NASCAR Cup Series

Kevin Harvick has trouble early at the Monster Mile

Published Oct. 2, 2016 2:47 p.m. ET

foxsports

If you want to know just how big a race win is, Kevin Harvick proved exactly how big it is on Sunday.

Harvick came into the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway as the defending race winner. And his win at New Hampshire International Speedway a week earlier meant Harvick was guaranteed to advance to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 12, no matter what happened at Dover.

Turns out that was a good thing as in the opening 35 laps of the Dover race, Harvick cut a rear tire and had to bring the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet into the garage for repairs.

But on this Sunday, it was just a minor inconvenience as he'll move onto the Round of 12 next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway with 3,000 points, the same as every other remaining Chase driver.