NASCAR at Texas takeaways: Statement win advances Kevin Harvick to championship final

Having his back against the wall is a situation Kevin Harvick thrives in. Tell him something cannot be done, and he’ll fight, scrap, and do whatever he can to prove the naysayers and doubters wrong.

Such a mentality carries over to Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing team and is the backbone of a championship in 2014 and nearly another the following season. And on Sunday, that attitude was on full display in Harvick winning the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, a victory that automatically qualifies him for the championship playoff round and should make the other three drivers who will join him quite nervous.

Harvick ran down then passed Martin Truex Jr. with 10 laps remaining. Truex has dominated on mile-and-a-half tracks this season to the tune of six wins in nine races including four in a row, and another victory appeared his on Sunday as he led a race-high 107 laps.

But Truex’s aura of invincibility was smashed when Harvick adjusted his driving line over the closing laps by waiting longer to brake going into a corner as Truex struggled to work his way through slower traffic. This allowed Harvick to close the deficit and when Truex bobbled, he pounced.

It was Harvick’s first Texas victory in 30 starts, leaving just of two of 23 tracks on the Cup Series schedule where he’s winless.

“Damn it’s good to be in Victory Lane here in Texas,” Harvick said. “I knew I had a really good car, and I knew I needed to do something different, and I started driving it into Turn 1 just a whole lot deeper. I saw (Kyle Larson) doing that earlier in the race, and I was just concerned that I didn’t have the brakes to continue doing that all day. So I waited until the end and was able to get on the outside of Martin.”

Truex may have clinched a spot in the championship round with his runner-up finish, and his prowess on intermediate-sized tracks certainly makes him the favorite in two weeks at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But as Harvick has demonstrated countless times before, his chances of winning a second series crown cannot be discounted.

SHR co-owner Tony Stewart has seen this from his driver previously. Both in 2014 and 2015, Harvick made a habit of coming through in key playoff races, twice winning when facing elimination and once when the championship was at stake. The repeated clutch performances even compelled the competition to not so subtly suggest that crew chief Rodney Childers had done something nefarious to the No. 4 car to give it an unfair advantage. (Despite repeated scrutiny, no violations were ever found.)

On Sunday, Harvick’s Ford again passed post-race technical inspection without any issues. Which made Stewart’s warning that the three drivers who will have to face off against Harvick in two weeks anything but a hollow threat.

“I know Kevin, and I can tell watching his driving style, there’s something that those other three guys that are going to make it to Homestead, they’ve got something to be worried about,” Stewart said. “I’ve seen this man when he gets locked in like this, and he’s strong right now.”

The contact was inconsequential to Kyle Busch in the grand scheme. He had clinched a spot in the championship round by virtue of winning last week at Martinsville Speedway.

So when Busch got loose entering Turn 1 on the opening lap and slid into Brad Keselowski, the resulting damage that heavily contributed to a 19th-place finish could be met with a shrug of the shoulders. Points are irrelevant to Busch, with his focus on what happens in two weeks at Homestead.

There was no safety net for Keselowski, whose Ford suffered a cut left-rear tire necessitating an immediate trip to pit road. Once he returned to the track, he found himself nearly two laps down and in a race where he needed every point to avoid playoff elimination; it gave the appearance his title hopes were about to be snuffed out.

But when the checkered flag waved 500 miles later, there was Keselowski in the fifth spot, having staged an impressive rally that had him up 19 points over Denny Hamlin for the final transfer position heading into the semifinal elimination next week at Phoenix Raceway. A potentially disastrous afternoon had been salvaged.

“I’m disappointed with the way the race started,” Keselowski said. “It probably cost us 10 or more points, but I’m happy with the rebound. … It was a nice response for sure. That’s what you hope for.”

Although the margin between Keselowski and Hamlin is by no means large, it also isn’t miniscule. This affords Keselowski some degree of leeway, placing the onus on Hamlin and Ryan Blaney (-21 points) to execute and perhaps gamble to take the win if the opportunity presents itself.

Still, as Sunday showed, one mistake can quickly spell trouble even if that mistake isn’t your fault.

“Nineteen points isn’t terrible for a cushion,” Keselowski said. “We’ll need to go and have a solid race at Phoenix next week and hope none of the other guys wins. It’s doable, but it’s gonna be a nail-biter next week for sure.”

Not within striking distance of Keselowski are Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson. They trail by 49 and 51 points, respectively, and head to Phoenix where anything short of a win assures playoff elimination.

Elliott’s troubles began Friday when his Chevrolet failed prequalifying technical inspection, preventing him from making a lap. He subsequently started 34th on Sunday and recovered to finish eighth, a respectable result though not good enough considering Harvick and Truex locked up two of the three available transfer positions accompanied with Keselowski’s astonishing recovery.

But at least Elliott was competitive. The same couldn’t be said of Johnson, who labored to finish 27th, three laps down. That’s especially disappointing as Texas is a track where he’s won seven times — most recently in April.

Lending further credence that things are seriously awry with the No. 48 team, which consistently has lacked speed and execution throughout the playoffs, is evident by Johnson leading only 29 laps and never a serious threat to challenge Truex. If it wasn’t before, it certainly is now: Johnson’s bid to win back-to-back championships is a remote possibility at best.

“I’m definitely disappointed,” Johnson said. “I honestly just feel bad for my team. These guys are working so hard. And to work this hard and not see any speed go back in the car and have bad results as the last three weeks have been is pretty disappointing.”