Right on course
Kevin Harvick’s vision of road courses’ growing importance on the Cup circuit pays off with a win,
S ONOMA, CALIF. If you missed the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway, don’t worry. USA TODAY Sports has three key takeaways from the first of two road-course stops on the 36-race calendar.
1. Shifting gears: There was a cyclical quality to Kevin Harvick’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday. He and crew chief Rodney Childers had begun emphasizing the current twice-yearly forays away from the oval tracks that dominate the 36-race schedule when it became likely that a third would be inserted into the playoffs at Charlotte Motor Speedway next season.
And the byproduct was a first win of the season that secured his berth into the 10-race playoff that begins Sept. 17. It was a payoff a year early.
“I’m not saying that this race is not important and Watkins Glen is not important because now with the stages and the playoff points and all those things, but when you talk about it being in the (playoffs), you’ve got to have it right,” Harvick said. “I think for me, that was kind of like, ‘All right, you’ve got to do something yourself to get better.’ ”
Harvick and Childers announced in late April that he would contest the K&N Pro Series West Race at Sonoma, which was held this weekend, with Jefferson Pitts Racing and the Xfinity Series contest at Watkins Glen International in August with StewartHaas Racing.
NASCAR announced in late May that CMS’s playoff date would shift to the first-round finale in 2018 and the surface to a 13-turn, 2.4-mile course.
SHR built the transmission and fitted the seat for the K&N car Harvick won in Saturday. He led twice for 24 laps in winning the Cup on Sunday, improving his stats at Sonoma to a win and average finish of 13.8 in 17 starts. He has a win and an average finish of 13.2 in 16 starts at Watkins Glen. 2. That was something … : Road-course racing engenders divergent strategies as crew chiefs attempt to square the consumption of fuel and tires with the minimum amount of pit stops needed to complete a race. The first application of stage racing added another element Sunday as teams also were forced to reconcile the pursuit of segment wins and race points against setting up a worthy car for a potential victory bid. A long green-flag run to end the race changed the dynamic after an explosive first two stages and drivers were left wondering, it seemed, what was happening and ultimately what happened.
“I had no earthly idea what was going on. I passed so many cars,” said Jimmie Johnson, who led 12 laps and finished 13th. “I don’t even know what strategy won. It was very difficult to know what was going on from inside the car..”
3. It’s getting tight: Harvick had averaged four wins a season in three years with SHR and had been in contention numerous times in 2017. Now, that’s 10 of 16 playoff spots absorbed by race winners. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth have been shut out. Chase Elliott appears to be getting closer to a first Cup win. A scramble could ensue if one of them, or a surprise driver, steps up.