NASCAR Sylvania 300 Rewind: Kevin Harvick’s shot, gas don’t last

Matt Kenseth took advantage of Kevin Harvick’s empty fuel cell Sunday and won the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Kenseth clinched a spot in the second round of NASCAR’s Chase.

It probably wouldn’t have happened if Harvick hadn’t run out of gas while leading on the 298th of the race’s 300 laps. Harvick had dominated to that point, but a decision not to refuel during a caution with 63 laps left eventually cost him. Harvick would end up 21st.

Denny Hamlin, last week’s winner and another driver who also guaranteed a spot in the second round of the playoffs, finished second. Joey Logano was third and non-Chase driver Greg Biffle finished fourth.

Several Chase drivers had problems. Brad Keselowski was penalized on a restart and finished 12th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (25th) and Kurt Busch (19th) also ran out of gas. Kyle Busch wrecked midway through the race and finished 37th.

Pole-winner Carl Edwards was fifth, but he is third in the Chase standings behind Kenseth and Hamlin.

Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, Harvick and Clint Bowyer are in the bottom four of the Chase standings heading into next’s weekend’s race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The top 12 of the 16 Chase drivers will into the second round.

Turning point

Kevin Harvick was watching his rapidly emptying gas tank and trying to hold off Kenseth late. Harvick ran out of fuel on Lap 298, allowing Kenseth to pass him and win.

Chase update

How the NASCAR Chase drivers fared:

1. Matt Kenseth (2,099 points): Wins at New Hampshire and – presto – advances to second round of Chase.

2. Denny Hamlin (six behind): Finished second, another strong showing after winning Chase opener at Chicagoland.

3. Carl Edwards (10 behind): Pole winner was fifth, overcame pit-road penalty that put him at rear of the field on Lap 160.

4. Joey Logano (10 behind): Third-placer finisher didn’t lead a lap but solidified his chances for moving into second round.

5. Jimmie Johnson (16 behind): Solid sixth place keeps six-time champion well above Chase cut line.

6. Ryan Newman (25 behind): Finished 10th and continues to be consistently strong – if not spectacular – in the Chase, a formula he knows can be successful.

7. Kurt Busch (26 behind): Crew chief Tony Gibson, who had an emergency appendectomy last week, was on top of the pit box. Busch finished 19th, with his car on fumes as he crossed the finish line.

8. Brad Keselowski (27 behind): Was in contention until a restart penalty on Lap 242. That dropped him from second place to eventually 12th.

9. Martin Truex Jr. (28 behind): Finished eighth, but biggest news for him Sunday was Furniture Row Racing picking up Truex’s option for 2016, with team switching from Chevy to Toyota.

10. Jeff Gordon (31 behind): Finished seventh while driving in his 789th consecutive race, a NASCAR record.

11. Jamie McMurray (41 behind): Spent the day staying out of trouble, finished 14th and moved out of the Chase danger zone.

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (42 behind): Ran out of gas, dropping him to 25th. Had been running near front of the field for much of the latter stages of the race.

13. Kyle Busch (43 behind): Hit the wall when tire went down on Lap 159, finished 37th. “It’s killed,” Busch said of his No. 18 Toyota as he drove it to the garage.

14. Paul Menard (43 behind): Another lackluster finish in the Chase (15th) leaves him needing something much stronger at Dover if he wants to advance.

15. Kevin Harvick (65 behind): Another poor finish by defending champion (21st), thanks to his running out of gas, puts him in a desperate place heading to Dover.

16. Clint Bowyer (81 behind): Hopes his appeal to NASCAR from Chicagoland penalty restores 25 points, but after finishing 26th at New Hampshire, can only be saved by a victory at Dover.

Observations

▪ Harvick was proof Sunday of how a dominant car isn’t necessarily a winning car. So, no matter how prepared his Stewart-Haas Racing team has his Chevy for Dover, it still might not matter. And Harvick certainly will need to win to make the second round of the Chase.

▪ Joe Gibbs Racing keeps rolling with another victory, but Kyle Busch continues to have bad luck in the Chase. He will need a strong performance at Dover to move on.

▪ Drivers asked NASCAR to make the call on restart infractions and that’s what happened to Brad Keselowski. He didn’t seem to disagree with the call but also thought he was being made an example of.

They said it

▪ “We knew possibly he couldn’t make it.” – Kenseth crew chief Jason Ratcliff on Harvick’s chances at running out of gas.

▪ “To sustain it is the hardest part.” – Hamlin, on Joe Gibbs Racing’s recent domination.

▪ “It was a blue-collar day.” – Logano on his third-place finish.

This story was originally published September 27, 2015 at 9:04 PM with the headline "NASCAR Sylvania 300 Rewind: Kevin Harvick’s shot, gas don’t last."