Harvick nabs 9th win of season
Bristol has 30K in stands, the largest crowd since March.
Feedingoff BRISTOL,TENN. — one of the largest crowds at a sporting event during the pandemic, Kevin Harvick steamrolled hisway into the second round of NASCAR’s playoffs in a championship that is clearly his to lose.
Harvick heldoffa charging Kyle Busch over the final 40 laps Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway for his career-best and Cup Serieshigh ninth victory of the season. He did it in front of a sold-out crowd of 30,000 spectators, the most Bristol was allowed to admit and the largest crowd since March.
“I hadn’t been to toomany races where I’ve been that jacked up getting in the race car,” Harvick said. “The fans were so enthusiastic tonight and I don’t know if we’ve just been away from them for that long, but you could feel the enthusiasm in the stadium tonight.”
Harvick took the lead from Busch and denied Busch his first victory of the season. Busch furiously tried to catch him as the twoweaved their way through lapped traffic, but Harvick held firm in the No. 4 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Only six cars finished on the lead lap in a tepid event at the 0.533-mile bullring revered for bumping and banging. Track officials sold all 30,000 tickets allowed — makingBristoloneofthelargest sporting events since the pandemic — and the spectators crowded the fence as Harvick celebrated his second win of the playoffs.
HarvickalsowontheSouthern 500 at Darlington Racewaytoopenthe playoffs. He’s ninthonNASCAR’s career list with 58 Cup victories.
Busch, who failed inspection twice before the race and drove from the back of the field to lead in his Toyota, was disappointed to finish second. Busch took aim at Joey Logano, who failed to move out of the way as Harvick and Busch battled for the lead — “he’s nobody’s friend for a reason”— aswell as younger drivers Garrett Smithley and Joey Gase.
“Ifthatlapcarwasn’tthere, I would have blown it in on the outside or the inside and maybewewouldhavebanged each other’s doors or whatever and had a greater finish tothecheckered,” Buschsaid. “But some of them (idiot) kids don’t know what the hell they’re doing or where they’re at and can’t stay out of the way. Nothing like a Gase and a Smithley.”
Smithley, who finished 32nd and has received criticism from Busch before, argued he’s a target forBusch even when he didn’t alter Busch’s race.
“Went outtamywaytogive him room,” Smithley wrote on Twitter. “Think he might have thought I was in a different car.”
Either way, Busch was aggravated enough to predict his run in these playoffs will be short.
“We’ll be eliminated next round, so don’t care,” Busch said.