Chase Race No. 5: Sparks Fly as Harvick Wins in Charlotte

Kevin Harvick celebrates his first win in months (Photo: Google Images)

Five races down and five to go. We are halfway through the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup and the tension is beginning to rise. Kevin Harvick was one of the strongest cars in Saturday night's Bank of America 500 and he was finally able to capitalize on his speed and close the deal, winning the race and locking himself into round three of the Chase. So even if they wreck at Talladega next week, both he and Joey Logano know their title hopes are still alive.

However, the teams at the bottom of the standings didn't do themselves any favors. Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth now face elimination heading to next week's race at Talladega. All of these drivers showed promise in Saturday's event, but they all saw their night's quickly unravel and the pressure is clearly getting to many of them.

Earnhardt Jr's night was the first to go south. While running in the top five, he was still fighting the same vibration his team was battling all weekend. They changed tires, hubs, everything that might cause a wheel to shake, but that didn't solve the issue. Then it became evident that the problem was in the transmission because the car shook so violently, the shifter lever broke in half and had to be hastily repaired by his No. 88 crew. However, NASCAR's most popular driver only lost one lap and managed to rally to a 20th place finish. But despite this charge, he is still at the bottom of the standings.

Johnson, normally dominant at Charlotte Motor Speedway, had a very uneventful night. This proved to be both good and bad because, while driver No. 48 avoided trouble, he was never up front to lead any laps or take a shot at the victory. He came home a mediocre 17th and is one spot above teammate Earnhardt Jr in the standings.

Now to the fireworks. Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski made contact going for the lead on a late restart when Keselowski went high to block Kenseth, sending him into the outside wall and dropping Kenseth back in the field. Keselowski also managed to irk Kenseth's teammate Denny Hamlin, a driver he has irritated many times in the past, when the two were racing for position on the last lap. After the race, Hamlin brake checked Keselowski on the cool down lap, which prompted Keselowski to try and turn Hamlin's No. 11. Keselowski's No. 2 then barreled down pit road, hit Kenseth's car as Kenseth was taking off his helmet and safety belts and bumped into the No. 14 of Tony Stewart. Because he was an innocent bystander, Stewart then backed his car into Keselowski's, demolishing the front end of the No. 2 Ford.

In the garage, the excitement continued. Hamlin tried to get to Keselowski, but was restrained by NASCAR officials and his crew. However, Kenseth was not restrained, all but tackling Keselowski as he tried to enter his hauler. This led to both drivers crews and several officials having to break up the excitement. Hamlin finished in ninth position, while Keselowski and Kenseth were not as lucky, finishing sixteenth and nineteenth respectively and facing elimination heading to Talladega.

Both videos are linked from NASCAR's YouTube account.

So if this was the race before Talladega, imagine the intensity these drivers will be racing with on NASCAR's biggest track next weekend. The final race in round two, four more drivers will be eliminated from the Chase, facing "the Big One" and more than likely unable to control their own destiny. This will no doubt prove to be one of, if not the most exciting Chase race since the Chase format began a decade ago.