Kevin Harvick practices for Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Photo by Jared C. Tilton/NASCAR via Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson might hold the Charlotte Motor Speedway record with seven wins, but lately Kevin Harvick has been better there. In his last seven starts at the 1.5-mile track, Harvick has registered two wins, three runner-ups and no showing worse than ninth.
The No. 4 Chevrolet driver will attempt to notch another Queen City victory in Saturday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway – the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 12 opener. Harvick won the event in 2014, the last time it was run at night. Last year, he finished second to Joey Logano when the race was held in the day on Sunday following a Saturday night rainout.
“I think Charlotte, just because of the fact we’ve had so much success there,” said Harvick when asked what Round of 12 track he was most excited to go to. “We’ve run well there really every time we’ve been there with our Stewart-Haas Racing cars. Going there this weekend is definitely something I’m looking forward to. Any race track where you’ve had some success at, you definitely want to go back.”
A win would earn Harvick more than just a trophy, it would advance him to the Chase’s Round of 8. The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has visited victory lane at all three tracks in the Round of 12 – Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega – indicating a third straight trip to the Round of 8 might be inevitable.
“It’s nice to know that you can go to any of these race tracks and win because we have,” Harvick said. “They’re all hard to win at and I think as you look at Charlotte, trying to put the car back in victory lane is the first goal, and if you can’t, try to get the best finish that you can. That comes with no mistakes and if you do have a mistake, overcome it and capitalize on the moment if you have it to actually get to Victory Lane.
Despite his success at all three tracks, Harvick is focused on this weekend’s race. In 31 career starts at Charlotte, including 15 in the fall, Harvick boasts three wins, seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
“There could be challenges no matter where you go,” he said. “Charlotte is a very finicky race track and with the way that we practice, most of the practice will be during the day with the race at night. So temperature has a huge factor in how the race track changes and how they pace changes, so you have to try to guess a little bit to that. And obviously the weather can be a little bit of an issue as we creep into the weekend. You have to try to plan and balance all of those things to have a good plan, but you have to be ready to abort that plan and come up with a new one on the fly at any given point.”
Erik Jones Tries To Stave Off Elimination From Xfinity Chase
Entering the NASCAR Xfinity Series Chase with a series-leading four wins and the 12 bonus points that came with them, Erik Jones seemed like an absolute lock to make the playoffs’ Round of 8 if not the Championship 4.
He sure doesn’t look like a lock right now.
Jones goes into Friday’s Drive for the Cure 300 Chase cutoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway four points below Brennan Poole on the cutoff line. If he can’t make up those points, he will be eliminated from championship contention.
Think of it as a love 100mg viagra potion with a strong sexual element. Migraines are common…take a couple buy uk viagra Advil with it. Men aged above 40 years also suffer from erectile dysfunction and you want to order cheap cialis take the first steps to prevent premature aging. When to contact a professional doctor? If you are going through informative storefront side effects of tadalafil erectile dysfunction due to performance anxiety, stress, guilt, depression, diabetes, sudden medications, relationship problems, etc. Jones dug himself into his current predicament by finishing 28th at Kentucky and 16th at Dover. In three career starts at Charlotte, Jones has finished 15th (spring 2015), second (fall 2015) and 31st (spring 2016).
“We have a good team, we just have to do it right,” Jones said. “I know this 20 team builds fast cars and I know this weekend at Charlotte will be no different. We just need to go out and execute and hopefully get into the next round. A lot of work and a lot of pressure, but I think we can do it.”
Race Weekend Preview
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Race: Bank of America 500
Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date and Time: Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET
Tune-in: NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 501 miles (334 laps)
What to Watch For: Martin Truex, Jr. tries to defend his spring Charlotte victory. He has won three of the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and led the most laps in the two he didn’t win. … Joey Logano attempts to repeat as the Charlotte fall winner. … Jimmie Johnson looks to add to his track-record seven wins. … Kyle Busch goes for his first Charlotte win. He has visited victory lane at every active track except for Charlotte and Pocono. … Non-Chaser Kasey Kahne looks to spoil an automatic bid for a Chase-eligible driver. He has won four races at Charlotte and has posted four top 10s in his last five starts.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race: Drive For The Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
Place: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date and Time: Friday, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. ET
Tune-in: NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 laps)
What to Watch For: Daniel Suarez (6.6) and Elliott Sadler (8.9) – both of whom have advanced to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Chase Round of 8 via victories – lead all championship contenders in average finish at 1.5-mile tracks this year. … The Chase bubble is packed with 10 drivers within 17 points of elimination. Here’s where the drivers who haven’t clinched berths in the Round of 8 stand: Justin Allgaier (17 points ahead of Ty Dillon on the cutoff line), Brendan Gaughan (+14), Ryan Reed (+11), Darrell Wallace, Jr. (+10), Blake Koch (+4), Brennan Poole (+3), Dillon (-3 points below Brennan Poole on the cutoff line), Erik Jones (-4), Ryan Sieg (-10) and Brandon Jones (-18). … NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Kyle Larson, Matt DiBenedetto, Josh Wise, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick are all scheduled to compete in Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
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