Kevin Harvick

So NASCAR will race for the only time under the lights during the Chase, Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. I love Saturday night races, so I am a big fan of this even. Plus as much as people complain about the "cookie cutter tracks," the high banked high speed tracks like Charlotte or Atlanta or Texas are my favorites. "Obviously, a night race in the Chase is big for any race track," said Denny Hamlin. "But especially big being in the backyard of everyone's house. I just look forward to it. We run well there so I'm excited to go. " There are a lot of big guns that run well at Charlotte, none the least of which is the man who stunk up the show last week in Kansas, five-time champ Jimmie Johnson.

Jimmie Johnson may have lead the most laps, but Kurt Busch lead the one that counts, taking the checkered flag in the third race of the Chase for the Championship at the Dover International Speedway. Johnson lead 157 laps and finished second. Carl Edwards, who had to rebound from a pit road speeding penalty finished third, with Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth rounding out the top 5. The race also shook up the Chase for the Championship standings. Kevin Harvick, who finished tenth is the new points leader, with Edwards second.

The Magic Mile gave Kyle Busch a chance to show his mastery. Busch started from the pole and dominated Saturday's F.W. Webb 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a race in which only six Camping World Truck Series entries finished on the lead lap. Busch, who led 165 of 175 laps, crossed the finish line 3.816 seconds ahead of runner-up Austin Dillon to post his sixth win in 14 starts this season and the 30th victory of his career. Kevin Harvick finished third, followed by Ron Hornaday Jr. and Johnny Sauter.

There is definitely something different about starting the chase at Chicagoland. But I'm all for shaking things up a little bit so lets do it. It's not as if we have a choice anyway. "I'm excited. I love change," said Kevin Harvick, the second seeded driver in the chase. "I think we should change it up every year. Chicago is a great city. There's a lot going on Chicago this weekend as we go there to start the Chase and I'm looking forward to it. " Five time champion Jimmie Johnson agrees.

Kevin Harvick snapped out of his slump in time to storm into the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Harvick picked up his fourth win of the season Saturday night by winning at Richmond International Raceway. The victory ties Kyle Busch for most in the Sprint Cup Series, and puts the two rivals at the top of the Chase standings. The 10-race Chase begins next Sunday at Chicago. The field will include Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will race for the championship for the first time since 2008.

NASCAR says Kevin Harvick has clinched at least a wild-card berth in the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Harvick was not listed among drivers who had clinched after Saturday night's race at Bristol because there are still scenarios where he could fall outside of the top 10 in points. Further review Monday by NASCAR determined his three victories this season have earned him at minimum one of the two wild cards. Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards officially clinched berths on Saturday night.

Sprint Cup drivers remained tightlipped rather than second-guess NASCAR for the no-caution finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway last week. Kevin Harvick passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his third victory of the season when Earnhardt ran out of gas in the final lap, but wouldn't even acknowledge any controversy over the decision not to throw a yellow when Jeff Burton spun in traffic. Earnhardt likely would have coasted to his first win in almost three years had the caution come out. He also steered clear of the issue, though he noted his fans' bitter disappointment.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of gas coming out of the final turn of the Coca-Cola 600, giving Kevin Harvick the win in NASCAR's longest race of the year. Earnhardt had jumped out to a sizable lead on the final restart of Sunday night's race. It was a two-lap "overtime" sprint to the finish, and Earnhardt knew stretching his gas to the finish was going to be tough. His Chevrolet ran dry as he roared through the final turn, and Harvick sailed past for his third win of the season.

North Carolina authorities say a sheriff's deputy clocked NASCAR driver Kyle Busch going 128 mph in a 45 mph zone and that he has been cited for careless and reckless driving and speeding. Busch said in a statement Tuesday that he was driving a new sports car and got carried away. He apologized and said it would never happen again. Iredell County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Darren Campbell says a deputy stopped Busch's 2012 yellow Lexus sports car on a road between Troutman and Mooresville, where the 26-year-old driver lives.

A little bit of strategy and a whole lot of late race speed allowed Matt Kenseth to pull away late to win the FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway. Kenseth led the final 32 laps Sunday to win for the second time this season. He joins Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch as two time winners. "I'm not a big one for kissing guys, but if (engine builder) Doug Yates was here, I'd probably kiss him right now," said Kenseth after the race. Mark Martin was second and Marcos Ambrose third.