Harvick wins wild Daytona finish

Date published : 04 Jul 2010 - 07:17:17

Kevin Harvick claimed his second win of the season in a wild NASCAR Sprint Cup series race at Daytona International Speedway.The current points leader timed his winning move to perfection in the closing laps of the race, to take another victory at a restrictor-plate track. He was one of a few able to avoid the carnage that unfolded on lap 149, only 11 from the end, when Richard Childress Racing's Jeff Burton made contact with Penske's Kurt Busch while running close to the front.The ensuing 'big one' left almost 20 cars wrecked, including reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, as many got caught in the chain reaction at Turn 3. The incident narrowed the battle for victory to a few cars, including the three RCR Chevrolets, which worked together at the front of the field once the race resumed only eight laps from the scheduled distance.Jeff Gordon tried to snatch the win in the end but first Clint Bowyer and then his team-mate Harvick passed him as the laps faded. A late caution came out with two laps left, forcing a green-white-chequered finish where Bowyer led before Harvick took the lead right after the green flag waved, then held off Richard Petty Motorsports' Kasey Kahne to the finish line.Harvick's victory hands him a second 10-point bonus towards his Chase seeding, as he continues to makes strides in his aim to bring Johnson's Sprint Cup domination to an end."Same old Daytona, cars moving around and bouncing around, and handling came into play, and you saw a lot of passing and shuffling, and then there at the end we had the big wreck and we were fortunate to be in front of it," said Harvick, who got a perfect score as he led the most laps as well."And really coming to the white [flag] I thought it was going to be [Bowyer] first and us second, and then the caution came out and we could see the white flag. I was content about that."I knew those guys needed a good day, and I knew you never know what's going to happen on the last lap with people pushing and shoving from the back. But on the last restart, once [Gordon] pulled out and slowed those outside two lines down, that was pretty much the end of it."Kahne, who had started the race in his back-up machine after damaging his primary one in practice, made a great charge in the closing laps after being involved in two separate incidents during the race. Gordon was third in the end, moving up to second in the points, while Dale Earnhardt Jr, who had a late brush with the wall, was fourth and climbed two spots in the standings to break inside the top 12.Burton rounded out the top five, which Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch followed in the order despite crashing out of the final turn.Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch held the lead for 23 laps, before contact with Juan Pablo Montoya put him against the wall. The Colombian also led the race and was getting lapped by Busch, who had yet to stop in the pits, when the incident happened. Montoya was one of those involved in the biggest accident of the day, as was veteran Mark Martin, whose car caught fire in the pits after the crash. The race finished in the early hours of Sunday, following more than an hour of delay at the start due to rain.Pos Driver Car Laps 1. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 166 2. Kasey Kahne Ford 166 3. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 166 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 166 5. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 166 6. Carl Edwards Ford 166 7. Kurt Busch Dodge 166 8. Reed Sorenson Toyota 166 9. Mike Bliss Chevrolet 16610. Scott Speed Toyota 16611. David Reutimann Toyota 16612. Robby Gordon Toyota 16613. Steve Park Toyota 16614. Kevin Conway Ford 16615. Matt Kenseth Ford 16616. Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 16617. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 16618. Paul Menard Ford 16519. JJ Yeley Dodge 16420. Greg Biffle Ford 16321. Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 15922. Elliott Sadler Ford 15923. Robert Richardson Jr Ford 15924. Denny Hamlin Toyota 15825. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 15826. Ryan Newman Chevrolet 14827. Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 14828. Mark Martin Chevrolet 14829. Joey Logano Toyota 14830. Brad Keselowski Dodge 14731. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 14732. Marcos Ambrose Toyota 14733. Regan Smith Chevrolet 14734. Travis Kvapil Ford 14535. Martin Truex Jr Toyota 14136. AJ Allmendinger Ford 13637. David Stremme Ford 13538. David Ragan Ford 11639. Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 11640. Kyle Busch Toyota 10341. Joe Nemechek Toyota 3842. Max Papis Toyota 643. Dave Blaney Toyota 4