Kevin Harvick will have a very good chance to make up for his win that didn’t count last week as the NASCAR Playoffs reach their penultimate race.
If you don’t succeed within the rules, try, try again. Something along those lines has to be the motto for Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team, as they attempt to lock up a place in the Championship 4, starting from the pole in the Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.
Harvick’s bunch thought they accomplished that goal last week, dominating at Texas and sweeping every stage before taking the checkered flag. But an L1-level penalty wiped that win off the board for championship purposes, and the 40 points NASCAR docked them also left Harvick precariously on the bubble for Homestead.
That’s given new life to Kurt Busch, who can now realistically make it into the Championship 4 on points, even without a win. Two drivers are now guaranteed to qualify to run for the title on points — three if Joey Logano wins at Phoenix — leaving Kurt Busch in great shape if he can just finish a few spots above Harvick. He’ll have some work to do, though, as he starts the race 14th.
On the other end of the spectrum, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer more or less need to win the Can-Am 500 to advance. They’ll roll off 18th and 16th, respectively, and can throw caution to the wind as they do whatever it takes to get to Victory Lane.
Other drivers still alive in the NASCAR Playoffs are all over the lineup, from Chase Elliott in second to Kyle Busch in sixth to Martin Truex Jr. in 13th. All of them will be chasing Harvick to start, and whether Happy can keep them in his rear view mirror will be the most fascinating part of Sunday’s race.
Coverage from ISM Raceway is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. on NBC, and we’ll have all kinds of articles here at FanSided.com and a writer on the ground in Phoenix to keep you fully abreast of everything that happens to set the field for Homestead.
2018 Can-Am 500 starting grid for ISM Raceway (Phoenix)
(p) – Driver still in contention in NASCAR Playoffs
- Kevin Harvick (p) – No. 4 Busch Light Ford
- Chase Elliott (p) – No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – No. 17 Ford
- Ryan Blaney – No. 12 PPG Ford
- Alex Bowman – No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet
- Kyle Busch (p) – No. 18 M&M’s Toyota
- Erik Jones – No. 20 Sirius XM Toyota
- Kyle Larson – No. 42 DC Solar Chevrolet
- Joey Logano (p) – No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford
- Denny Hamlin – No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota
- Paul Menard – No. 21 Menards/Cardell Ford
- Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford
- Martin Truex Jr. (p) – No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota
- Kurt Busch (p) – No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford
- Austin Dillon – No. 3 American Ethanol e15 Chevrolet
- Clint Bowyer (p) – No. 14 ITsavvy Ford
- Matt Kenseth – No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford
- Aric Almirola (p) – No. 10 Smithfield Ford
- William Byron – No. 24 Hertz Chevrolet
- Jimmie Johnson – No. 48 Lowe’s Power of Pride Chevrolet
- Jamie McMurray – No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet
- Ryan Newman – No. 31 Cat Global Mining Chevrolet
- Michael McDowell – No. 34 Love’s/Luber Finer Ford
- AJ Allmendinger – No. 47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet
- Chris Buescher – No. 37 Gain Chevrolet
- Daniel Suarez – No. 19 Stanley Toyota
- Matt DiBenedetto – No. 32 Can-Am/Wholey Ford
- Ty Dillon – No. 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet
- Regan Smith – No. 95 Procore Chevrolet
- Bubba Wallace – No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet
- David Ragan – No. 38 Trident Seafoods Wild Alaska Pollock Ford
- Landon Cassill – No. 00 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
- Ross Chastain – No. 15 Ternio Chevrolet
- Cole Whitt – No. 72 Standard Plumbing Supply Chevrolet
- JJ Yeley – No. 23 She Beverage Company Toyota
- Tanner Berryhill – No. 97 Obaika Racing Toyota
- Timmy Hill – No. 66 Rewards.com Toyota
- D.J. Kennington – No. 7 APC/Northern Provincial Pipelines Chevrolet
- Cody Ware – No. 51 Jacob Companies Ford
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