Kyle Busch holds off Harvick to win playoff race at Richmond

RICHMOND, VA. » Kyle Busch passed Brad Keselowski with 38 laps to go and held off hard-charging Kevin Harvick to win the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Richmond Raceway Saturday night.

Busch won for the 50th time in his career, the sixth time on the 0.75-mile oval and for the first time here in the fall. And he did it from the back after making a prerace adjustment to his car.

“To start dead last, come up through the field and win this thing? That’s right Rowdy Nation. All for you, baby,” Busch said after climbing from his car. “I finally won a fall race here at Richmond.”

Harvick closed a gap of more than 1.5 seconds over the final few laps, but was not able to deprive Busch of tying him with a seasonbest seven wins this season.

Martin Truex Jr., who swept the first two stages before a penalty forced him to play catch up, rallied for third, followed by Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola.

“The problem is when you get back there, to pass those guys, you’ve got to really use up your tires,” Truex said. “We did really good for only having one caution thrown in there. It went well. We needed more cautions so we could pit for tires. What a hot-rod we had tonight . ... They rebounded well from the pit road mishap.”

It was the first time that the three drivers who have dominated all season claimed the top three spots in a race.

Busch and rival Brad Keselowski, seeking his fourth consecutive victory in the series, battled for the lead for much of the last 100-plus laps. Keselowski grabbed the top spot on lap 343, but Busch took it back 20 laps later before Keselowski faded, eventually finishing ninth, and Harvick picked up the chase.

“I thought he used a little more when he was racing with Keselowski there, and he drove off a little bit and I started driving him baack down at the end,” Harvick said.

Busch and Keselowski have already clinched spots in the next round of the playoff, and Truex joined them by winning the first two stages.

The night was not as eventful as local favorite Denny Hamlin had hoped. The Chesterfield native finished 16th.

Newman will move to Roush-Fenway in 2019

RICHMOND, VA. » Ryan Newman will drive full-time for Roush-Fenway Racing in the No. 6 Ford next season in NASCAR’s Cup series.

Newman has driven the No. 31 for Richard Childress Racing since 2014, but did not make the playoffs as one of the top 16 teams for the second time in three years. He announced earlier this year he would leave the team at the end of the season.

“I’m at a position where I’ve never wanted to stop, I’ve never wanted to quit, never wanted to retire, and I want to win a championship,” Newman said.

Newman has won 18 races in his career, including eight in the 2003 season.