Michigan is magic again for Harvick
Stewart-Haas driver ends long drought with 6th win at track
Kevin Harvick got his groove back, fittingly at one of his favorite tracks.
Harvick ended a 65-race winless drought that lasted nearly nearly two years with his sixth victory at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.
“Good timing, for sure,” he said.
The No. 4 Ford pulled away from Bubba Wallace and the rest the field following a restart with 35 laps to go. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver took advantage of clean air, helping him coast to his 59th victory, including five wins since 2018 on the two-mile oval in the Irish Hills region of southern Michigan.
Wallace finished second in his No. 23 Toyota — 2.9 seconds behind Harvick — followed by Denny Hamlin in his No. 11 Toyota.
Harvick hadn’t won since claiming a NASCAR Cup Series postseason race on Sept. 19, 2020, at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“It’s been a while,” he acknowledged. “Michigan has been a great place for us.”
Harvick’s latest win shakes up the playoff race with just three races remaining in the regular season, leaving little time for drivers to earn a spot in the 16-car postseason, and gives a boost for a veteran that entered the weekend No. 17 in points.
“Everybody that doubted us doesn’t know us,” he said.
NASCAR has had 15 different Cup winners this season, closing in on the playoff-era record of 16, set last year. There’s a chance that a driver with a victory could be eliminated from the 16-car playoff with a tiebreaker based on points.
Austin Cindric, who won the Daytona 500 for his first career victory, started the day No. 15 in points and finished last in the 37-car race after his No. 2 Ford hit the wall head-on in a nine-car crash.
“It was a complete mess,” he said.
Kyle Busch had another frustrating day, getting knocked out of the race in the same crash as Cindric.
“I can’t buy a break right now,” said
Busch, who was the favorite to win the race, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
Busch has failed to finish in the top 10 in eight straight races, the longest streak of the two-time champion’s career, and he does not have a contract for next year. Three days before racing at Michigan, he and his wife and their two young children escaped the Mall of America in Minnesota after shots were fired.
NASCAR shifts next week to Richmond Raceway in Virginia, one of the last three races of the regular season.
Dixon breaks tie with Andretti: Scott Dixon passed Mario Andretti for second on IndyCar’s all-time wins list with a victory Sunday in the messy Music City Grand Prix that pulled him within reach of a record-tying seventh series championship.
Dixon overcame a poor qualifying effort, damage to his Chip Ganassi Racing car, a crash-fest around the downtown streets of Nashville, Tennessee, and finally a drag race against Scott McLaughlin in a two-lap push to the finish. He won for the 53rd time of his career to break a tie with Andretti for second in the all-time column.
More important, Dixon jumped to second in the points standings and trails series leader Will Power by six points with three races remaining. One more title would tie him with A.J. Foyt with a record seven championships.
Foyt is also IndyCar’s all-time winner with 67 victories.
McLaughlin, for Team Penske, finished second for a 1-2 finish for the drivers from New Zealand.
The .1067-second margin of victory was the fourth-closest in IndyCar history on a road or street course.
“He’s a legend, the GOAT,” McLaughlin said of Dixon. “I’ve always dreamed of racing him to the finish line. That was a proper duel.”
Alex Palou, the reigning IndyCar champion, finished third as Ganassi put two drivers on the podium. Palou moved one spot in the standings to fifth as 33 points separate the title contenders.
Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta both came back from one lap down to finish fourth and fifth for Andretti Autosport.