Did Kevin Harvick have something to hide with his burnout?

ONE WEEK, it's restarts. Another week, it's an angry driver shoving a racing rival. This week, it's burnouts. There's always some drama in NASCAR, particularly at Chase time.

Kevin Harvick's celebratory smokescreen burnout after he dominated at Dover International Speedway last Sunday has aroused suspicions that he purposely made contact with the interior wall and blew out his tires to make the postrace job of NASCAR inspectors more difficult.

Predictably, Harvick's reaction to such criticism was "Who, me?"

During a media session Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C., previewing the first race in the Chase Contenders Round on Saturday night, Chaser Denny Hamlin said: "You don't want to discredit anyone's win, because what (Harvick) did was really, really impressive. But all the other competitors, whoever doesn't win each week, wants to make sure they're on a level playing field with whoever did win. I would like to see some way of ensuring our cars stay intact for (NASCAR tech inspection)."

Another Chaser, Brad Keselowski, said it's common for drivers to damage their cars.

"I've definitely blown tires out," the 2012 champion said. "I think every driver has done things to do some kind of damage to their car."

Harvick, acting as innocent as a child on Christmas Eve, said he didn't remember hitting the wall at the Delaware racetrack.

Ever since NASCAR's first race, deception has been part of the game. NASCAR passes a rule and immediately crew chiefs gleefully plot ways around it to make their cars go faster.

From the Dover press box in Turn 1, I couldn't tell whether Harvick's car banged the wall. It looked like a typical rubber-screechin' burnout to me.

The Chase format undoubtedly has created interest in the Sprint Cup Series' season homestretch. Just check Dale Earnhardt Jr. passing Jamie McMurray on the last restart at Dover for third place. Even though McMurray finished fourth, he was eliminated from the Contenders Round. Earnhardt and McMurray were tied for the final transfer spot, but Earnhardt advanced because his third-place finish was the highest by either in the Challenger Round.

What the Chase also has done, however, is produce cautious racing by several Chasers. Drivers who realize they cannot win just stay in position, knowing they'll advance in the Chase.

Only three drivers led at some point at Dover. Harvick seized the lead and controlled the race because he had to win to advance. Kyle Busch also was in a precarious position before Dover, so he also surged to the front. Matt Kenseth, the only other race leader at Dover, started on the pole as the points leader after qualifying was rained out. Kenseth knew he was locked into the Contenders Round, so after he lost the lead to Harvick, he was content to race along behind the leader. He finished seventh.

Jeff Gordon didn't give his fans much to get excited about in his final race at Dover. Realizing his Chevrolet wasn't capable over overtaking Harvick's Chevy, Gordon stayed around the top 10 because he knew he would move on to the Contenders Round.

NASCAR flirted with a shortened event at Dover because the race didn't start until 2:50 p.m. Starting times for Chase races are determined by NBC Sports. Since Sunday afternoon races compete with popular NFL games, the later race starts are aimed at giving racing fans the opportunity to watch some NFL action before racing begins.

Had there been a long delay in the race at Dover, which has no lights, darkness could've led to the AAA 375 instead of 400. The race ended about 6:10 p.m.

I thought I'd find fans upset by the later starting time, who would end up getting home later in the day. Instead, fans I spoke with were fine with it.

"I'd like to see it earlier, but I'm OK with it," said Chris Rafferty, who drove to Delaware's capital city from Rhode Island with Tracy Wright on Saturday. They attended the previous week's race at New Hampshire: These are real fans! Wisely, they weren't motoring home Sunday night.

Suzanne Shaw, a Jeff Gordon fan from Bear, Del., attended Dover races with her father.

"I remember when the races here were 500 miles; that was a long day," she said. "I don't mind (later starts). It gives us more time to walk around."

There's also more time for souvenir and concession sales.

Bank of America 500

Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio: NBC10/WNPV (1440-AM)

Course: 1.5-mile oval

Distance: 334 laps/500 miles

Forecast: showers likely, mid-60s

Last year's winner: Kevin Harvick

Last year's pole: Harvick, 197.621 mph

Track qualifying record: Kurt Busch, 198.771 mph (October 2014)

Track facts: For the next three-race Contenders Round events, Chasers must win to automatically advance, as they did in the opening Challengers Round. Points are reset at 3,000 for the remaining 12 Chasers.Kevin Harvick led 162 laps, including the last 17, to win last year's race at Charlotte. Jeff Gordon (74 laps led) was runner-up; Jamie McMurray was third ... Carl Edwards won this year's 600-mile race at Charlotte pacing only 25 laps. Martin Truex Jr. led the most laps, 131, but finished fifth. Aric Almirola's fifth-place finish at Dover gives him top-five finishes in two of the last four races. Almirola just missed the Chase ... Kasey Kahne's sixth-place at Dover was his best finish since a fourth at the Delaware track in the spring. Kahne is a four-time winner at Charlotte. Jimmie Johnson has the most wins (seven) among active drivers at the track ... Another non-Chaser, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., has his best finish at Dover (eighth) since a fourth at Bristol in April.

Wins: Matt Kenseth, 5; Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch, 4 each, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, 3 each; Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin, 2 each; Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr., 1 each.

STANDINGS

1. Matt Kenseth ... 3,000

2. Joey Logano ... 3,000

3. Denny Hamlin ... 3,000

4. Carl Edwards ... 3,000

5. Martin Truex Jr. ... 3,000

6. Kurt Busch ... 3,000

7. Jeff Gordon ... 3,000

8. Brad Keselowski ... 3,000

9. Kyle Busch ... 3,000

10. Ryan Newman ... 3,000

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ... 3,000

12. Kevin Harvick ... 3,000

Up next: Hollywood Casino 400, Oct. 18, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan., 2:15 p.m; TV: NBC10; last year's winner: Joey Logano.