Updated July 28
As big as the debacle was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, the impact on Chase contenders was minimal, with just two -- Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth -- taking major hits, only one because of the tire issues that plagued the event.
Harvick was the first of the two to suffer misfortune at a track at which he had excelled over the years (he won from the pole in 2003 and had five top 10 finishes in seven starts).
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| A blown tire ruined Matt Kenseth's chances of victory Sunday at Indy. (Getty Images) |
"I was just trying to hold position waiting for the competition yellow to fly when I got loose and just overcorrected into the 29 car," Busch said.
Harvick, who entered the race ninth in points, had to spend several laps in the pits for repairs. He finished the day 12 laps down in 37th and dropped out of the top 12 in the standings, two points behind his Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer.
"My guys did a great job getting me back out there after the accident so early in the race," said Harvick, who was able to extend his streak of races without a DNF to 64. "I want to thank the fans for supporting us and the other cars and staying out here today to watch despite the situation that we had out there. We will just go on to Pocono. Hopefully we will be good and I think we will be fine for the Chase."
Kenseth, who had four top fives in his eight previous trips to Indianapolis, had high hopes of winning his first Brickyard after qualifying 10th and putting his car toward the top of the charts in practice. But his afternoon took a turn for the worse on Lap 46 when he became a victim of the blown tires everybody was so concerned about.
"It's a really, really, really disappointing situation," said Kenseth, who finished 38th and dropped three spots in the standings to 11th, just six points ahead of Harvick.
"This one of the two biggest races of the year, and to never have this tire here before and not come and do an open test and to work on these things and work on the tires, it's pretty darn disappointing. We had a great car today."
Power Rankings after Indianapolis:
| POWER RANKINGS | ||
| Current | Driver | Previous |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 1 |
| Next to Martinsville, there probably isn't a better track for Johnson and his 48 team to try to rebound than Phoenix, where he has three wins, seven top fives, 10 top 10s and an average finish of fifth in 12 starts. | ||
| 2 | Mark Martin | 2 |
| Martin was OK in the first half of Sunday's race but really came on in the second half to snag a top five. That allowed him to close the gap on Johnson from 184 to 73 points. And there's even more good news for the 5 team as the series shifts Phoenix: Martin won at the track in April. | ||
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | 3 |
| Troubles at Talladega and Texas left him outside the top 10 in back-to-back races for the first time since May. | ||
| 4 | Tony Stewart | 5 |
| A good, solid effort from the 14 team throughout at Texas, just didn't have enough to challenge the Busch brothers for supremacy. | ||
| 5 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 4 |
| He started 20th and had made gains into the top 10 until he got loose running next to Carl Edwards, taking them both out. | ||
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | 6 |
| He was stout early, racing from 25th into the top five, but poor pit stops and contact with the wall had the 11 car reeling in the second half of the race. So his team gambled and won on fuel mileage to pull out second. | ||
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 7 |
| Not only did he have a great car, but great fuel mileage as well. He was always one of the last to pit after every long green-flag run at Texas. | ||
| 8 | Kyle Busch | 10 |
| On the verge of an historical triple victory weekend at Texas, he runs out of fuel just a couple laps from the finish. Tough way to end Dave Rogers' first race as crew chief of the 18 car. | ||
| 9 | Ryan Newman | 9 |
| Struggled with a loose car at Texas, running just 61 laps in the top 15. | ||
| 10 | Matt Kenseth | 12 |
| His 17 team continues to show late-season improvement. He had the best finish (third) of those who pitted for gas instead of gambling. | ||
| 11 | Clint Bowyer | 14 |
| A steady run for Bowyer, who finishes in the top 10 at Texas for the third time in his past four visits. | ||
| 12 | Greg Biffle | 13 |
| Notched his second consecutive top 10 and third of the Chase. | ||
| 13 | Kasey Kahne | 8 |
| After starting second, he dropped like a rock. Ran in the teens most of the day until his engine went sour in the waning laps, leading to a 33rd-place finish. | ||
| 14 | Carl Edwards | 11 |
| Four consecutive finishes outside the top 10 including two finishes of 39th. There wasn't a whole lot he could do to avoid Montoya getting up into him Sunday at Texas. | ||
| 15 | Kevin Harvick | 15 |
| Earns his fourth top five of the season at Texas, his first since a second-place run at Atlanta in early September. | ||
