Bowyer, Newman in Cup playoffs

INDIANAPOLIS – It took 16 years, but Kevin Harvick has won again at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 2014 NASCAR champion dominated Sunday in the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, leading 118 of the 160 laps on an afternoon filled with yellow flags and playoff intrigue.

And for the first time in 16 years of various formats being used to determine the championship, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson did not qualify.

Johnson, a four-time Brickyard winner, got trapped on the inside running three wide on a restart and crashed. Johnson’s winless streak has reached 85 races.

“First of all, I think it’s pretty impressive the run we’ve been on to be in the playoffs for this many years,” Johnson said in his NBC television interview. “I’m not sure who’s close, but I don’t think they’re very close. We have that to be proud of.”

Joey Logano finished second, 6.118 seconds back, followed by Bubba Wallace in a 1-2-3 sweep for Ford. The race included nine yellow flags for 48 laps, as well as a 12-minute red.

Harvick’s victory, his third of the season and 48th overall, gave him momentum heading into the 10-race Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs that begin next weekend in Las Vegas.

The final two positions in the 16-driver playoff field were decided Sunday on points. Clint Bowyer finished fifth and Ryan Newman eighth to advance.

Daniel Suarez entered with a chance to be one of the contenders and rallied from an early crash to finish 11th but failed to advance.