Kevin Harvick practices for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Kevin Harvick is at his best when he makes life difficult for himself.
A lackluster 20th-place finish last Sunday at Martinsville left the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion sixth in the Chase standings, 16 points out of the final transfer position currently held by Kyle Busch.
Then again, Harvick always has Phoenix, where he has won five of the last six races and six of the last eight. But Phoenix, the final track in the Chase’s Round of 8, is two weeks away, and Harvick seems ready to make his move toward the Championship 4 in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Harvick, nicknamed “The Closer” for his ability to excel under challenging circumstances, qualified third for Sunday’s race. And after three rounds of knockout time trials, Harvick felt he left something on the track, from a speed standpoint.
“I think the car was better than the decisions that the driver made,” Harvick said of his lap in the final round. “I went into turn 1, and I didn’t get it all the way to the bottom and pointed in the right direction before the bump. I got greedy and tried to leave the throttle down, and then it hit the bump and then it got further out of the groove, so I had to wait longer.
“(But) that’s a lot better than the spring (when Harvick qualified 22nd). We’ve worked hard on this particular race. … I feel like we’re in a good spot. The car’s got good speed. If I could go back and do it again, I would do a lot better.”
Harvick hasn’t won a Sprint Cup race at Texas yet, but don’t be surprised to find him in victory lane on Sunday. That sort of reaction to pressure has become routine for the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team, which has advanced to the Championship 4 finale in each of the first two years of the Chase’s elimination format.
DiBenedetto’s Car Honors Fallen Dallas Police Officers
No, Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 83 BK Racing Toyota isn’t about to pull you over.
But the police-oriented paint scheme is no accident. DiBenedetto’s “Back the Blue” Toyota honors the Dallas Police Officers who lost their lives in a July 7 attack by a lone gunman and simultaneously embodies a fund-raising effort through the Assist the Officer Foundation.
Accomplished through the cooperation of sponsor ZAK Products, the official fuel additive of NASCAR, the paint scheme honors not only the officers slain on July 7 but all Dallas Police fallen officers since the formation of the department in 1881.
“It’s really neat to be able to honor the Dallas Police Department,” DiBenedetto said. “I don’t feel they get the respect they deserve sometimes, and it’s that all of us at BK can push for this effort to honor them. Vic Keller is the founder of ZAK Products, and he’s a lifetime Dallas citizen, so it hits close to home for him as well.
“(The response) has been incredible. So many people just thanking us. We don’t deserve any of the credit for it. We just felt it was something cool we could do as a NASCAR community and do together to honor them. But the response from the fans, and even other teams, has been really neat around here. People are really passionate about it.”
Short Strokes
-Ford drivers paced both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice sessions on Saturday, with Ryan Blaney leading the morning session with a lap at 188.515 mph and Brad Keselowski topping the speed chart at 190.685 mph in Happy Hour.
-Chase driver Denny Hamlin, along with Roush Fenway Racing’s Greg Biffle and Trevor Bayne, are paying the price for incurring fourth warnings during the at-track inspection process. Those three drivers lost their choice of pit stalls for Sunday’s race. Hamlin got pit stall No. 7, behind the No. 88 Chevrolet of Alex Bowman and in front of the No. 43 Ford of Aric Almirola.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, TX
AAA Texas 500 – November 6, 2016
Sunday’s Starting Lineup
1. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 192.301 mph.
Dogs with http://aimhousepatong.com/item7842.html levitra without prescription CDS will often begin to urinate and/or defecate in the home. L-Arginine An amino acid, L-arginine is present in body naturally, online cialis prescriptions which assists in making nitric oxide, an important chemical agent that dilates and relaxes blood vessels and improves the quality of erections for men. Well, you might be thinking that there is some problem, known as erectile female viagra pill dysfunction. These days the supplement have innovative ways of increasing penis sildenafil professional size, herbal supplements rank high on the popularity list. 2. (22) Joey Logano (C), Ford, 192.260 mph.
3. (4) Kevin Harvick (C), Chevrolet, 192.178 mph.
4. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 192.130 mph.
5. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 191.959 mph.
6. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 191.523 mph.
7. (20) Matt Kenseth (C), Toyota, 191.381 mph.
8. (21) Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 191.272 mph.
9. (19) Carl Edwards (C), Toyota, 190.988 mph.
10. (41) Kurt Busch (C), Chevrolet, 190.543 mph.
11. (24) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 190.429 mph.
12. (78) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 189.560 mph.
13. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 191.232 mph.
14. (47) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 191.191 mph.
15. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 191.049 mph.
16. (88) Alex Bowman(i), Chevrolet, 190.894 mph.
17. (11) Denny Hamlin (C), Toyota, 190.826 mph.
18. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 190.577 mph.
19. (48) Jimmie Johnson (C), Chevrolet, 189.520 mph.
20. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 189.195 mph.
21. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 188.659 mph.
22. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 187.878 mph.
23. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 19.198 mph.
24. (18) Kyle Busch (C), Toyota, 194.056 mph.
25. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 191.144 mph.
26. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 190.759 mph.
27. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 190.732 mph.
28. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 190.523 mph.
29. (44) Brian Scott #, Ford, 190.328 mph.
30. (34) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 190.315 mph.
31. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 190.215 mph.
32. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 189.907 mph.
33. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 189.900 mph.
34. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 189.069 mph.
35. (93) Ryan Ellis(i), Toyota, 188.495 mph.
36. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 187.643 mph.
37. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 186.832 mph.
38. (55) Reed Sorenson, Toyota, 184.200 mph.
39. (32) Joey Gase(i), Ford, 182.063 mph.
40. (30) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 180.741 mph.
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