Kevin Harvick takes pole after rain washes out Dover qualifying

• Associated Press

DOVER, Del. -- When the rain hit Dover, Kevin Harvick was prepared.
Harvick's team made the call in the middle of the week to send the No. 4 Chevrolet out for practice in its qualifying setup because rain was forecast for Friday.
With a Sprint Cup starting lineup set by practice speeds in the event of a qualifying rainout, Harvick had a needed edge. He posted the fastest lap of 165.145 mph in the only practice at Dover International Speedway and starts first for the first time this season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. joins Harvick on the front row for Sunday's race. Joe Gibbs Racing placed Kyle Busch third and Carl Edwards fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top five. Stenhouse earned his third top-five start of the season.
"It's a tough place to run well at consistently every time you come here," Earnhardt said. "I definitely love the banks and the size of the track is pretty good too."
Harvick, who had not won a pole through the first 11 races of the season, won the fall race at Dover.
"The guys have done a great job prepping the cars and hit on some things that we like," Harvick said. "It has worked well over the past few years."
The 2014 Cup champion, Harvick has one win this season and a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship secured.
But several other drivers who are regulars in the win column have a big zero next to their name -- notably Kurt Busch, Earnhardt, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, and Martin Truex Jr.
The lone practice was marred by a three-car accident that involved Danica Patrick, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray.

 

 

1. #31 Ryan Newman
2. #18 Kyle Busch
3. #4 Kevin Harvick

 

#1 Harvick
#2 Johnson
#3 Kyle Busch

 

So much for getting to watch, or even listen, to the race. Plans changed, and I was on the road, somewhere in Nebraska, where I had absolutely no data available to my phone. Aside from a brief stop at a rest area in Iowa last night, I didn't have data till this morning.

I'm scoring things now.

 

Congrats to BeachBumMike on winning Dover! I apologize for being so late again on the points. I don't have any data when we come across the northern plains like that, and I didn't even know who won the race until the end of my drive shift today when we got into the Chicago area.

I'll have the stats thread updated in a few. Next week is the All Star race! I'll have the thread up for that shortly.

 

Hi `SgtMajor `Drew, No need to apologize 4-Sure. You can only do, what you can only do Your job has to come first...
Thanks for your updates on the NASCAR points + starting our MCF `Blog today...

I hope you are enjoying your new job & I'm sure that you will be happy when you finish your training & get your own rig. Wish you the best & I hope that you will be able to catch some of the races.

My picks have just been LUCK

Thanks Drew for your time & dedication...