Day's story at Indy has ups and downs in points race

Every event in the run to the cutoff for the Chase for the Sprint Cup is critical and, on Sunday, when a stunning miscalculation on the tire combination for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard affected everything about the competition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, tires only affected one of the most radical point swings.

Maybe that was the case. Denny Hamlin, who came into the day 12th in the Chase standings, had his race affected by the tire situation and its accompanying odd strategic decisions; yet Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing crew chief Mike Ford played the game well enough to finish third and advance four spots in the standings (read more).

Cup Standings
Race to the Chase

Pos. Driver Behind 12th

13. Kevin Harvick -2
14. David Ragan -56
15. Brian Vickers -132
16. Ryan Newman -144
17. Martin Truex Jr. -216
18. Kurt Busch -281

• Complete StandingsWhile acknowledging that, Hamlin was still disappointed not to win.

"When we saw the 17 [Matt Kenseth] had issues, the 83 [Brian Vickers] blew up, we knew we needed a top-10 day," Hamlin said. "We knew that, at the beginning of the day. This race only comes around once a year [and] it's prestigious -- so you hate to let a win slip away. In the back of your mind, you have to be happy knowing you had a good points day [and] that's where we are."

But that's the chase for the top spots in the standings. With six events remaining before the Chase cutoff at Richmond International Raceway's Chevy Rock & Roll 400, Kevin Harvick fell four positions in the standings and out of the top-12 spots that guarantee a place in the Chase.

But rather than experiencing tire trouble, Harvick's No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was caught in a spin by Kurt Busch's No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge (watch video), which resulted in a 37th-place finish for Harvick and 40th for Busch, the inaugural 2004 Chase winner who's also struggling to get back to 12th.

Kenseth had a catastrophic right-rear tire failure on his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford (watch video), making him the Chase contender most directly affected by tires, and while his crew also made a good recovery to get Kenseth to the finish in 38th, he dropped three spots in the standings and currently sits 11th, only four points clear of 12th-place Clint Bowyer, who missed an opportunity to gain more ground Sunday when his No. 07 RCR Chevrolet finished 19th.

Just how critical each race is, is borne out by Harvick's 13th position being only two points behind Bowyer, which gives Harvick a positive vibe for this weekend's Pocono race.

"Our Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet was going to be really good [Sunday so] my guys did a great job getting me back out on the racetrack after the accident so early in the race -- they've done a great job the last couple of months," Harvick said. "We'll just go on to Pocono and try and get the best finish we can and get ourselves back in the top 12 in points. Hopefully, we will be good and I think we will be fine for the Chase."