Auto racing notes: Kevin Harvick ready for Chase defense

It didn’t take Kevin Harvick long to start needling the drivers standing in his way of a second consecutive title.

The reigning Sprint Cup champion has heard all the hype surrounding Joe Gibbs Racing, which closed out the regular season with eight wins in the final 11 races. Harvick, with 10 second-place finishes this year, isn’t at all concerned with the JGR group.

As the 16 drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship gathered Thursday to discuss the upcoming playoffs that start Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, Harvick dismissed any notion that he has some work to do to catch up to the Gibbs group.

“I wouldn’t consider us behind the Gibbs cars,” Harvick said. “I think we are going to pound them into the ground. That’s what I think.”

Harvick has never backed away from a challenge, and he’s always used his confidence to his advantage. He loves to poke at his rivals in an attempt to rattle them and get them off their game.

Johnson turns 40

Jimmie Johnson planned to start his first day as a 40-year-old with a run along Chicago’s waterfront.

Instead, he got talked into an impromptu celebration Wednesday night that had him feeling very much his age.

“I feel 80 right now, not 40,” he joked.

Johnson was feted by the other 15 Chase drivers but put the blame on Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth for kicking off the birthday celebration.

“I thought I was going to bow out early and go to bed, and had plans to go for a nice run or something on the boardwalk this morning, and between Bowyer and Kenseth, they talked me into my first drink, and with all 16 there, the energy kept going and a lot of fun was had,” he said.

U.S. driver in F1 debut

American driver Alexander Rossi said it is “very surreal” to be preparing for his Formula One debut this weekend after signing a deal with the Manor team, becoming the first American to race in the series since 2007.

Rossi will make his debut at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday after having only received confirmation on Tuesday that he will replace Roberto Mehri for five of this season’s remaining seven races, including the U.S. Grand Prix in Texas.

Hamilton nears milestone

Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton is poised to match the total number of race wins set by his childhood idol Ayrton Senna, and said notching a 41st victory in Singapore this weekend would be an emotional moment.

It would be fitting if he equaled Senna’s record in precisely the same number of races the Brazilian drove.