But it doesn’t seem like it.
In a must-win situation on Sunday at Dover, the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion led 355-of-400 laps on his way to Victory Lane, punching his ticket to the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
“We’re still in the battle and still looking forward to the challenge of just trying to make it to the next round,” said Harvick after the race. “We lived to fight another day.”
Now, Harvick has the same amount of points as the 11 other drivers remaining in NASCAR’s playoffs (3,000), heading into the first race of the Contender Round – Saturday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (7 p.m. on NBC), an event he won last season on the road to his first title.
In 29 career starts at CMS, Harvick owns three wins, five top fives and 12 top 10s. It took Harvick 10 years to get his first win at Charlotte (May 2011), but he has placed in the top 10 in nine of his last 10 races there.
“I’m 100 percent good with (my history at Charlotte), especially the last three or four years at Richard Childress Racing we were able to perform there and win a couple races,” Harvick said. “It’s been very good to us since I’ve been at Stewart-Haas Racing. It just took a long time to figure out.”
Harvick’s win at Dover was his third consecutive victory in a Chase cutoff race. He has shown a penchant for excelling under pressure and in the limelight. The Bank of America 500 is the only night race in the Chase and Harvick’s four wins in “prime time” since 2013 are the most in NASCAR.
“I would never say that I don’t feel pressure,” Harvick said. “I think how you act in those pressure types of situations can be altered in those situations. I think as you look at the pressure it can be motivating or devastating. Fortunately, at this particular point, the pressure has been motivating.”
Source: NASCAR Wire Service
