CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Clint Bowyer gave Richard Childress Racing a victory by winning the opening Chase for the championship event.
But that win at New Hampshire has been the lone bright spot for RCR's three-car organization. Kevin Harvick has had tire troubles, Jeff Burton was just average in both Chase races, and Bowyer followed his win with a sub-par performance at Dover International Speedway.
Although Bowyer is fifth in the standings and just 18 points out of the lead, Burton is eighth and Harvick is ninth, and many have already written them off in the race for the Nextel Cup title.
But Burton, who is 75 points behind first, said it's too early to count anyone out of contention. With eight races to go, he thinks everyone still has a shot.
"I don't think the Chase truly comes in focus until the sixth race," he said. "There may be some people in the fourth race where you might say, 'That guy is definitely out,' but I don't think you can completely eliminate people.
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"There is still time to make things happen. I think the fifth or sixth race is when you can start really focusing in on who's going for the title."
Under that logic, the RCR gang has about a month to get rolling.
Harvick has had tremendous tire troubles in the first two Chase races. He had two flat tires in New Hampshire and finished 17th, and was forced to pit under green at Dover because of a loose wheel.
It put him two laps down, and he had to pit again under green for another flat tire. He was running as low as 37th, but rallied for a 20th-place finish.
"If it wasn't for bad luck, I don't think we would have any luck at all this year," said Harvick, who is 115 points behind.
Burton was off at New Hampshire, where he finished 18th, and was running near the back for much of Sunday's race. But as car after car fell out, and a 12-car accident knocked out several title contenders, he seemingly stole a seventh-place finish.
Even though both races were struggles, Burton is confident he's still a title threat.
"You won't win it or lose it in one race or two races. Instead, you need to start positioning yourself to make a run at it," he said.
Bowyer did just that with his first Nextel Cup victory at New Hampshire. But his follow-up was nothing short of a struggle as he had an awful qualifying run that gave him the 42nd starting position. That meant he had to share the final pit stall with Michael Waltrip for the first part of the race, and it took meticulous communication to pull it off.
He was then in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was collected in an accident involving Kyle Petty and Denny Hamlin. When the dust settled, he scored a hard-fought 12th-place finish.
Now he heads home for Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway.
"I can't wait to get back home," he said. "It's so nerve-racking to go to your home track because that's where you want to be able to perform and run well. If you can run up front, lead laps and be in contention to win in front of the hometown crowd, that's important."
Bowyer, who grew up about 100 miles away from the track in Emporia, made his Nextel Cup debut at Kansas last season. He started sixth, led three times for 43 laps, but spun his car late and faded to ninth.
