Jeff Gordon checks out his vehicle before NASCAR Sprint Cup auto racing practice at Darlington Raceway Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, in Darlington, S.C. Now, he is seeking a much bigger honor.
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Martin Truex Jr. won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night, his second win in a prestigious event this season. He also won the Coca-Cola 600 in May, making him wins in two of the most prestigious races in the NASCAR in the same season.
Truex stamped himself as a contender to be reckoned with when the Sprint Cup playoffs start in two weeks.
Harvick also hit the wall while attempting to chase down Truex before the race’s final caution flag. “I just couldn’t be more excited”.
The Furniture Row Racing star put on his best-career effort at the Darlington oval Sunday night. Harvick says he’s been understanding, patient and supportive but is not seeing the results he needs to contend for a second championship in three seasons.
Truex did what he was supposed to do, which was race the track and then the drivers.
However, with a poor pit stop on lap 280, Harvick lost important track position and had to restart 12 after entering pit road while in the lead.
Newman was seven points out of the final qualifying spot for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
“Same old thing. You get in a position where you bring a dominant vehicle – the guys in the shop and the guys in the garage are doing a great job and the guys on pit road are doing a awful job”, Harvick said. “Apparently he got mad at me”. Regan Smith stunned the Sprint Cup garage in 2011 with his win here. We have 13 confirmed driver’s in the chase, only three spots left and it all comes down at Richmond for 400 miles.
It was worth the wait.
Kyle Larson, just a week after his first Sprint Cup win in MI, completed the podium places.
Lap leaders: Harvick 1-93; Keselowski 94-138; Harvick 139-162; Keselowski 163-164; Harvick 165-251; Hamlin 252-261; Kyle Busch 262; Kenseth 263-272; Harvick 273-281; Hamlin 282-284; Larson 285-329; Newman 330-338; Truex 339-350;. He was forced back to pit road to make changes there, then had to serve a pass-through penalty when the race went green then. His crew brought the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports machine behind the wall.
Simon Pagenaud finished seventh and increased his lead over Will Power to 43 points in the standings with one race remaining in the season.
And Greg Zipadelli, Stewart-Haas Racing’s director of competition, said he was “pulling his hair out” trying to find a solution to the team’s problems.
THE BIG ONE: That involved Tony Stewart, too. When that didn’t work at first, Stewart looked like he nudged Scott’s bumper and sent him spinning. Maybe he thought I was giving him the finger or something. “We’re all here trying to do the same thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s no holds barred and you just go out and wreck everybody or get wrecked by everybody”.
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“I’m over being a cheerleader”, Harvick said. More important, they are the household names for NASCAR, the ones who move the needle and make people pay attention. Matt Kenseth is the defending champion.
