the usual 36 races. This has raised some questions from the higher powers of NASCAR and from some of the journalists around the sport. Are sponsors becoming harder and harder to find and is it getting to cost too much money for them? One of these things is true. It is not getting harder to find sponsors, but it is getting harder to get them to pay. One reason you can tell sponsors are not getting hard to find is the amount of sponsors on cars. Kasey Kahne, for example, has Pepsi Max, Great Clips, Hendrickcars.com, Farmers Insurance, Quaker State, and Time Warner Cable on the car for this season. That is a lot of sponsors when you think about it. This means that there is no shortage of sponsorship, but there is some shortage of money. With sponsors like Miller Lite, NAPA Auto Parts, and the Army downgrading in the past few years, we are seeing signs that money has become an issue. I am glad Miller Lite and Brad Keselowski are returning to Penske Racing for at least four more years, but I think the questions raised from the downgrading of Miller Lite are more prominent in the years coming.

3. Nelson Piquet Jr. Fined For Using a Homophobic Slur on Parker Kligerman's Instagram Account
       A terrible mistake came from Nelson Piquet Jr. over the week. He called Parker Kligerman a 'fag' on his Instagram account. Yes, I put the word in question in my story, but I mean no harm to any people who happen to read this. The result of Piquet's mistake was ten thousand dollars and probation until the end of the season. I don't want to talk about what led to this outburst by Piquet, but I want to talk about NASCAR's handling of this situation. This penalty needed to happen. If somebody was getting hurt by this, NASCAR needed to put their foot down and give him a fine. If they didn't, could you imagine how many homosexuals and people who supported them would be knocking NASCAR's doors down? That would cause a lot of fans to leave the sport. Now, I'm not saying that homosexuals are terrible people. I go to school with them and none of them have ever said anything bad to me. But where does NASCAR draw the line? If you remember earlier this year, Jeremy Clements was suspended indefinitely for using the N-word in front of a reporter. But Piquet was only given a ten thousand dollar fine for uttering a word offensive to a homosexual? That, to me, doesn't make sense. I applaud NASCAR for handling this situation with Kligerman and Piquet, but it raises questions about the importance of each group in the sport and what the correct penalty should be.

4. Kyle Larson to Make His Cup Debut at Charlotte with Phoenix Racing  
       Kyle Larson is about to get some practice before his first full time season in Cup next year. He was given a ride for a couple of races to end the season with Phoenix Racing. Larson has been racing in the Nationwide Series this year with the new owner of Phoenix Racing, Harry Scott. This is a good idea to end the season for Larson. For one, he gets some experience in a generation six car for next season. The one thing Larson will have to get used to is definitely the ride in a Cup car. The car has more horsepower, typically has more grip, and is just all together difficult to get accustomed to. Second, Larson needs some practice dealing with the Cup drivers in the top series of NASCAR. Larson was pretty fair in terms of competing with the drivers in the Nationwide Series, but he has no experience dealing with guys that could be even better than him or even be in better equipment. Finally, Larson needs some advice from Cup guys. With this experience in a Cup car over the last few weeks of the season, Larson could get information from guys like Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, and even guys like Mark Martin. This experience could go a long way in setting up his career for the near future. I am interested to see how he handles the pressure of a Cup car and what kind of advice he can get.

5. My Pick to Win
         Last week, Jimmie Johnson took his unprecedented eighth victory at the “Monster Mile” in Dover. The last two times out at Kansas, Matt Kenseth has walked away with victories with the most recent victory coming over Kasey Kahne in April. Kenseth has been the dominating figure thus far in the Chase and I feel like this will continue in today's race. Some good picks for today's race are Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson. This race could be very interesting with a few Chase drivers having trouble in practice. Plus, Brad Keselowski isn't too happy with Kyle Busch after a wreck in the Nationwide Series yesterday, I thank you guys once again for reading my thoughts. If you guys aren't satisfied with my opinions, then let me know what you think in the comments below. I plan on writing for the race today and most of the races to conclude the season. I hope you guys enjoy and until we meet again.




Credits:
-Image:
http://brightcove.meta.nascar.com.edgesuite.net/meta/1677257476001/201304/886/1677257476001_2316748582001_nascar-nscs-kan-high-two922x520.jpg?pubId=1677257476001