Kevin Harvick started ninth in Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 but was not a contender until late in the race. Fighting an ill-handling car, Harvick told his crew at one point the No. 29 RCR was “junk.’ Coming back to life after halfway, Harvick passed race leader Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with four laps to go, not the most popular move with the fans, to seal his second win in two weeks.

VICTORY LANE
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Closing in on 100 races run without a victory but is showing he is close.
Kevin Harvick – Two wins in a row, what’s not to like. (Except the “he is the best closer in racing” line)
Kyle Busch – Leading 151 laps again for two weeks in a row, another strong performance that has him leading the points.

THE GARAGE
Tony Stewart – Sorry “Smoke” fans he knew he gave away Las Vegas and now they are barely hanging onto the Chase with three bad races in a row.
J.J. Yeley, Mike Skinner, and Joe Nemechek – Not really the drivers but their respective teams that parked the cars less than 1/10th of the way through because of “Brake issues”. Really?

Storyline that we will remember: Harvick spoiling Junior Nation the victory they are searching for.

Storyline that we will forget: Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. Causing a Red flag delay with their wreck on lap 221. Thank You NASCAR for the Safer Barriers.

Quote of the Week:  "I want to run like this. I want to finish like this and run a little better than this on every weekend, and we are right on the outside of that. You know, and it's frustrating to be that close. It was frustrating to be leading the race inside of 10 laps to go and be passed. But there's definitely a brighter side to what's going on, too, and I won't forget to notice that." – Dale Earnhardt Jr. It was good seeing him out front again,

Tweet of the Week: @AllWaltrip “and the beat goes on,what a day,this is the best racing I've seen in years and today took he cake. I was hoping Harv would do the shuffle!” IF you are on Twitter and you are not following me you should at least follow Darrell Waltrip because he still loves racing and you can tell when you read his opinions.

Power Rankings
(Rankings will be based off of who is running the best, with an emphasis on the last several races but having respect for the duration of the 36 race schedule. Last Week’s Rankings can be found in parenthesis.)
1. (4)Kyle Busch – Points Leader, Last 3 races 455 laps led and 3 top three finishes.
2. (2)Carl Edwards-  Second in points and has a win that Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman do not have.
3. (3)Kurt Busch – Bad race day at Martinsville, still finished 16th
4. (1)Ryan Newman –  Falls from 2nd to 6th in points after a poor performance at Martinsvile.
5. (11) Kevin Harvick – Will be virtually impossible to miss the Chase now with 2 wins.
6. (8) Jimmie Johnson – After the bad start at Daytona, sitting 3rd in points.
7. (7) Juan Pablo Montoya- Short Tracks are not Montoya’s forte and we know that but a 4th place finish puts him up to 7th in the Sprint Cup Standings.
8. (10)Jeff Gordon – Still in the Chase because of the win at Phoenix.
9. (12) Matt Kenseth – Another solid finish and this points system is going to benefit a driver like Kenseth when it comes to making the Chase. He will need to win some races though to capture his Second Cup title.
10. (NR) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Up to 8th in the points and going to two tracks where he has had successful runs in the past.
11. (NR) Mark Martin – In the Chase currently, which means that all 4 Hendrick Cars would be in.
12. (NR) A.J. Allmendinger – Would be out of the Chase right now but is in contention.

Driver of the Week: Kevin Harvick – First repeat winner of the year.

Stat of the Week: 31 lead changes which is a Track Record.

Prediction for Texas: Winner – Tony Stewart

Strong Finisher – Juan Pablo Montoya

Question of the Week: What Driver in the Chase will not make it and what Driver will get in?

Send me your responses on twitter @thomaseharris or leave a comment on facebook and I will gladly respond.

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