So it begins. The 2015 Nascar Chase for the Sprint Cup. 16 drivers. 10 races. 4 rounds. And 1 champion. That is the way it goes. You can win all three races in the first round and then be eliminated in the second round. So be consistent. The first race took place in Chicagoland.

Kevin Harvick started on the pole, thanks to his practice speeds and a little bit of rain. Kevin led several of the first laps. It only took three laps for trouble to find one of the Chase drivers. Denny Hamlin was spun on lap three and lost a lap.

After Hamlin’s spin, the race went green for 116 laps. Wow. That nearly tied Chicagoland’s record. A debris caution finally ended the long streak, and several cautions followed afterwards. Kevin Harvick was one of the fastest drivers on track, but there were several who were at least his equal.

Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Jeff Gordon were his competition. However, as a race progresses contenders tend to disappear. Ironically, Gordon and the Busch brothers weren’t the contenders to be eliminated. Harvick was. And he went down fighting.

On a restart at the mid-point of the race, Kevin was in the lead. Jimmie Johnson was restarting behind him. On the restart Johnson was shoved to the bottom of the track, directly below Harvick. Johnson turned his car up the track, right into Harvick. He slammed Kevin hard. How Johnson failed to notice Harvick there is beyond me, but he hit him. Hard. Three laps later Harvick’s left rear tire blew, sending him into the outside wall. When Kevin returned to the track, he was in 42nd, and that is where he finished. As he pulled out on track, he pointed at Johnson’s crew, visibly enraged about the result.

As the race unfolded Jeff Gordon and the Busch brothers were evidently the drivers to beat. Kurt Busch was the leader late in the race, and it seemed that there were none who could catch him. However, with just ten laps left, a caution flew. There was a giant piece of metal on the track. What are the odds?

Several drivers elected to come on pit road for fresh tires, but Kurt, Gordon, and Denny Hamlin, who had recovered from his early spin, all stayed on the track.

Kurt and Gordon restarted 1-2, but it seemed as if they just disappeared. Both were slow on the restart, and cars on fresher tires passed them, However, as the white flag wave, Denny Hamlin was in the lead, with Carl Edwards hot on his tail. Were in the name of crazy did Hamlin come from!? Carl had fresh tires, but Hamlin seemed to have a decent lead over Carl. And he maintained that lead.

Denny won his second race of the season, and two weeks after tearing his ACL in his right knee. He is the second driver at Joe Gibbs Racing to rebound after a leg injury and win this year. Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, you guys should really consider injuring your legs. It might work.

After the race, Jimmie Johnson went to try to talk with Kevin Harvick about their earlier incident. Harvick was in no mood to talk. He shoved Jimmie, and had to be restrained from doing so again. Johnson walked a way, but it wasn’t until Kevin’s wife Delana arrived that Kevin finally let it go. Harvick is now last in the Chase standings, with a big hole to dig himself out of. However, if anyone can do it, it is Harvick.