Very quickly Kevin Harvick is proving that it not the number of laps you lead that count the most, only the final lap counts. It was his second win in of the season and 16th in the Cup Series.
He joked "I’m just glad I led more than one lap this week."
After winning in Fontana last week, leading only one lap, Kevin Harvick came back from a difficult start and led only six laps but notched his second win of the year after he passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the closing laps after passing Kyle Busch who led 151 laps.
Junior had taken the lead with 20-laps to go hoping to end a 98-race winless drought, but, he got a little loose and Harvick took the lead for good with five laps to go. And that’s how they finished.
Kevin Harvick said "I didn’t think we had the car do that. Had a lot of fun racing with Dale Jr. (not apologizing for beating NASCAR’s favorite driver) but we’re in it to win it. I think it just showed what we were made of. We fell back to the last car, on the lead lap, but kept fighting."
Dale Earnhardt Jr, who is in his last year of a contract with Hendrick Motorsports, was clearly relieved that he was competitive again, especially with the bump and run on Busch.
"I hate it that I didn’t win," Earnhardt said, adding "I don’t think Kyle was happy, I tried to hold my ground, I didn’t spin him out without being obnoxious about it... we'll win our share (of races)."
He joked "I’m just glad I led more than one lap this week."
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| Fans watch the Goody's Fast Relief 500 from the stands Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Chris Trotman/Getty Images) |
After winning in Fontana last week, leading only one lap, Kevin Harvick came back from a difficult start and led only six laps but notched his second win of the year after he passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the closing laps after passing Kyle Busch who led 151 laps.
Junior had taken the lead with 20-laps to go hoping to end a 98-race winless drought, but, he got a little loose and Harvick took the lead for good with five laps to go. And that’s how they finished.
Kevin Harvick said "I didn’t think we had the car do that. Had a lot of fun racing with Dale Jr. (not apologizing for beating NASCAR’s favorite driver) but we’re in it to win it. I think it just showed what we were made of. We fell back to the last car, on the lead lap, but kept fighting."
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| Bobby Labonte and Joey Logano bring out the caution on lap 232. (Photo: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR) |
Dale Earnhardt Jr, who is in his last year of a contract with Hendrick Motorsports, was clearly relieved that he was competitive again, especially with the bump and run on Busch.
"I hate it that I didn’t win," Earnhardt said, adding "I don’t think Kyle was happy, I tried to hold my ground, I didn’t spin him out without being obnoxious about it... we'll win our share (of races)."