Kyle Busch started from the pole and led the first 77 laps before ending up fourth.
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NASCAR officials made no move to penalize Logano for the Kansas incident, sending a clear message it’s OK for a trailing auto to take out a slower leader by force.
With 20 laps remaining in the scheduled 312-lap race, Harvick led Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Carl passed Harvick towards the checkered flag as they both traded paint. On the last lap there but I knew I was gonna have to be on defense because you’ve beaten Houston 34 all day so.
It may not have been the closest finish in NASCAR history, but it certainly is one for the record books, and has given the sport a lot of momentum headed into one of the most exciting races of the season at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California.
Sunday’s race didn’t appear it would be that close, however, as Harvick took a comfortable lead into the final laps. He was leading with five laps to go when Kasey Kahne hit the wall after he cut a right front tire.
Hamlin recovered from an early pit penalty to finish third.
One driver who has managed to master the ins and outs of PIR is Kevin Harvick, who will make his 500th consecutive start Sunday in the Good Sam 500. Harvick quietly picked his way through the pack, and eventually took the lead in the early second half of the race. They banged doors a couple of times.
“For me personally, this is a fun place to come just for the fact that I started racing here in the mid-’90s”, Harvick said. Asked Sunday if he’s headed to another Indy 500 win, Montoya indicated he’s taking each race one at a time.
Angry over comments Harvick made about him after a wreck at Talladega the previous week, Edwards confronted Harvick in the Nationwide Series garage at Charlotte in October 2008. “But sometimes our brains don’t work exactly like they should inside the race vehicle and you don’t really realize where you are or what you’re doing”.
“I tried to protect the bottom in (Turns) 3 and 4, and I just missed the bottom with all the rubber buildup on the tires and everything”.
Crew chief Rodney Childers elected to keep the No. 4 Chevy of the track. “But every time, there’s always seven or eight that stay out in that situation”. It nearly got to the point where we could predict what lap the caution was going to come out. One could hardly wipe the smile off Harvick’s face, who said this is what NASCAR racing is about.
Given the “comers and goers” occasioned by the new low downforce package and softer tires from Goodyear, there’ll be opportunity enough for more substantive passionate disagreements as the season progresses.
“I ran into him about as hard as I thought I could without wrecking him, and it ended up being a drag race”, Edwards said. “That’s really what NASCAR racing is all about”. “I wanted to win that thing but you win some and you lose some”.
“It’s definitely the way that things should have been done”.
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“I’m hoping it is more of the same, where you have the speed drop-off and that the cars will handle worse and that the driver has to work harder to maintain lap time”, said Kurt Busch.
