Kevin Harvick is costing himself a second NASCAR championship

The identifiable characteristic to Kevin Harvick’s championship run of a year ago was an ability to thrive under the intense pressure that a knockout-style, win-and-you-advance format generates.

From the beginning of the Chase for the Sprint Cup to its conclusion, Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers employed near flawless execution throughout all 10 playoff races. And when faced with adversity in the form of Matt Kenseth inadvertently wrecking Harvick at Martinsville Speedway, the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team conquered the challenge.

Needing a win in the penultimate race to qualify for the championship round, Harvick delivered a dominant victory at Phoenix International Raceway. And the next week with the title on the line, he again came through. First, charging from 15th to the lead over the final 15 laps, then by surpassing fellow championship contender Ryan Newman on a restart with four laps remaining.

But whereas Harvick and Childers staged an exhibition last season on how to flourish when playoff intensity is at its most collar-tightening, sweat-inducing moment, this postseason has seen the driver and crew chief come unnerved.

The first hiccup came in the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway, when Joey Logano shoved Jimmie Johnson to the apron on a restart. Wanting to avoid backsliding through the field, Johnson deftly stayed on the gas and pulled alongside Harvick, who was leading.

At that juncture Harvick had two choices: 1) Allow Johnson up the track and concede the favorable line entering Turn 1, a move that assuredly would have cost the defending champion several positions, or 2) Hold his ground, requiring Johnson to determine whether to aggressively force the issue.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but Harvick should have conceded the spot to Johnson. Yes, track position is critical and every position is important -- especially in the Chase -- except on lap 135 of 267 playing it safe with an eye on the big picture was the better approach. Harvick chose otherwise.

Inevitably, he and Johnson made contact just past the start/finish line damaging the left rear of Harvick’s car creating a tire rub that saw smoke immediately emanate.

The onus now fell on Childers to prevent one mistake from snowballing into something bigger. And just like his driver, the crew chief made the wrong decision. Instead of calling for a pit stop to fix the damage to assure Harvick didn’t cut a tire, Childers kept Harvick on the track. Three laps later, the left-rear tire exploded and Harvick went spinning into the Turn 3 wall, finishing 42nd.

Had Childers acted with prudence, Harvick would have pitted and from there, a rally could commence in an attempt to salvage a respectable result. If that had occurred, the imperativeness of needing a high finish -- or even a win -- on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway would have been lessened considerably. There would be no need to gamble on fuel mileage -- Childers estimated Harvick was six laps shy -- and take an unnecessary risk.

Yet when faced with another critical decision, Childers again blinked. When given the opportunity to pit under caution, he delayed until Harvick was already past the entrance to pit road. The crew chief explained to Harvick over the radio his video monitor had an unknown delay, except that decision should have been made before Harvick was even near the commitment line, not in the final seconds.

Childers later explained on Twitter that data showed Harvick should have had enough fuel to make it to the finish, saying the likely culprit was either the crew not filling the car completely during its final pit stop or a fuel cell bladder “coming apart.”

Regardless, considering the circumstances they found themselves in because of their collective failure at Chicagoland, if Harvick was close to running out of fuel, then Childers needed to have Harvick pit. Because if the No. 4 car ran dry, which happened with three laps to go, a disastrous finish would place them in the unenviable position they find themselves now -- where anything short of a victory on Sunday at Dover International Speedway guarantees playoff elimination.

Barring another astounding victory in a must-win situation, Harvick’s title defense will end prematurely. And the blame is solely on self-inflicted entirely preventable mistakes committed by driver and crew chief alike.