Harvick earns shot at crown

FORT WORTH, TEXAS >> Kevin Harvick earned a shot at another NASCAR Cup championship, rocketing past polesitter Ryan Blaney in overtime Sunday to win at Texas.

Another late caution led to a third restart in the final 35 laps, each time with Harvick leading. Harvick led 177 of the 337 laps.

After taking the inside on the first two restarts, and briefly losing the lead after the second one, Harvick opted to start from outside for the green-white-checkered finish. By time they got to the backstretch, Harvick had pushed his No. 4 Ford in front and raced to his eighth win of this season.

“I thought if I could keep him from finishing the corner I could drive back by him,” Harvick said. “It all worked out.”

It is the second year in a row that Harvick, the 2014 Cup champion, won the fall race at Texas to get into the final four. Of his 32 starts in the Lone Star State, his only two wins are the last two fall races, but those are among his 20 top-10 finishes there.

“This place has been really good to me. I’m glad we got the win again here,” he said.

Harvick also won both stages at the 1 ½-mile Texas track, the fourth time this season he did that and went on to win the race.

With Joey Logano and Harvick locked in after winning the past two races, the series goes to Phoe

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LARRY PAPKE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup auto race in Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway, Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas.