Harvick drives into the mix
He overtakes Truex to win at Texas and get into the Cup Series finale in two weeks.
Victory at Texas gives him one of four spots in NASCAR’s Cup Series championship race in two weeks in Miami.
FORT WORTH — The timing was perfect for Kevin Harvick’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Texas. So was his winning pass.
Harvick went around the outside of Martin Truex Jr. for the lead with 10 laps to go, then stayed in front the rest of the way Sunday to earn a championship shot in NASCAR’s finale.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Harvick, who had won five Xfinity races and a NASCAR Truck race at the track. “Great to check that one off.”
Truex led 107 of 334 laps and was still up front until his bobble on the backstretch that allowed Harvick to take the lead. But Truex, with a significant points lead and victories in three of the eight playoff races, also locked into one of the four spots to race for the championship at Homestead in two weeks.
“A little disappointed to come up short, but to clinch a spot in Miami is unbelievable,” Truex said. “Definitely got the job done today, and came here and did what we needed to.”
Kyle Busch had clinched a championship spot with his victory at Martinsville, Va., a week ago to start the third round of the playoffs. That leaves only one spot up for grabs next week at Phoenix among the five remaining playoff contenders.
Denny Hamlin, another of the playoff contenders, finished third, Brad Keselowski was fifth and Ryan Blaney sixth.
Chase Elliott finished eighth but teammate Jimmie Johnson dealt with a loose car all race and finished 27th.
Keselowski dropped from third to fourth in points, 57 behind Truex. Hamlin is fifth in the standings, followed by Blaney, Elliott and seventh-time Cup champion Johnson.
“I’d feel confident if we were locked in. These races you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Keselowski said.
Elliott knows that feeling, having been in the lead and two laps shy of the checkered flag at Martinsville before getting wrecked by Hamlin. Instead of the possible victory then that would have clinched a championship spot, he now likely has to win at Phoenix to advance.
“Yeah, I guess. I assume so,” Elliott said. “We’ll just go on to Phoenix. We are going to try our best, try to get a victory and go on to Homestead.”
Harvick felt good about his car all race, but had to earn the victory in Texas. Tony Stewart, the former Cup champion and car owner, liked what he saw in those last 20 to 25 laps.
“It wasn’t just the fact of winning this race, but it’s just how it was won,” Stewart said. “I know Kevin, and I can tell watching his driving style, there’s something that field and those other three guys that are going to make it to Homestead here in a couple of weeks, they’ve got something to be worried about.”
After several laps chasing Truex, Harvick was able to get around the No. 78 when he executed on a cue he had taken from watching Kyle Larson driving really deep into Turn 1 earlier.