The Chase for the Sprint Cup standings following the AAA 400 on Sunday at Dover International Speedway:
Kevin Harvick (Tied for lead, finished 10th Sunday): He didn't have the fastest car at Dover, but he showed that consistency pays off under NASCAR's points system. He's had finishes of second, 12th and 10th in the three Chase races and still leads the standings. "It's just a matter of keeping yourself in it until you get to the last couple of races, and if you can keep yourself in contention, hopefully you've eliminated most of the other guys in the Chase," he said.
Carl Edwards (Tied for lead overall, finished third): He had the fastest car, but a penalty for speeding on pit road put him a lap down in mid-race. Still he battled back, caught the caution flags just right, and was right behind the first two drivers when the checkered flag fell. "As frustrated as I am with myself for messing that up, I'm really, really grateful for the gift that was given to us with that caution and the ability to come back up there," he said.
Tony Stewart (nine points behind, finished 25th): After winning the first two Chase races, he had the worst finish of the 12 Chase drivers at Dover, a track he expressed concern about before the race. But he didn't sound like he was going to let one poor showing ruin his championship bid. "Well, we've got seven weeks to worry about it, so we'll see," he said.
Kurt Busch (minus-9, finished first): He beat his chief nemesis Jimmie Johnson on two late-race restarts to take the win a week after a disappointing outing at New Hampshire. He credited his crew chief Steve Addington with making the calls that made his car better as the race went on and with making the right strategy calls. "I've got to thank … Steve Addington for the right changes, the right time, the right sequence of two tires versus four," Busch said. "He was in the zone."
Jimmie Johnson (minus-13, finished second): Just as some people in NASCAR were about to write him off as a title contender, the five-time and defending champion bounced back with a strong finish and moved back into the thick of the points battle. "We'll just keep fighting hard," he said. "I hate leaving points on the table, and we have these first three [races]."
Brad Keselowski (minus-14, finished 20th): He overcame a setback caused by a broken power-steering belt and salvaged a finish that keeps him in contention for the championship. Now he heads to Kansas Speedway as the Cup circuit's most recent winner at the track. "I'm certainly looking forward to that one," he said. "I'm looking forward to all of them."
Matt Kenseth (minus-14, finished fifth): His team elected to take four tires on the race's final pit stop while most of his challengers took two, but he regained most of the positions he lost on pit road. "As good as everybody is these days and as equal as everybody is, it's important to get a good finish every week," he said.
Kyle Busch (minus-15, finished sixth): He didn't have the speed he often does at places like Dover, but he maintained his position in the top 10 throughout the race. "We're still in the thing, so you keep fighting and keep doing what you know how to do," he said.
Jeff Gordon (minus-19, finished 12th): He overcame a poor qualifying effort, but still didn't get the result he was looking for. "We worked our way forward pretty quick from that 34th position, which we were hoping to do, but once we got up there I made some mistakes, and we just didn't have it on the restarts," he said.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (minus-34, finished 24th): He had a loose sway bar at the start of the race and a loose wheel later on, ruining his chances for a strong finish. But he's not giving up. "We are still alive, and we will keep racing as hard as we can until the last lap at Homestead," he said.
Ryan Newman (minus-41, finished 23rd): He and his team missed the set-up from the start, and the final results reflected that. "We have to put this weekend behind us and move on," he said. "We're a much better team than where we finished."
Denny Hamlin (minus-68, finished 18th): Last year's runner-up still can't get on track this year. He was fast for a while early on at Dover, but faded as the race went on. "We kind of didn't have that good of a car," he said.
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